Bruce Bliven was born in Emmetsburg, Iowa, in 1889. He grew up there, attended the public schools, and graduated from high school in 1907. His family had fallen on hard times in Iowa and after he graduated from high school, the entire family moved to Los Angeles, California. A cousin offered to pay $40.00 each month for him to attend Stanford University. For extra money, Bliven, who had won prizes for writing in Emmetsburg, found a job as the campus correspondent on the San Francisco Bulletin. When he graduated in 1911, he moved to Los Angeles and began to write advertising copy for local businesses as well as teaching at the University of Southern California. In 1914 he became the director of USC's department of journalism. He continued working as the Southern California correspondent for a number of trade magazines including Printer's Ink. After attending an advertising convention where he met the publishers of Printer's Ink, he was invited to move East and join the staff as assistant managing editor. From there he moved to the New York Globe where he was the managing editor. In 1923, he moved to the The New Republic. Bliven became editor-in-chief in 1930, a position that he held until a heart attack forced his retirement in 1953.

Bruce Bliven freelanced articles for Harpers, Atlantic Monthly, American Heritage and other publications, along with writing books such as Preview for Tomorrow, The World Changers, Men Who Made the Future, and his autobiography Five Million Words Later. Bliven died on May 27, 1977, following a fall at his home.