Jason Starr (born 1966) is an
American author
American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition thus is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also inc ...
,
comic book writer
A script is a document describing the narrative and dialogue of a comic book in detail. It is the comic book equivalent of a television program teleplay or a film screenplay.
In comics, a script may be preceded by a plot outline, and is almost ...
, and
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.
...
from
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 ...
. Starr has written numerous
crime fiction
Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...
novels and
thrillers
Thriller is a genre of fiction, having numerous, often overlapping subgenres. Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety. Suc ...
.
Starr's ''Tough Luck'', a novel published in 2003, was a
Barry Award Winner for Best Paperback Original and was a nominee at the
2004 Anthony Awards for Best Paperback Original.
''
Twisted City'' won the award for Best Paperback Original at the
2005 Anthony Awards.
Furthermore, in 2011, ''The Chill'' won the first ever
Anthony Award
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 (1911β1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America. Among the m ...
for Best Graphic Novel.
Starr is part of a literary circle that includes
Ken Bruen
Ken Bruen (born 1951) is an Irish writer of hard-boiled and noir crime fiction.
Biography Education and teaching career
Born in Galway, he was educated at Gormanston College, County Meath and later at Trinity College Dublin, where he earned a ...
,
Daniel Woodrell,
Wallace Stroby,
Alan Glynn
Alan Glynn is an Irish writer born in 1960 in Dublin.
Glynn studied English literature at Trinity College Dublin.
Awards and honours
*2011 Irish Book Award, Crime Fiction category, ''Bloodland''
Works
Novels
* ''The Dark Fields'' (200 ...
,
Ed Brubaker
Ed Brubaker (; born November 17, 1966) is an American comic book writer, cartoonist and screenwriter who works primarily in the crime fiction genre. He began his career with the semi-autobiographical series '' Lowlife'' and a number of serials i ...
,
Lee Child
James Dover Grant (born 29 October 1954), primarily known by his pen name Lee Child, is a British author who writes thriller novels, and is best known for his ''Jack Reacher'' novel series. The books follow the adventures of a former American ...
,
Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author, screenwriter, short-story writer, and director. Ellis was first regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack and is a self-proclaimed satirist whose trademark technique, as a w ...
,
Megan Abbott
Megan Abbott (born August 21, 1971) is an American author of crime fiction and of non-fiction analyses of hardboiled crime fiction. Her novels and short stories have drawn from and re-worked classic subgenres of crime writing from a female perspec ...
,
Brian Azzarello
Brian Azzarello (born August 11, 1962 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American comic book writer and screenwriter who first came to prominence with the hardboiled crime series ''100 Bullets'', published by DC Comics' mature-audience imprint Vertigo. ...
, and Alison Gaylin.
Biography
Jason Starr was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Growing up, he enjoyed sports such as baseball, tennis, and horse racing, but didn't have much interest in literature. He attended
Midwood High School
Midwood High School is a high school located at 2839 Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, New York City, administered by the New York City Department of Education. It has an enrollment of 3,938 students. Its H-shaped building, with six Ionic order, Ionic co ...
in Brooklyn.
[https://midwoodargus.org/2016/11/30/dystopian-novel-explores-gruesome-teen-journey/] He began writing plays and fiction in college at
Binghamton University
The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university with campuses in Binghamton, New York, Binghamton, Vestal, New York, Vestal, and Johnson City, New Yor ...
. Starr is known for his satirical urban crime novels, set mainly in the New York City area. When asked why (until ''The Pack'') he wrote standalone novels and didn't rely on a series character he said, "New York City is my series character."
In the 1990s, Starr had several plays performed at Off-Off Broadway theater companies in New York. In 1997, Starr's first crime novel, ''Cold Caller'', was published by No Exit Press in the U.K. In 1998, upon its American publication by W.W. Norton, Cold Caller was selected as a Publishers Weekly First Fiction pick and was hailed by Kirkus Reviews as "just the thing for fans who miss the acid noir that Jim Thompson dispensed in The Grifters." The French edition of ''Cold Caller'' was selected as the official gift of the prestigious 813 book group. In the critical work ''Twentieth Century Crime Fiction'', (Oxford University Press, 2005), author Lee Horsley selected ''Cold Caller'' as one of the basic texts for discussion.
Starr's second novel, ''Nothing Personal'', about a compulsive gambler who hatches a sick kidnapping plot to pay off debts, was hailed as the best novel of the year by Bookends. Starr's third novel, ''Fake I.D.'', concerns a bouncer's desperate attempts to join a horse-owning syndicate. His fourth novel, ''Hard Feelings'', about a computer networking salesman, trying to do deal with a horror from his past, was a "Penzler Pick" and the first ever original novel published by the prestigious American publisher, Vintage Crime/Black Lizard.
