Andrew Klavan (; born July 13, 1954) is an American novelist and

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

political commentator. He has also worked in film and as an essayist and video satirist. He is also known for being a political commentator and hosts ''The Andrew Klavan Show''

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

on the conservative site ''

The Daily Wire The Daily Wire is an American conservative media company founded in 2015 by political commentator Ben Shapiro and film director Jeremy Boreing. The company is a major publisher on Facebook, and produces podcasts such as ''The Ben Shapiro S ...

''.

Early life and education

Klavan was born to a secular

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and grew up in

Great Neck Great Neck is a region contained within Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, which covers a peninsula on the North Shore and includes nine incorporated villages, among them Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kings Poin ...

, Long Island as one of four sons born to father

Gene Klavan Eugene Kantor Klavan (May 4, 1924 – April 8, 2004) was an American disc-jockey, columnist and author. Early years Klavan was born in Baltimore, Maryland and attended Baltimore City College (high school). His radio career began with brief stints ...

, a New York

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

, and mother Phyllis, a homemaker. He graduated from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

with a degree in English Literature. He worked as a radio and newspaper reporter and a radio news writer before becoming a full-time writer.

Career

Klavan began his crime-writing career using the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Keith Peterson. Under that name he wrote The John Wells book series, a mystery series about a crime-solving newspaper reporter, and ''The Scarred Man'', his first novel of psychological suspense. Under his own name, Klavan has written crime novels, and the ''Homelanders'' series for young adults. His novels have been translated around the world. He has won two

Edgar Awards The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor ...

from the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the E ...

, the Thumping Good Read Award from W.H. Smith, and been nominated for

Anthony Awards The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America. Categori ...

and the

International Thriller Writers award The International Thriller Writers Awards are awarded by International Thriller Writers at the annual Thrillerfest conferences for outstanding work in the field since 2006. Award winners References {{Reflist External linksInternational Thrill ...

. ''

True Crime True crime is a genre of non-fiction work in which an author examines a crime, including detailing the actions of people associated with and affected by the crime, and investigating the perpetrator's Motive (law), motives. True crime works often ...

'' was filmed by

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

in 1999. '' Don’t Say a Word'' was filmed starring

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the ...

in 2001. Donald Cammell's 1987 ''

White of the Eye ''White of the Eye'' is a 1987 British horror-thriller film directed by Donald Cammell, starring David Keith and Cathy Moriarty. It was adapted by Cammell and his wife China Kong from the 1983 novel ''Mrs. White'', written by Margaret Tracy ( ...

'' was based on the novel ''Mrs. White'', which Klavan co-wrote under the pseudonym Margaret Tracy with his brother, playwright Laurence Klavan. Andrew wrote the screenplay for the 1990

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

film '' Shock to the System'', based on the novel by

Simon Brett Simon Anthony Lee Brett Order of the British Empire, OBE Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, FRSL (born 28 October 1945 in Worcester Park, Surrey, England) is a British author of detective fiction, a playwright, and a producer-writer for ...

, and for the 2008 horror film ''

One Missed Call One Missed Call may refer to: * One Missed Call (2003 film), ''One Missed Call'' (2003 film), a Japanese horror film, followed by two sequels * One Missed Call (2008 film), ''One Missed Call'' (2008 film), an American remake of the Japanese film * ...

'', which starred

Shannyn Sossamon Shannon Marie Kahololani "Shannyn" Sossamon (born October 3, 1978) is an American actress. She has appeared in the films ''A Knight's Tale (film), A Knight's Tale'' (2001), ''40 Days and 40 Nights'' (2002), ''The Rules of Attraction (film), The R ...

and

Ed Burns Edward P. Burns (born January 29, 1946) is an American screenwriter and television producer. He has worked closely with writing partner David Simon. For HBO, they have collaborated on '' The Corner,'' ''The Wire,'' ''Generation Kill'', ''The ...

. He also wrote the screenplay for the movie-in-an-app ''Haunting Melissa'' and its sequel, ''Haunting Melissa 2: Dark Hearts''. He scripted the 2018 film '' Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer'', a crime film based the Kermit Gosnell trial. Klavan has produced several satirical online video series including ''Klavan on the Culture'' for PJ Media, ''The Revolting Truth'' for ''TruthRevolt'', and ''A Very Serious Commentary'' for

Glenn Beck Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...

