Andrew Klavan - Biography

Andrew Klavan, (born 1954) is an American author and screenwriter of "tough-guy" mysteries and psychological thrillers. Two of Klavan's books have been adapted into motion pictures: True Crime (1999) and Don't Say A Word (2001). He has been nominated for the Edgar Award four times and has won twice. Playwright and novelist Laurence Klavan is his brother.

Early life

Klavan was born in New York City. His father was Gene Klavan, a New York City disk jockey and one-half of the radio show "Klavan and Finch." He grew up on Long Island with his three brothers. He was raised in the Jewish tradition by his parents, but he did not believe in any of the tenets of the faith and later said that he felt "dishonesty" and "shame" pretending to do so. He became an agnostic shortly after his Bar mitzvah. He later converted to Christianity.

He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he met his future wife, Ellen Flanagan. He dropped out of school temporarily to work in local radio news. He then worked as a reporter for a small Putnam County, New York newspaper, as a reader for Columbia Pictures, and as a news writer for both WOR Radio and the ABC Radio Network. At this time, he self-identified as a liberal while opposing some policies, such as Affirmative Action.

Career

Klavan wrote his first novel, Face of the Earth, in 1977. He then moved to Putnam County, New York, where he worked as a reporter for a local newspaper. His experience covering local crime later formed the basis for his novel Corruption.

After Face of the Earth was published, Klavan returned to New York, where he took a series of jobs (as a script reader for Columbia Pictures and a news writer for WOR Radio and ABC Radio Networks) while writing mysteries and freelance book reviews. During this time he wrote The Scarred Man using the pseudonym Keith Peterson. Klavan's book, The Rain, won an Edgar Award for Best Original Paperback.

He also began to write supernatural thrillers, publishing such novels as The Animal Hour, Don't Say A Word — which was also nominated for an Edgar — and Corruption, and wrote the screenplay for the film version of Simon Brett's novel A Shock to the System.

Klavan and his family then moved to London, where he wrote True Crime, and two other novels. After seven years, he moved back to the United States, settling in Santa Barbara, California, where he completed the novel Man and Wife (currently in motion picture development), and wrote his Weiss/Bishop trilogy: Dynamite Road, Shotgun Alley, and Damnation Street.

In 2008, he released a war-on-terror political novel, Empire of Lies. In 2009, he published The Last Thing I Remember, a thriller aimed at young adults.

Klavan has been a regular contributor of short video commentaries under the general title "Klavan on Culture", posted at PJTV.com. He also became a contributor to the center-right social networking and blogging Web site Ricochet.com on May 17, 2010.

Political philosophy

Identifying himself as a conservative, Klavan has expressed the view that "rightists" are the victims of discrimination in Hollywood. In his view, people in the American arts are not fulfilling their inherent role of "speaking truth to power," since they are not willing to criticize those of the Left in power. In July 2008, he likened George W. Bush to Batman in The Dark Knight, starting with their public vilification. The article set off a firestorm of criticism.

Klavan has said,

Bibliography

• Face of the Earth (1977)
• Agnes Mallory (1985)
• Mrs. White (1987) (as Margaret Tracy, with Laurence Klavan)
• There Fell A Shadow (1988) (as Keith Peterson)
• The Rain (1988) (as Keith Peterson)
• Darling Clementine (1988)
• The Trap Door (1988) (as Keith Peterson)
• Son of Man (1988)
• The Scarred Man (1989) (as Keith Peterson)
• Rough Justice (1989) (as Keith Peterson)
• Don't Say a Word (1991)
• The Animal Hour (1992)
• Corruption (1993)
• True Crime (1995)
• Suicide (1995)
• The Uncanny (1998)
• Hunting Down Amanda (1999)
• Man and Wife (2001)
• Dynamite Road (2003)
• Shotgun Alley (2004)
• Damnation Street (2006)
• Empire of Lies (2008)
• The Homelanders: The Last Thing I Remember (2009)
• The Homelanders: The Long Way Home (2010)
• The Homelanders: The Truth of the Matter (2010)
• The Identity Man (2010)
• The Homelanders: The Final Hour (2011)
• Crazy Dangerous (2012)

Filmography

• White of the Eye (film) (1987)
• A Shock to the Call (2008) (Screenplay)

External links

• Klavan, Andrew Crime Time Interview
• Apuzzo, Jason. Liberty Film Festival [1]
• Curtis, Brian. "Do You Fear Me Now?" Slate, February 2006
• Klavan, Andrew. "Clinton Doth Protest Too Much." Los Angeles Times, September 2006