''Tough Luck'', Starr's fifth novel, about a young guy in Brooklyn who gets in deep with a mob figure, was an Anthony Award finalist and won the Barry Award for best paperback. Starr's sixth novel, ''Twisted City'', about the devastating consequences a financial journalist faces when he attempts to recover a stolen wallet, was a Barry Award finalist and an Anthony Award winner. In 2006, Starr's novel ''Lights Out'', a tale of jealousy and murder set in Brooklyn, was first published by St. Martin's Press in the U.S. and Orion in the U.K. It was hailed as one of the best crime novels of the year by Barnes and Noble.com and Bookreporter.com. That same year, Vintage Books published a collection of stories and essays on horse racing called ''Bloodlines: A Horse Racing Anthology'', which Starr co-edited with Maggie Estep.
In 2007, Starr's thriller ''The Follower'', called "this generation's
Looking for Mr. Goodbar" by the
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
, was first published by St. Martin's Press and Orion Books. TV/Film rights for The Follower were purchased by Lionsgate with
Bret Easton Ells attached as writer. Also in 2007, Hard Case Crime published ''Slide'', a second novel co-authored by Starr and Ken Bruen. In 2008, Hard Case published Starr and Bruen's third novel in the series, ''The Max''. The fourth novel in the series, ''PIMP'', was published in 2016.
''Panic Attack'', Starr's thriller about the aftermath of a shooting in suburban New York City, was published in 2009 by St. Martin's Press. The German/
Diogenes Verlag
The Diogenes Verlag (short: Diogenes) is a Swiss publisher in Zurich, founded in 1952 by , with a focus on literature, plays and cartoons. It has been managed since 2012 by the founder's son, Philipp Keel.
History
Daniel Keel, who founded the ...
edition (Panik) was a major bestseller in Austria. It was optioned by
David Fincher
David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. Fin ...
's production company Panic Pictures with Ocean's Eleven scribe Ted Griffin adapting.
In 2010, Starr's first graphic novel, ''The Chill'', was published by Vertigo Crime, with art by Mick Bertilorenzi. Starr also wrote many comics for DC Comics (''
Justice, Inc.
"Justice, Inc." is the first pulp magazine story to feature The Avenger. Written by Paul Ernst, it was published in the September 1, 1939 issue of ''The Avenger'' magazine.
Publishing history
This novel was re-published under its original ti ...
''). In 2011, ''The Chill'' won the Anthony Award for Best Graphic Novel, making Starr one of only nine writers who have won multiple Anthony Awards.
In 2011, Penguin/Ace published Starr's ''The Pack'', the first book in a new modern day werewolf series set mainly in the New York City area. The second book in the series, ''The Craving'', was published by Penguin in June 2012.
In 2016, Starr's psychological thriller, ''Savage Lane'' was published by
Polis Books. Savage Lane was also published in foreign editions, including the U.K. edition by
No Exit Press
No (and variant writings) may refer to one of these articles:
English language
* ''Yes'' and ''no'' (responses)
* A determiner in noun phrases
Alphanumeric symbols
* No (kana), a letter/syllable in Japanese script
* No symbol, displayed π ...
and the German edition, ''Phantasien'', by
Diogenes Verlag
The Diogenes Verlag (short: Diogenes) is a Swiss publisher in Zurich, founded in 1952 by , with a focus on literature, plays and cartoons. It has been managed since 2012 by the founder's son, Philipp Keel.
History
Daniel Keel, who founded the ...
.
In 2018, Oceanview Publishing published Starrβs thriller, ''Fugitive Red''.
Starr has collaborated several times with Irish crime writer,
Ken Bruen
Ken Bruen (born 1951) is an Irish writer of hard-boiled and noir crime fiction.
Biography Education and teaching career
Born in Galway, he was educated at Gormanston College, County Meath and later at Trinity College Dublin, where he earned a ...
. In 2006, the heralded American pulp publisher
Hard Case Crime
Hard Case Crime is an American imprint of hardboiled crime novels founded in 2004 by Charles Ardai (also the founder of the Internet service Juno Online Services) and Max Phillips. The series recreates, in editorial form and content, the flavor o ...
, published ''Bust''. (Bust was an IMBA bestseller). In 2007, Hard Case Crime published ''Slide'', a second novel co-authored by Starr and Bruen. In 2008, Hard Case published Starr and Bruen's third novel in the series, ''The Max''. The fourth novel in the series, ''PIMP'', was published in 2016. The series became known as "The Bust Quartet."
