Richard North Patterson (born February 22, 1947, in
Berkeley
Berkeley most often refers to:
*Berkeley, California, a city in the United States
**University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California
* George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher
Berkeley may also refer ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
) is an American fiction writer, attorney and political commentator.
Education and law career
Patterson graduated in 1968 from
Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consortium ...
and has been awarded that school's Distinguished Achievement Citation and his national fraternity's Alumni Achievement Award. He is a 1971 graduate of the
Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Case Western Reserve University School of Law is one of eight schools at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of the first schools accredited by the American Bar Association. It is a member of the Association of American ...
, and a recipient of that University's President's Award for Distinguished Alumni and its President's Award for Excellence. He has served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Ohio; a trial attorney for the
Securities & Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
in Washington, D.C.; and was the SEC's liaison to the Watergate Special Prosecutor. More recently, Patterson was a partner in the San Francisco office of
McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen
Bingham McCutchen LLP was a global law firm with approximately 850 attorneys in nine US offices and five international offices. It ceased operations in late 2014, when several hundred of its partners and associate lawyers left the firm to join Phi ...
before retiring from practice in 1993. He has served on the boards of his undergraduate and law schools, the
National Partnership for Women and Families
The National Partnership for Women & Families is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)3 organization based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1971, the National Partnership works on public policies, education and outreach that focuses on women and familie ...
, the
Family Violence Prevention Fund, PEN Center West, the Regional Panel For The Selection of White House Fellows, the
Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and the Renew Democracy Initiative, and was Chairman of
Common Cause
Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President L ...
, the grassroots citizens lobby founded by
John W. Gardner
John William Gardner (October 8, 1912 – February 16, 2002) was United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) under President of the United States, President Lyndon Johnson. He was ...
. He now serves on the Advisory Council of
J Street
J Street ( he, ג'יי סטריט) is a nonprofit liberal advocacy group based in the United States whose stated aim is to promote American leadership to end the Arab–Israeli and Israeli–Palestinian conflicts peacefully and diplomatica ...
, the pro-Israel, pro-peace advocacy group, and is a member of the
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...
.
Writing career
Patterson studied fiction writing with
Jesse Hill Ford at the University of Alabama at Birmingham; his first short story was published in the ''Atlantic Monthly''; and his first novel, ''The Lasko Tangent'', won an
Edgar Allan Poe Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...
in 1979. Between 1981 and 1985, he published ''The Outside Man'', ''Escape the Night'', and ''Private Screening'', which made the ''New York Times'' bestseller list in 1994. His first novel in eight years, ''Degree of Guilt'' (1993), and ''Eyes of A Child'' (1995), were combined into a four-hour TV mini-series by NBC TV, called ''Degree of Guilt''. Both were international bestsellers, and ''Degree of Guilt'' was awarded the French Grand Prix de Littérature Policière in 1995. ''The Final Judgment'' (1995), ''Silent Witness'' (1997), ''No Safe Place'' (1998), and ''Dark Lady'' (1999) all became immediate international bestsellers, and in 2011 ''Silent Witness'' became a feature film on TNT. ''Protect and Defend'' (2000), about the controversial nomination of the first woman to be Chief Justice, and her entanglement in an incendiary lawsuit regarding late-term abortion and parental consent, was a #1 ''New York Times'' bestseller and received a Maggie Award from Planned Parenthood for its treatment of issues regarding reproductive rights. In 2013, the London ''Guardian Literary Review'' named ''No Safe Place'' one of the 10 best works of fiction, nonfiction, or biography inspired by John F. Kennedy and the Kennedy assassination in the 50 years since his death.
