Matthew Davis: Focus on What You Can Control
In this interview, author Matthew Davis discusses learning to trust his vision during editor changeovers with his new historical nonfiction, A Biography of a Mountain.
Matthew Davis is the author of When Things Get Dark: A Mongolian Winter’s Tale. His work has appeared in the New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Review of Books and Guernica, among other places. He has been an Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fellow at New America, a Fellow at the Black Mountain Institute at UNLV, and a Fulbright Fellow to Syria and Jordan. He holds an MFA in nonfiction writing from the University of Iowa and an MA in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Davis lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, a diplomat, and their two young kids. Learn more at MatthewDavisWriter.com, and follow him on Bluesky.
In this interview, Matthew discusses learning to trust his vision during editor changeovers with his new historical nonfiction, A Biography of a Mountain, his hope for readers, and more.
Name: Matthew Davis
Literary agent: Michael Signorelli, Aevitas Creative Management
Book title: A Biography of a Mountain: The Making and Meaning of Mount Rushmore
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release date: November 11, 2025
Genre/category: History/Travel/General Nonfiction
Previous titles: When Things Get Dark: A Mongolian Winter’s Tale
Elevator pitch: Most Americans know and recognize Mount Rushmore, but not many know the comprehensive and complicated story of how Rushmore came to be built in the Black Hills of South Dakota—the history of the Hills, the story of Rushmore’s controversial sculptor, and its impact on the area today. A Biography of a Mountain marks the 100th anniversary of Rushmore’s initial dedication and uses history, reportage, and essay to tell this full story of Mount Rushmore and explore how we memorialize the contested narratives of American history.
What prompted you to write this book?
On July 3, 2020, President Trump spoke at Mount Rushmore and offered a narrow vision of both American history and the memorials and monuments built to represent that history. Though I did not see the speech live, as I read both about it and the protests that had greeted Trump, I wondered why he had chosen to give that speech there, in front of the four faces of Mount Rushmore. As I learned about its history, Rushmore became a vehicle to both explore the fascinating history of the Black Hills, but the broader historical debates our country is having as we move toward celebrating our 250th birthday.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
From idea to publication took about five years. And the biggest change was less a change than a filling of a gap. When I sold the book, I wasn’t yet sure who the contemporary characters were going to be. I knew the historical arc of the memorial’s building and the main historical character in the form of Gutzon Borglum, the memorial’s sculptor, but I hadn’t yet spent any time in the Black Hills. So, it was finding my contemporary characters and speaking with them over the course of years, that really solidified the main contemporary themes of the book.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
The only real surprise in the publishing process was the switching of editors. The editor who acquired the book left soon after purchasing it, and then the second editor I was working with left in the beginning of the writing process. So, I mostly worked with a third editor, Brigitte Dale, who was a perfect fit for this given her background and interests. Thankfully, this switching up didn’t impact the book writing process much and taught me to trust my vision and arguments, as all three editors I worked with responded well to the work as it progressed through different stages.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
I think the biggest surprise was how this book resonated to both me and others as I was writing it, the increased sense of urgency of its themes. When I sold the book, though I knew I would be exploring the controversies Rushmore raises in the Black Hills, I really thought I would be writing more of a history book. But as we entered the 2024 election season, and it became clear that the issues of American history would be pertinent, the book became less a book about the past and more a book about the present. In doing edits and prepping for publication, this has become even more the case, as the Trump administration has attempted to sanitize American history at our national parks and museums and the historical debates we are having as a country seem so vital to the future of our democracy.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
There are two things I would love for readers to get out of the book. The first is an appreciation of the Black Hills, a place I have come to really love. The Hills are incredibly beautiful, and the area’s history is complicated, fraught and fascinating, full of so many of the myths that compose our American identity. I would also love for readers to think about Mount Rushmore in a different way and, by extension, to think about the thousands of other historical monuments and memorials that dot the American landscape. In a time when many want to simplify our historical narratives, I hope this book will both reveal and revel in complexity and nuance.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Writing can be a frustrating process and a really frustrating business, one where your successes and failures sometimes feel out of your control. With that in mind, focus on what you can control—the quality of the writing and the work you are producing.
