David Schickler

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David Schickler (born July 30, 1969 in Rochester, New York) is an American author who has published two books, Kissing in Manhattan and Sweet and Vicious. Heavily influenced as a child by the Bible and Edith Hamilton's Mythology,^[1] Schickler graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in Foreign Service in 1991 and from Columbia University in 1995. Schickler began working as a private school teacher at The Harley School in Rochester, New York in 1994 and wrote in his spare time; he completed two novels during this period, but was faced with repeated rejection from publishers.^[1]

In June 2000, The New Yorker published his short story "The Smoker" in their debut fiction issue and, Schickler said, "my career took off all in one very exciting week."^[1] On the strength of "The Smoker," Schickler received a 2-book deal with The Dial Press and Paramount Pictures bought the story's film rights, planning to develop it as a vehicle for Natalie Portman;^[2] the author was able to quit teaching and devote his efforts to writing full-time. In 2001, he published Kissing in Manhattan, a "well-received" short story collection that featured "The Smoker,"^[3] followed by his first novel, Sweet and Vicious, in 2004.