Blaze Media Blaze Media is an American conservative media company. It was founded in 2018 as a result of a merger between TheBlaze and CRTV LLC. The company's leadership consists of CEO Tyler Cardon and president Gaston Mooney. It is based in Irving, T ...

. He currently does a weekly podcast for the ''Daily Wire'' called the ''Andrew Klavan Show''. ''The Great Good Thing: A Secular Jew Comes to Faith in Christ'', Klavan's first non-fiction book, was published in 2016. It is a memoir of his spiritual journey from secular Judaism and agnosticism to Christianity. Klavan's 36th novel, “When Christmas comes”, was published in 2021 and features themes of Christmas, tradition, and murder. It is a thriller novel situated in an idyllic town.

Political views

After graduating from Berkeley, Klavan began his writing career as a liberal. He became a

during the

Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following his landslide victory over ...

. He has both praised and criticized US president

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. Klavan supports

gun rights The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a legal right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, as well as ...

and

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

Books

Standalone books

* ''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 Trapdoor'' (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 Identity Man'' (2010) * ''Crazy Dangerous'' (2012) * ''If We Survive'' (2012) * ''Nightmare City'' (2013) * ''A Killer in the Wind'' (2013) * ''Werewolf Cop'' (2016) * ''The Great Good Thing: A Secular Jew Comes to Faith in Christ'' (2016) * ''The Truth and Beauty'' (2022) * ''The Kingdom of Cain: Finding God in the Literature of Darkness'' (2025)

''The Homelanders'' series

* ''The Homelanders: The Last Thing I Remember'' (2009) * ''The Homelanders: The Long Way Home'' (2010) * ''The Homelanders: The Truth of the Matter'' (2010) * ''The Homelanders: The Final Hour'' (2011)

The ''Mindwar'' trilogy

* ''Mindwar'' (2014) * ''Hostage Run'' (2016) * ''Game Over'' (2016)

The ''Another Kingdom'' trilogy

* ''Another Kingdom'' (2019) * ''The Nightmare Feast'' (2020) * ''The Emperor's Sword'' (2021)

The ''Cameron Winter'' Series

* ''When Christmas Comes'' (2021) * ''A Strange Habit Of Mind'' (2022) * ''The House of Love and Death'' (2023) * ''A Woman Underground'' (2024)

Audio plays

* ''Another Kingdom'': Season 1 (2017) * ''Another Kingdom'': Season 2 (2018) * ''Another Kingdom'': Season 3 (2019)

Filmography

Accolades

Klavan's book ''Mrs. White'', which he wrote under the pen-name Margaret Tracy, won the 1984

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

for Best Paperback Original. In 1989, his novel ''Trapdoor'' was nominated in the Best Paperback Original category. In 1990, he won the Edgar Award in the Best Paperback Original category for ''The Rain'', as well as a nomination at the 1990 Anthony Awards for ''Rough Justice'' in the paperback category. Klavan was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best Novel in 1992 for his first novel, ''Don't Say a Word''. He received an

nomination at the 1996 ceremony for ''True Crime'' in the Best Novel category.

Personal life

In 1980, he married Ellen Flanagan, daughter of Thomas Flanagan and sister of

Caitlin Flanagan Caitlin Flanagan (born November 14, 1961) is an American writer and social critic. A contributor to ''The Atlantic'' since February 2001, she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2019. Her 2004 piece for ''The New Yorker'' was ...

. They have two children and live in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. Klavan converted to Christianity at the age of 49 and was baptized privately. Initially he attended the Episcopal Church, but has since left for the Anglican Catholic Church.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Klavan, Andrew Living people 1954 births 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male bloggers American bloggers American male novelists American male screenwriters Converts to Anglicanism from atheism or agnosticism American Anglican Church in North America members Edgar Award winners Jewish American novelists Jewish American screenwriters Jewish YouTubers Male critics of feminism Novelists from New York City Haas School of Business alumni The Daily Wire people Manhattan Institute for Policy Research Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American male writers YouTubers from New York City