J. Peder Zane is the Book Review Editor and the Sunday Books Columnist for The News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C. His column has won several awards including the Distinguished Writing Award for Commentary from the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

Zane contributed to and edited the essay collection "Remarkable Reads: 34 Writers and Their Adventures in Reading," which was published by W.W. Norton in 2004. He serves on the Board of Directors of the National Book Critics Circle.

Zane was born in New York City in 1962. He earned a B.A. from Wesleyan University and graduated with honors from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism in 1989. Before joining The News & Observer in 1996, Zane worked at The Patent Trader in Mount Kisco, N.Y., The Travel Agent Magazine and The New York Times.