John Archibald (writer)


John Archibald is an American journalist and columnist for the Birmingham News, The Huntsville Times, and the Press-Register. He graduated from the University of Alabama in 1986 and began work as a reporter for the Birmingham News. He began writing his column in 2004, where he focuses on Alabama and Birmingham politics. In 2018, Archibald was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary, "for lyrical and courageous commentary that is rooted in Alabama but has a national resonance".
Archibald is the son of Methodist minister Robert L. Archibald Jr. His family lived across north Alabama when he was young, in Alabaster, Huntsville, Jacksonville and Decatur. His family moved to Birmingham, where he graduated from Banks High School. He completed a bachelor's degree in journalism at the University of Alabama in 1986.
Archibald's book, ] is to be published by Alfred A. Knopf in March 2020.
In 2020 he was awarded a Nieman Foundation fellowship at Harvard University in order to study how media stories shape public perceptions of crime and a "culture of fear".
Archibald and his wife, Alecia have three children: Drew, Ramsey and Mamie.

Publications