Gary Michael Krist (born 1957) is an American writer of fiction, nonfiction, travel journalism, and literary criticism. Before turning to narrative nonfiction with ''The White Cascade'' (2007), a book about the 1910

Wellington avalanche Wellington (later known as Tye) was a small unincorporated railroad community in the northwest United States, on the Great Northern Railway in northeastern King County, Washington. Founded in 1893, it was located in the Cascade Range at the we ...

, '' City of Scoundrels'' (2012), about Chicago's tragic summer of 1919, and '' Empire of Sin'' (2014), about the reform wars in turn-of-the-century New Orleans, Krist wrote three

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 ...

--''Bad Chemistry'' (1998), ''Chaos Theory'' (2000), and ''Extravagance'' (2002). He has also written two short story collections--''The Garden State'' (1988) and ''Bone by Bone'' (1994). His latest book is ''The Mirage Factory: Illusion, Imagination, and the Invention of Los Angeles'' (2018).

Career

He has been a frequent book reviewer for ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'', ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

'', and ''

The Washington Post Book World ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''. His satire pieces have appeared in ''

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 ...

'', ''The Washington Post'' Outlook section, and ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...

'', and his stories, articles, and travel pieces have been featured in '' National Geographic Traveler'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', '' GQ'', ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'', ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...

'', and ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'', and on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

Selected Shorts Selected Shorts is an event at New York's Symphony Space on the Upper West Side, in which screen and stage actors read classic and new short fiction before a live audience. The stage show began in 1985 and continues today at Symphony Space's Pete ...

. His short stories have also been anthologized in such collections as ''Men Seeking Women'', ''Writers' Harvest 2'', and ''

Best American Mystery Stories ''The Best American Mystery and Suspense'' is an annual anthology of North American mystery and thriller stories. Part of ''The Best American Series'' since 1997, it is published by Empire Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. Prior to 2021, its ti ...

''. He has been the recipient of The Stephen Crane Award, the

Sue Kaufman Prize The Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction is awarded by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The $5,000 prize is given for the best published first novel or collection of short stories in the preceding year. It was established in 1979 in memory ...

from The American Academy of Arts and Letters, a

Lowell Thomas Lowell Jackson Thomas (April 6, 1892 – August 29, 1981) was an American writer, actor, broadcaster, and traveler, best remembered for publicising T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). He was also involved in promoting the Cinerama widescreen ...

Gold Medal for Travel Journalism, and a fellowship from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

. "Empire of Sin" was named one of the top ten books of 2014 by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' and ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

''. Krist has been awarded a 2020-2021 Public Scholar grant from the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

to support the research for his next book, about the early history of San Francisco.

Life

Born in

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, Krist is a graduate of

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

. In 1979–80, he studied literature at the Universitaet Konstanz (Germany) on a

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

. The author has been profiled in ''The New York Times Book Review'' (November 6, 1988) and the Style section of ''The Washington Post'' (February 25, 2007). Krist and his wife live in

Bibliography

;Novels and story collections *''The Garden State'' New York : Vintage Books, 1988. , *''Bone by Bone'' New York Harcourt Brace, 1994. , *''Bad Chemistry'' New York: Random House, 1998. , *''Chaos Theory'' New York : Jove Books, 2001. , *''Extravagance'' New York : Broadway Books, 2002. , ;Nonfiction *''The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America's Deadliest Avalanche'' New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2007. , *''City of Scoundrels: The 12 Days of Disaster that Gave Birth to Modern Chicago'' New York: Broadway Books, 2012. , *'' Empire of Sin: A Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder, and the Battle for Modern New Orleans'' New York: Broadway Books, 2014. *''The Mirage Factory: Illusion, Imagination, and the Invention of Los Angeles'' New York: Crown Publishers, 2018. ,

External links

Gary Krist's website

The White Cascade website

Interview with Gary Krist about 'The White Cascade'

NPR Interview with Gary Krist about 'City of Scoundrels'

Dining With Strangers interview with Gary Krist about 'Empire of Sin' 1957 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male journalists American literary critics American male novelists American travel writers People from Bethesda, Maryland Writers from Jersey City, New Jersey Princeton University alumni Novelists from Maryland American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from New Jersey 21st-century American non-fiction writers {{US-novelist-1950s-stub