''Balance of Power'' (2003) confronted one of America's most divisive issues—gun violence—and was chosen by ''USA Today'' as its book of the month selection for November. ''Conviction'' (2005) focused on the law and politics of capital punishment. ''Exile'' (2007) dealt with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and was nominated for South Africa's leading literary award. ''The Race'' (2007) concerned a dramatic campaign for president, and ''Eclipse'' (2009) dealt with human rights, Africa, and the geopolitics of oil. ''The Spire'' (2009) was a novel of psychological suspense, and ''In the Name of Honor'' (2010) portrays a military court martial for murder, and a legal defense based on PTSD. ''The Devil’s Light'' (2011) is an exhaustively researched depiction of the world of espionage and the potential for nuclear terrorism, focused on an Al Qaeda plot to steal a nuclear bomb from Pakistan in order to destroy a major western city.
Patterson's twentieth novel, ''Fall From Grace'' (2012), a family drama set on Martha's Vineyard, became his sixteenth ''New York Times'' bestseller. Its prequel, ''Loss of Innocence'' (2013), is a coming-of-age novel set in the tumultuous year of 1968. Its sequel, ''Eden In Winter'' (2014), concluded the trilogy. His first novel in nine years, 'Trial', will be published in June 2023.
Between September 2015 and May 2021, Patterson devoted his time to political commentary. During the 2015-2016 presidential campaign, Patterson was a contributing opinion writer for the ''Huffington Post'', with a focus on politics and international affairs, as well as a guest commentator on television and podcasts. His book about that campaign, "Fever Swamp", was published in January 2017. Between 2017 and 2019, he was a columnist for the Boston Globe and HuffPost. Between March 2019 and May 2021, he was a columnist for The Bulwark, writing longer essays on politics, law, public policy and geopolitics.
Patterson has appeared on such shows as ''Today'', ''Good Morning America'', ''The CBS Morning Show'', ''Fox News Sunday'', ''Morning Joe'', ''Inside Politics'', ''Washington Journal'', ''Buchanan and Press'', ''Greta Van Susteren'', ''Fox and Friends'', and ''Hardball''. Beyond his regular columns, his articles on politics, society, literature, law, and foreign policy have been published in the New York Times, ''London Times'', the ''Wall Street Journal'', The Atlantic, ''USA Today'', the ''Washington Post'', the ''Los Angeles Times'', the ''Boston Globe'', the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', ''FoxNews.com'', ''Medium'', and the ''San Jose Mercury News''. A frequent speaker on political, geopolitical, legal, and social issues, in 2004 Patterson spoke at Washington, D.C. rallies in support of reproductive rights, and against gun violence, and has spoken about the Israeli-Palestinian dilemma at such forums as the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. and the World Affairs Council in Dallas. Patterson is a member of the Cosmos Club of Washington DC, and his papers are collected by Boston University. In 2012, Patterson received the Silver Bullet Award from the International Thriller Writers Association for his contributions to the wider community. Overall, the worldwide sales of Patterson's novels exceeds 25 million copies.
Personal life
Patterson has three sons and two daughters. He lives on Martha's Vineyard and Jacksonville, Florida with his wife, Dr. Nancy Clair.
Bibliography
The following are all novels by the author.
* ''The Lasko Tangent'' (1979)
* ''The Outside Man'' (1981)
* ''Escape the Night'' (1983)
* ''Private Screening'' (1985)
* ''Degree of Guilt'' (1993)
* ''
Eyes of a Child'' (1995)
* ''The Final Judgment'' (1995)
* ''Silent Witness'' (1997)
* ''No Safe Place'' (1998)
* ''
Dark Lady'' (1999)
* ''Protect and Defend'' (2000)
* ''Balance of Power'' (2003)
* ''
Conviction
In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which is consid ...
'' (2005)
* ''
Exile
Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
'' (2007)
* ''
The Race'' (2007)
* ''Eclipse'' (2009)
* ''The Spire'' (2009)
* ''In the Name Of Honor'' (2010)
* ''The Devil's Light'' (2011)
* ''Fall from Grace'' (2012)
* ''Loss of Innocence'' (2013) -
* ''Eden in Winter'' (2014)
Non-fiction:
"Fever Swamp" (2017)
References
External links
Richard North Patterson's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Richard North
1947 births
Living people
American thriller writers
American mystery writers
Edgar Award winners
Ohio Wesleyan University alumni
American male novelists