John Connolly (author)
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John Connolly (born May 31, 1968, Dublin) is an Irish crime writer who is best known for his series of novels starring private detective Charlie Parker. His first novel, Every Dead Thing, was met with critical acclaim; it was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel and went on to win the 2000 Shamus Award for Best First Private Eye Novel (he is the first author outside of the US to have won that award). Connolly’s debut introduced readers to the anti-hero Charlie Parker, a former police officer hunting the killer of his wife and daughter. Connolly has since gone on to publish a further 4 books in the popular Parker series, a non-Parker thriller, an anthology of ghost stories and most recently, a genre-defying novel featuring a 12 year-old boy's coming-of-age journey through a fantasy realm during World War II England. He is based in his native city of Dublin but also spends much of his time in the United States, where all of his novels have been set.
Connolly has previously worked as a journalist, a barman, a local government official, a waiter and a gofer at a Harrods department store in London. After graduating with a B.A. in English from Trinity College, Dublin and a M.A. in Journalism from Dublin City University, he spent five years working as a freelance journalist for The Irish Times newspaper. He quickly became frustrated with the profession, and began to write Every Dead Thing during his spare time. Connolly continues to contribute articles to the paper, most notable of which have been a series of interviews with other established authors.
Although Connolly’s novels fall under the crime genre, his stories have become increasingly tinged with supernatural overtones. In the latest Parker book, The Black Angel, Parker is haunted by the ghosts of his murdered wife and daughter (whether real or imagined), while his search for a missing New York prostitute is linked to the myth of the Fallen Angels. The setting of Maine in each of his novels, coupled with the combination of suspense and the paranormal, have invited comparisons to the works of Stephen King, although the two authors employ very different styles. Connolly was drawn to the tradition of American crime fiction, because it seemed the best medium though which he could explore the issues of compassion, morality, reparation and salvation. He credits veteran authors Ross Macdonald, James Lee Burke and Ed McBain as major sources of influence, and is often praised for writing in a rich and introspective style of prose rarely exhibited by other authors within the genre.
He is an avid reader and music collector, and also cites cooking and going to the gym as pastimes.
Connolly has submitted his latest instalment in the Charlie Parker Series, The Unquiet, for publication, and is currently working on the next instalment in the Charlie Parker series, The Reapers. He began contributing to a weekly online blog in January 2006, which can be read on his official website and Amazon.com's AmazonConnect author feature.
[edit] Bibliography
1999 Every Dead Thing, 1st Parker novel.
2000 Dark Hollow, 2nd Parker novel.
2001 The Killing Kind, 3rd Parker novel.
2002 The White Road, 4th Parker novel.
2003 Bad Men, Connolly’s first stand-alone crime novel.
2004 Like A Charm: A Novel In Voices, an anthology of short stories from 15 mystery writers, to which Connolly contributed "The Inkpot Monkey" (also featured in Nocturnes.) Edited by Karin Slaughter.
2004 Nocturnes, a collection of supernatural tales book-ended by two novellas, 9 of which are transcripts of stories written for presentation on BBC’s Radio Four.
2005 Dangerous Women, an anthology of short stories from 17 top-selling crime writers, to which Connolly contributed "Mr. Gray’s Folly". Edited by Otto Penzler.
2005 Moments: Short Stories by Irish Women Writers in Aid of the Victims of the Tsunami, to which Connolly contributed "The Cycle", under the pseudonym Laura Froom (named after the title character in "Miss Froom, Vampire", a story featured in Nocturnes.) Edited by Ciara Considine.
2005 The Black Angel, 5th Parker novel. US editions were accompanied by a soundtrack to his novels, featuring artists such as Kate Bush, Lambchop, The Go-Betweens and The Red House Painters.
2006 The Book Of Lost Things, Connolly’s first non-mystery novel.
2007 The Unquiet, Connolly’s 6th Parker novel, set to be published in May.
2008 The Reapers, Connolly's 7th Parker novel (announced in his forum)
[edit] Awards
Nominee: 1999 Bram Stoker Award (First Novel), for Every Dead Thing
Nominee: 2000 Barry Award (Best British Crime Novel), for Every Dead Thing
Winner: 2000 Shamus Award (Best First P.I. Novel), for Every Dead Thing
Nominee: 2001 Barry Award (Best British Crime Novel), for Dark Hollow
Nominee: 2002 Barry Award (Best British Crime Novel), for The Killing Kind
Winner: 2003 Barry Award (Best British Crime Novel), for The White Road
Nominee: 2005 CWA Short Story Dagger Award, for "Miss Froom, Vampire"
Nominee (winner unannounced): 2007 Irish Novel of the Year, for The Book of Lost Things
