Early life
Peter May was born inTelevision career
May's novel ''The Reporter'' became the prime-time 13-part television series entitled '' The Standard'' in 1978. May went on to create another major TV series for theNovel writing career
China
After quitting television May wrote a series of six novels known as the ''China Thrillers''. To research the series, May made annual trips to China and built up a network of contacts including forensic pathologists and homicide detectives. He gained access to the homicide and forensic science sections of Beijing and Shanghai police forces and has made a study of the methodology of Chinese police and forensic pathology systems. As a mark of their respect for his work, the Chinese Crime Writers' Association made him an honorary member of their Beijing Chapter. He is the only Westerner to receive this honour. He has also contributed a monthly column to the Chinese Police Magazine ''Contemporary World Police''. The books were first published in the UK between 1999 and 2004 and subsequently published worldwide in translation. New editions were published for the United States and UK in 2016/17 with an introduction by May explaining the historical setting of the books.France
Peter May lives in France and his China Thrillers have received several nominations for awards in that country. In 2007 he won the Prix Intramuros. This prize is unique in France as it is awarded by juries of readers made up of prisoners in French penitentiaries. The books under consideration are reduced to a shortlist of 6 finalists and the authors of the shortlisted books then have to travel to various French prisons to be interviewed by panels of detainees. In 2007, May was the only non-French author in the shortlist. He received the prize at the annual Polar&Co literary festival inSecond Life
While working on his standalone thriller ''Virtually Dead'', May researched the book by creating an avatar in the online world of''The Lewis Trilogy''
After being turned down by all the major British publishers, '' The Blackhouse'', the first book in 'The Lewis Trilogy', was published first in May's adopted home of France in French translation at the end of 2009. The book was hailed as "a masterpiece" by the French daily newspaper ''L'Humanité'' and was immediately nominated for several literary awards in France. It won the Prix des Lecteurs at Le Havre's Ancres Noires Festival in 2010 and won the French national literature award, theStandalone novels
''Entry Island'', Peter May's first book after the Lewis Trilogy, won the Deanstons Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2014, the UK national prize, the Specsavers ITV Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read of the Year 2014 and the French Trophée 813 for the Best Foreign Crime Novel of the year 2015. The book is partly set on a remote island in modern-day Canada and partly set on the Isle of Lewis 150 years earlier during the Highland Clearances. ''Runaway'' is a crime novel based on Peter May's real experiences of running away from home in Glasgow seeking fame and fortune in London with members of a musical group that he was part of in the 1960s. The story is told through two storylines, one in 1965 in which five teenagers embark on a trip that ends with tragic consequences, and the other in 2015, where three of the men retrace their steps from Scotland to London fifty years later in order to solve a murder. Published in the UK in 2016, ''Coffin Road'' is a standalone thriller set on theBooks, television and film writing credits
''The Lewis Trilogy''
* '' The Blackhouse'' (''The Enzo Files''
* '' Extraordinary People'' (published in United States as ''Dry Bones'' by''The China Thrillers''
* '' The Firemaker'' (''Standalone novels''
* '' The Reporter'' (''Photo books''
* ''''Television drama''
* '' The Standard'' (''Film''
* ''The Killing Room (Les Disparues)'' movie to be produced by French production company, French Connection in partnership with Korean Dream Capture Studios Action to be transferred from Shanghai, China to Seoul, South Korea.Awards and honours
* Fraser Award (1973) winner of ''Scottish Young Journalist of the Year Award'' * 17th International Celtic Film and Television Festival (1996) ''Machair'' nominated for ''Best Drama Serial Award'' * Elle Magazine, Grand Prix de Littérature (2006) ''The Firemaker'' runner up in category ''Best Crime Novel'' * 2007 Prix Intramuros (France) ''Snakehead'' winner at the ''Salon Polar & Co, Cognac'' * 2007 Prix International (France) ''Snakehead'' shortlisted at the ''Salon Polar & Co, Cognac'' * 2008 Prix International (France) ''Chinese Whispers'' shortlisted at the ''Salon Polar & Co, Cognac'' * 2010 Prix Ancres Noires ''L'Île des chasseurs d'oiseaux'' (The Blackhouse) winner of the Prix des Lecteurs at the ''Les Ancres Noires book festival, Le Havre'' * 2011References
External links
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