Elizabeth Mitchell is the author of four nonfiction books: Lincoln's Lie: A True Civil War Caper Through Fake News, Wall Street and the White House (Counterpoint Press/October 2020), Liberty's Torch: The Great Adventure to Build the Statue of Liberty (Grove Atlantic, 2014), Three Strides Before the Wire: The Dark and Beautiful World of Horse Racing (Hyperion, 2002), and W.: Revenge of the Bush Dynasty (Hyperion, 2000). The Washington Post selected Three Strides as one of the best nonfiction books of that year.
Mitchell has authored novella-length nonfiction works, including The Fire Horse (2012); Lady With a Past: A Petulant French Sculptor, His Quest for Immortality, and the Real Story of the Statue of Liberty (2011); and the Amazon nonfiction bestseller, The Fearless Mrs. Goodwin (2011), about the first female detective in the United States.
Mitchell’s freelance writing has appeared in such publications as the New York Times, The Paris Review, TIME, Wall Street Journal, New York, Chicago Tribune, Bookforum, Smithsonian, GQ, O, Guernica, and The Nation.. She was a contributing editor to Newsweek. At the New York Daily News, she served as a senior long-form writer.
She is an executive editor at HarperOne, acquring and editing nonfiction including the international bestseller Truly by Lionel Richie, the indie bestseller The Art Spy by Michelle Young, Ethel by Kerry Kennedy, Amphibious Soul by Craig Foster, Deep Water by James Bradley, the NAACP award winning Illustrated Black History by George McCalman, and many more.
She was executive editor of George, having started with the magazine as a senior editor. Prior to that, she worked as features editor at SPIN.
Mitchell has been interviewed on numerous national radio and television shows. She has delivered lectures on journalism at Harvard University and Fairleigh Dickinson University, among other educational institutions; and historical talks at the National Archives in Washington and the National Archives in New York. She taught nonfiction writing at Columbia University.
She was the co-founder of ReadThis, a volunteer group that delivers books where needed, including to troops abroad, children living in poverty, and public schools with no library.
