bio

Bryan Christy’s debut novel IN THE COMPANY OF KILLERS (Putnam) has been declared “an exceptional adventure thriller” (Publishers Weekly) and a 2021 New York Times “Summer Reads Choice.” His non-fiction book THE LIZARD KING (Twelve) is currently in production, A24 Films.

Bryan has testified before Congress on terrorism in Africa, and has lectured for law enforcement and investigative journalism programs around the world. He has worked as an investigative journalist, an international trade policy lawyer, a CPA, a NASCAR team consultant, a whitewater kayak guide, even a mortician’s apprentice in his family’s funeral home.

He is the former head of Special Investigations at National Geographic and a National Geographic Society Rolex Explorer of the Year. For its 125th Anniversary, National Geographic named his writing “one of ten ways National Geographic has changed the world.” Using his “results-oriented reporting” technique, Bryan’s work has resulted in police raids on Vatican City; the defrocking of a pedophile monsignor in the Philippines; the arrest of “the Pablo Escobar of wildlife trafficking” in Malaysia; the closing of China’s ivory market (saving tens of thousands of elephants); and the passage of new laws and policies around the world. His investigation into Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army in central Africa for National Geographic using fake ivory armed with satellite trackers was praised as some of the best spotting anyone had on Kony. He has won numerous awards for storytelling, including WildScreen’s Best Presenter award for his role in the documentary film Warlords of Ivory. National Geographic submitted his work on rhinos for a Pulitzer Prize.

Bryan has appeared on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,  NPR’s Fresh Air w Terry Gross (and here), the Diane Rehm Show, CNN’s Amanpour, BBC, MSNBC, Nightline, PBS NewsHour, and more.

His education includes Pennsylvania State University, Cornell University’s FALCON program, University of Michigan Law School, University of Tokyo Law School (where he was a Fulbright Scholar), and time at the Iowa Writers Workshop under James Alan McPherson.