David Klass is an American

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

. He has written more than 40

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

s for Hollywood studios and published 14

young adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

. His screenplays are primarily character-based thrillers for adults, while his novels often tell the stories of teenagers in crisis.

Biography

Klass was born in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

and raised in

Leonia, New Jersey Leonia is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 8,937,Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

and the brother of Dr.

Perri Klass Perri Klass (born 1958) is an American pediatrician and writer who has published extensively about her medical training and pediatric practice. Among her subjects have been the issues of women in medicine, relationships between doctors and patient ...

, a pediatrician, author, educator, and a contributing columnist for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. His uncle was science fiction author Philip Klass, who wrote under the name

William Tenn William Tenn was the pseudonym of Philip Klass (May 9, 1920 – February 7, 2010), a British-born American science fiction author, notable for many stories with satirical elements. Biography Born to a Jewish family in London, Phillip Klass mo ...

. Klass attended

Leonia High School Leonia High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grade from the Borough of Leonia in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Leonia Public Schools. Students ...

. He received his BA in History from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1982 and later graduated from

USC School of Cinema-Television The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) houses seven academic divisions: Film & Television Production; Cinema & Media Studies; John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts; John Wells Division of Writing for Sc ...

(1989). Klass lives in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

with his wife, Giselle Benatar, and their two children.David Klass - Profile
''

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

''.

Novels

Klass’s writing career began with the novel ''The Atami Dragons'', inspired by his experiences as an English teacher in Japan. His 1994 book ''California Blue'' gathered very positive reviews for its quiet yet compelling treatment of environmental issues. In 2001 Klass published '' You don’t know me'', which uses an edgy first-person narrative to tell the story of a teenage boy’s life with an abusive stepfather-to-be. The book has been published in 18 languages, was named an ALA Best Book For Young Adults, and continues to be popular with young adult audiences in the United States and internationally. ''Firestorm'' is the first book of the Caretaker Trilogy, a series of science fiction thrillers with an ecological theme. ''Firestorm'' was the first book ever endorsed by

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

''Variety'' article
/ref> and was praised by critics for its combination of entertainment value and environmental message, garnering an American Library Association (ALA) Best Book citation, a starred review from ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'', and a favorable review by ''The New York Times Book Review''. The story focuses on Jack Danielson, a teenager sent back from the future to save the world’s oceans. ''Whirlwind'', the second book in the Caretaker Trilogy, tells the story of Jack’s efforts to save the Amazon rain forest; published in March 2008 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. The third book in the trilogy is ''Timelock'', published in fall 2009. ''Firestorm'' has been optioned by Warner Bros. and the production company Thunder Road. A screenplay for the movie version is now in active development. ''Out of Time'' is an adult novel about a talented young FBI agent in pursuit of an ecoterrorist.

Screenplays

Klass has also written more than 40 Hollywood screenplays, including the adaptation of

James Patterson James Brendan Patterson (born March 22, 1947) is an American author. Among his works are the ''Alex Cross'', '' Michael Bennett'', '' Women's Murder Club'', ''Maximum Ride'', '' Daniel X'', '' NYPD Red'', '' Witch & Wizard'', and ''Private'' se ...

's '' Kiss the Girls'' for the movie version starring

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...

and

Ashley Judd Ashley Judd (born Ashley Tyler Ciminella; April 19, 1968) is an American actress. She grew up in a family of performing artists: she is the daughter of the late country music singer Naomi Judd and the half-sister of country music singer Wynonna ...

. His most recent produced screenplay was the remake of '' Walking Tall'' starring The Rock. Klass wrote the screenplay for the thriller '' Desperate Measures'' starring

Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles, including Jack Butler in ''Mr. Mom'' (1983), Betelgeuse in ''Beetlejuice'' ( ...

and

Andy García Andrés Arturo García Menéndez (born April 12, 1956), known professionally as Andy García, is a Cuban-born American actor, director and musician. He first rose to prominence acting in Brian De Palma's ''The Untouchables'' (1987) alongside ...

, which was based on his original idea. With his sister, playwright and Truman Scholar

Judy Klass Judy is a short form of the name Judith. Judy may refer to: Places * Judy, Kentucky, village in Montgomery County, United States * Judy Woods, woodlands in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom Animals * Judy (dog) (1936–1950), ...

, he adapted

Julia Alvarez Julia Alvarez (born March 27, 1950) is an American New Formalist poet, novelist, and essayist. She rose to prominence with the novels ''How the García Girls Lost Their Accents'' (1991), '' In the Time of the Butterflies'' (1994), and ''Yo!'' ...

's novel ''

In the Time of the Butterflies ''In the Time of the Butterflies'' is a historical fiction novel by Julia Alvarez, relating a fictionalized account of the Mirabal sisters during the time of the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. The book is written in the firs ...

'' into the 2001 movie starring

Salma Hayek Salma Hayek Pinault ( , ; born Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez; September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well as the ...

and

Edward James Olmos Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an American actor, director, producer, and activist. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo in ''Miami Vice'' (1984–1989), ''American Me'' (1992) (which he also dir ...

.''In the Time of the Butterflies'' at IMDB

Bibliography

* ''The Atami Dragons'' (1984) * ''Breakaway Run'' (1987) * ''Different Season'' (1988) * ''Wrestling With Honor'' (1989) * ''Night of the Tyger'' (1990) * ''Samurai, Inc.'' (1992) * ''California Blue'' (1994) * ''Danger Zone''(1996) * ''Screen Test'' (1997) * ''Desperate Measures'' (1998) (with Robert Tine) * '' You Don't Know Me'' (2001) * ''Home of the Braves'' (2002) * ''Dark Angel'' (2005) * '' The Caretaker Trilogy'' :#''Firestorm'' (2006) :#''Whirlwind'' (2008) :#''Timelock'' (2009) * ''Stuck on Earth'' (2010) * ''Second Impact'' (2013), with Perri Klass * ''Grandmaster'' (2014) *''Losers Take All'' (2015) *''Out of Time'' (July 7, 2020)

Filmography

*'' Kiss the Girls'' (1997) *'' Desperate Measures'' (1998) *''Runaway Virus'' (2000) *''

'' (2001) *'' Walking Tall'' (2004)

References

17. Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal, July 11, 2020

External links

*
David Klass' Myspace page David Klass: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klass, David Living people American writers of young adult literature 20th-century American novelists American male screenwriters Yale University alumni 21st-century American novelists American male novelists Leonia High School alumni People from Leonia, New Jersey 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Film directors from New Jersey Screenwriters from New Jersey Year of birth missing (living people)