Background
Zane was born in New York City.
Zane was born in New York City.
His national awards include the Distinguished Writing Award for Commentary from the American Society of Newspaper Editors. After graduating from Collegiate School, he earned a Bachelor from Wesleyan University in 1984 and an Mississippi (with Honors) from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1989. In 1991-1992, he was the chief reporter for the 80th Neediest Cases campaign, which the Times hailed as “the most successful campaign in its history.”.
From 1996 to 2009 he served as Book Review Editor and Books Columnist for The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina.
From 2005 through 2007 he served on the Board of the National Book Critics Circle, where he was in charge of membership. In 2006, Zane edited a special section, "Ghosts of 1898," on the Wilmington race riot for the Charlotte Observer and the Raleigh News and Observer.
This 16-page special section, written by historian Timothy B. Tyson, was widely distributed. Soon afterward, the North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation to requiring public schools to teach students about the white supremacy campaigns and the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898.
He served as Master of Ceremonies for the bi-annual induction ceremonies of the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014.
He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina.
He joined The New York Times in 1990 as member of the Writing Program for young reporters.