John Harvey (born 21 December 1938 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

) is a British author of

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, ...

most famous for his series of jazz-influenced Charlie Resnick novels, based in the City of

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

Writing career

Harvey has published over 100 books under various names, and has worked on scripts for TV and radio. He started writing in the 1970s when he produced a variety of pulp fiction including westerns. He also ran Slow Dancer Press from 1977 to 1999 publishing poetry. His own poetry has been published in a number of chapbooks and two collections, "Ghosts of a Chance" and "Bluer Than This", published by Smith/Doorstop. In 2014 Smith/Doorstop published a New & Selected Poems, "Out of Silence". The first Resnick novel, ''Lonely Hearts'', was published in 1989, and was named by

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

as one of the ''100 Greatest Crime Novels of the Century''. Harvey brought the series to an end in 2014 with ''Darkness, Darkness'', which he dramatised for the stage and which was produced at Nottingham Playhouse in 2014. The next series from Harvey was the Frank Elder series. The first novel in that series, '' Flesh and Blood'', won Harvey the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger in 2004, an accolade many crime fiction critics thought long overdue. In 2007 he was awarded the Diamond Dagger for a Lifetime's Contribution to the genre.

Nottingham links

Harvey moved to Nottingham in the 1960s in order to teach English and Drama at Heanor Aldercar Secondary School in South East Derbyshire. Towards the end of the 1960s he left Nottingham to teach first in Andover, Hampshire, and then in Stevenage, Herts, returning to Nottingham to study for an MA in the Department of American Studies at the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

. . On 14 July 2009 he received an honorary degree (Doctor of Letters) from the University of Nottingham in recognition of his literary eminence and his associations with both the university and Nottingham (particularly in the Charlie Resnick novels). He is a

Notts County F.C. Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

fan and honorary member of its supporters club. Since 2016 he has been President of Bromley House Library. He now lives in London.

Bibliography

Standalone novels

*''In A True Light'' (2001) *'' Gone to Ground'' (2007) Shortlisted for Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year Award 2009. *'' Nick's Blues'' (2008 - novella) *''

Far Cry ''Far Cry'' is an anthology franchise of first-person shooter games, all of which have been published by Ubisoft. The first game, '' Far Cry'', was developed by Crytek to premiere their CryEngine software, and released in March 2004. Subsequen ...

'' (2009) *'' A Darker Shade of Blue'' (2010) (a collection of short stories) *''Good Bait'' (2012)

Charlie Resnick series

#''Lonely Hearts'' (1989) #''Rough Treatment'' (1990) #''Cutting Edge'' (1991) #''Off Minor'' (1992) #''Wasted Years'' (1993) #''Cold Light'' (1994) #''Living Proof'' (1995) #''Easy Meat'' (1996) #''Still Water'' (1997) #''Last Rites'' (1998) #''Now's The Time: The Complete Resnick Short Stories'' (2006) #''Trouble in Mind'' (novella also featuring Jack Kiley) (2007) #''Cold in Hand'' (2008) #''Darkness, Darkness'' (Resnick's last case) (2013)

Frank Elder

#'' Flesh and Blood'' (2004) #'' Ash and Bone'' (2005) #'' Darkness and Light'' (2006) #''Body and Soul'' (Frank Elder's last case) (19 April 2018)

Scott Mitchell

#''Amphetamine and Pearls'' (1976) #''The Geranium Kiss'' #''Junkyard Angel'' (1977) #''Neon Madman''

Short Stories

* "The Sun, the Moon and the Stars" (2005), published in ''The Detection Collection'', edited by

Simon Brett Simon Anthony Lee Brett OBE FRSL (born 28 October 1945 in Worcester Park, Surrey, England) is a British author of detective fiction, a playwright, and a producer-writer for television and radio. As an author, he is best known for his mystery s ...

Awards and accolades

*1989 -

' list of the Hundred Best Crime Novels of the Last Century for ''Lonely Hearts'' *1990 - CWA

Gold Dagger The Gold Dagger is an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom since 1960 for the best crime novel of the year. From 1955 to 1959, the organization named their top honor as the Crossed Red Herring Award. From ...

for Fiction (shortlist): ''Rough Treatment'' *1992 - New York Festivals, Bronze medal, Screenplay for Best TV Drama Series: "Resnick: Lonely Hearts" *1995 - CWA

Dagger in the Library The Dagger in the Library (Golden Handcuffs in 1992–1994) is an annual award given by the British Crime Writers' Association to a particular "living author who has given the most pleasure to readers". Yearly shortlists are drawn up of the ten auth ...

*1997 - French CWA award for Best Foreign Novel (short list): ''Off Minor'' *1998 - Sherlock Award for Best British Detective, Charlie Resnick: ''Last Rites'' *1999 - Sony Radio Drama Silver Award for adaptation of Graham Greene's "The End of the Affair" *2000 - Grand Prix du Roman Noir Étranger:" Cold Light" *2004 - CWA Silver Dagger for Fiction: ''Flesh and Blood'' *2004 - Barry Award for ''Flesh and Blood'' *2007 - CWA

Cartier Diamond Dagger The Diamond Dagger is an award given by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom to authors who have made an outstanding lifetime's contribution to the genre. Winners * 1986 – Eric Ambler * 1987 – P. D. James * 1988 – John le Car ...

award for a Lifetime's Achievement in the Field *2007 -

Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award The Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award is one of the UK's top crime-fiction awards, sponsored by Theakston's Old Peculier. It is awarded annually at Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of ...

(longlist): Ash & Bone *2007 - Prix du Polar Europeen : "Ash & Bone" *2009 - Honorary Degree, Doctor of Letters : University of Nottingham *2013 - Honorary Degree, Doctor of Letters : University of Hertfordshire *2014 - CWA Short Story Dagger : "Fedora"

References

External links

Official website

The story behind "Darkness, Darkness" - Online Essay by John Harvey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, John Alumni of the University of Nottingham 1938 births Living people Cartier Diamond Dagger winners Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Barry Award winners