Starr has also become a prolific writer of comics and graphic novels, writing original works such as ''The Chill'', as well as working on iconic characters such as Batman, Doc Savage, The Avenger, The Sandman for DC Comics and The Punisher and Wolverine Marvel Comics. The Chill won the 2011 Anthony Award for Best Graphic Novel. In October, 2012 Marvel launched its new ongoing series Wolverine Max, written by Starr with art by Roland Boschi. Starr's original comic The Returning launches from Boom Comics in March, 2014, with art by Andrea Mutti (The Executor, Star Wars, Noir).
For Marvel and DC related properties, Starr has written bestselling tie-in novels. Starr's ''Ant-Man: Natural Enemy'' was published in 2015 in conjunction with the hit movie: ''Ant-Man''. Starr's novel ''Gotham: Dawn of Darkness'', a prequel to the hit
FOX
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
TV show ''Gotham'' was published in January, 2017.
Starr later wrote another tie-in novel for ''Gotham'' entitled ''City of Monsters'' serving to bridge a gap between season 2 and 3 of the show.
Starr's work has been published in nine languages, including in Germany by Diogenes Verlag. ''Top Job'' (the German edition of ''Cold Caller'') was adapted as an hour-long radio drama by Deutschland Radio. In 2006 a hardcover edition of ''Top Job'' was published as part of a popular series of crime novels (SZ Krimibibliothek) by SΓΌddeutsche Zeitung.
Bibliography
Novels
* 1998 β ''Cold Caller'' β
* 2000 β ''Nothing Personal'' β
* 2000 β ''Fake I.D.'' β
* 2002 β ''Hard Feelings'' β
* 2003 β ''Tough Luck'' β
(finalist
2004 Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original)
* 2004 β ''
Twisted City'' β
(winner
2005 Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original)
* 2006 β ''Lights Out'' β
* 2007 β ''The Follower'' β
* 2009 β ''Panic Attack'' β
* 2011 β ''The Pack'' β
* 2012 β ''The Craving'' β
* 2015 β ''Savage Lane''
* 2018 β ''Fugitive Red'' (UK title ''Too Far)
* 2022 β ''The Next Time I Die''
Film and TV Tie-In Novels
* 2015 β ''Ant-Man: Natural Enemy'' β
* 2017 β ''Gotham: Dawn of Darkness''
* 2018 - ''Gotham: City of Monsters''
Novels (co-written with Ken Bruen)
* 2006 β ''Bust'' β
* 2007 β ''Slide'' β
(finalist
2008 Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original)
* 2008 β ''The Max'' β
* 2016 β ''Pimp'' β
Graphic novels
* 2010 β ''The Chill'' β
(winner
2011 Anthony Award for Best Graphic Novel)
* 2015 β ''The Returning'' β
* 2020 β ''Red Border'' β
Comic books
* 2009β2010 β
Justice, Inc.. (in ''
Doc Savage
Doc Savage is a fictional character of the competent man hero type, who first appeared in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. Real name Clark Savage Jr., he is a doctor, scientist, adventurer, detective, and polymath who "rights w ...
'' issues 1β9, DC Comics)
* 2010 β Sand (in ''JSA 80 Page Giant'' issue, DC Comics)
* 2011 β ''First Wave Special #1'' (featuring The Avenger, Doc Savage, Batman; DC Comics)
* 2012 β Punisher Max (''Special'', Marvel Comics)
* 2012β2014 β ''Wolverine Max'' (issues 1β15; Marvel Comics)
* 2014 β ''The Returning'' (Boom Comics)
* 2018 - ''The Range'' in ''Where We Live'' (Image Comics)
* 2020 - ''Red Border'' (AWA / Upshot)
Short-story collections
* 2006 β ''Bloodlines: An Anthology of Horse Racing'' (co-edited with Maggie Estep) β
* 2020 β ''Outlawed Ink''
Film / TV
* 2010 β The Bully (short film) based on the short story by Jason Starr.
* 2020 β Cold Caller adapted by Starr and Clayton Jacobson, based on the novel by Starr, directed by Clayton Jacobson, Triptych Films
* 2020 - Panic Attack adapted by Ted Griffin.
* 2020 - The Follower (TBA), TV
* 2020 - Bust, eONE, TV
References
External links
*
Interview with Jason Starr conducted by Time Out New York in 2007Interview with Jason Starrconducted by Writer Unboxed.
conducted by Cullen Gallagher.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starr, Jason
American male screenwriters
American male novelists
American crime fiction writers
American comics writers
Living people
1966 births
Anthony Award winners
Barry Award winners
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American novelists
Writers from Brooklyn
Binghamton University alumni
Midwood High School alumni
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American male writers
Novelists from New York (state)
Screenwriters from New York (state)