Daniel Hecht

For other uses, see Daniel Hecht (disambiguation).
Daniel Hecht
Born 1950
Mount Kisco, New York, United States
Occupation Novelist, musician, adjunct professor, project coordinator, environmental consultant
Nationality American
Education University of Iowa Writers Workshop, MFA Writing, 1992
Genre Speculative fiction, supernatural fiction, mystery fiction, horror fiction
Notable works The Cree Black Series, The Babel Effect, Puppets
Years active 1997-present
Website
www.danielhecht.com

Daniel Hecht is an American novelist who has written Skull Session (1997), The Babel Effect (2000), Puppets (2001), and is also known for the Cree Black series which contains City of Masks (2002), Land of Echoes (2004), and Bones of the Barbary Coast (2006). His novels have been published in 12 languages and 75 editions throughout the world, including best-sellers in the United States, England, Holland, and Israel.

Early life

Born into an artists' community in Croton Falls, New York, Daniel Hecht has lived in New York, the Philippines, Wisconsin, Washington DC, Virginia, Illinois, California and Vermont. His early exposure to the fine arts led to a lifelong interest and professional activities in visual arts, sculpture, musical instrument building, musical composition and performance, and fiction writing.

Musical career

Hecht began playing classical guitar in 1965, studying under John Mavreas at the North Shore Conservatory in Winnetka, Illinois, and James Yoghourtjian at the Wisconsin College Conservatory. After studying music theory and composition at the University of Wisconsin, he played acoustic 6 and 12 string guitar and published three records: "Guitar" (1973), "Fireheart-Fireriver" (1977), released on Dragon's Egg Records, and "Willow" (1980), released on Windham Hill. “Willow” was also released on many record labels in Europe, and Hecht’s individual compositions appear on many compilation albums and videos. He performed over 300 concerts throughout the United States, Europe, and China, both solo and with other musicians including Alex deGrassi, Michael Hedges, George Winston, Jonathan Winter, and John Fahey. Significant venues include Carnegie Recital Hall (1969 and 1982), Great American Music Hall, Shanghai Conservatory, Beijing Conservatory, Faneuil Hall, and others.

Organizational development

Hecht is also an organizational development consultant active in the arts, environmental technology, and social services. He served as board president of the Pyralisk Arts center, in Montpelier, Vermont, from 1990 to 2003;[1] he then served as executive director of Vermont Environmental Consortium (VEC), a statewide association of environmental science and technology firms, educational institutions, public agencies, and non-profit organizations based at Norwich University.[2]

As director of VEC, he was commissioned by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture to produce "The Farm Energy Handbook," which he edited and co-wrote with 20 renewable energy and energy efficiency/conservation experts.[3] He also produced and scripted "The Green Makeover Video," a 45-minute video showing small businesses how to implement energy-efficiency and other green business practices, in collaboration with the Vt. Dept. of Public Service, Vt. Small Business Development Center, Efficiency Vermont, and other partners.[4] His weekly column, "The Green Grapevine," featuring profiles of Vermont green enterprises and current issues and developments in emerging green technologies, ran in five Vermont daily newspapers in 2006 - 2008. <www.timesargus.com<ref>, www.greaterdemocracy.org/archives/date/2008/03</ref>

From 2008 to 2011, he procured funding for and served as project manager for a study of Vermont's potential to produce energy from post-consumer food waste, funded by a $600,000 grant from the U.S. Dept. of Energy. Conducted in partnership with Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District and Vermont Technical College, the study led to the construction in 2013 of a $3.5 million food-waste and manure biodigester sited at Vermont Tech campus.[5] For two years, starting in 2010, he directed Reach Service Exchange Network, a $1 million pilot program, funded by the U.S. Administration on Aging, to deliver services to seniors and people with disabilities through a mutual exchange system.

Post-secondary educational activities

Hecht has taught literature and writing courses at the University of Iowa, Community College of Vermont, and Johnson State College. Since 2010, he has been a faculty member in the Professional Writing Program at Champlain College, in Burlington, Vermont, teaching Advanced Fiction Writing, Grant Writing, and Creative Writing.[6]

External links

References