John Connolly (born 31 May 1968) is an Irish writer who is best known for his series of novels starring private detective Charlie Parker.

Biography

Education and early career

Connolly was educated at

Synge Street CBS Synge Street CBS (colloquially Synger) is a boys' non-fee-paying state school, under the auspices of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust, located in the Dublin 8 area of Dublin, Ireland. The school was founded in 1864 by Can ...

and graduated with a BA in English from Trinity College, Dublin, and a Masters in journalism from

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its ...

. Before becoming a full-time novelist, he worked as a journalist, a barman, a local government official, a waiter and a gofer at Harrods department store in London.

Writing career

After five years as a freelance journalist for ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' newspaper, he became frustrated with the profession, and began to write his first novel, ''Every Dead Thing'', in his spare time (he continues to contribute articles to the paper, most frequently interviews with other established authors). ''Every Dead Thing'' introduced readers to the

anti-hero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform action ...

Charlie Parker, a former police officer hunting the killer of his wife and daughter. It was nominated for the

Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel The Bram Stoker Award for First Novel is an award presented by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in horror writing for an author's first horror novel. Winners and nominees References {{Bram Stoker Award Firs ...

and went on to win the 2000

Shamus Award The Shamus Award is awarded by the Private Eye Writers of America (PWA) for the best detective fiction ( P. I. = Private investigator) genre novels and short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one ...

for Best First Private Eye Novel, making Connolly the first author outside of the US to win. Connolly has since written further books in the Parker series, 19 as of 2019, and a non-Parker thriller. He has also ventured outside of the crime genre with the publication of an anthology of ghost stories and ''The Book of Lost Things'', a novel about a young boy's

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...

journey through a fantasy realm during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

England. Film and television adaptations of his works are currently in development; the earliest to appear to audiences was partially based on the short story " The New Daughter", and starred

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...

and

Ivana Baquero Ivana Baquero Macías (born 11 June 1994) is a Spanish actress. At the age of 11, she was chosen to star as Ofelia in ''Pan's Labyrinth'', for which she won critical acclaim and the Goya Award for Best New Actress. In 2015, she was cast as Er ...

. Connolly also tours to promote the launch of his books. In 2007, he made book store appearances in Ireland, United Kingdom, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Taiwan to promote ''The Unquiet''. JohnConnollySignsBlackAngel6-22-2005

The seventh book in the Charlie Parker series, ''The Reapers'', was published in 2008. It differs from the earlier books in that the story is told from the

point of view Point of view or Points of View may refer to: Concept and technique * Point of view (philosophy), an attitude how one sees or thinks of something * Point of view (literature) or narrative mode, the perspective of the narrative voice; the prono ...

of Parker's close friends and allies in combat, Louis and Angel. Louis and Angel are an unlikely couple whose quibbles and good humour are sometimes the source of

comic relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

. Louis is an enigmatic, large black man who was a hired killer but who now seems to be in semiretirement; Angel is a small part-Latino man and ex-burglar. They appear episodically throughout the Charlie Parker books as his only close friends, revealing themselves when Parker is in need of help and professional protection from his enemies. The ninth Parker novel, titled ''The Whisperers'', was published in 2010; the tenth, ''The Burning Soul'', in 2011. ''The Wrath of Angels'', the eleventh Charlie Parker novel, was published by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK in August 2012, and was released by Atria/Emily Bestler Books in the US on 1 January 2013. ''The Wolf in Winter'', published in 2014, represented a shift from Charlie Parker's customary first-person narration to a third-person point of view, a shift that continues in ''A Song of Shadows'' (2015) and ''A Time of Torment'' (2016). ''A Book of Bones'' (2019) marks the end of the sequence that began with the novella "The Fractured Atlas," included in ''Night Music: Nocturnes Vol. 2'' (2015), and is a true sequel to ''The Woman in the Woods''. 2009 marked the publication of Connolly's first novel specifically for younger readers, ''The Gates''. A sequel was published in 2011 as ''Hell's Bells'' in the UK and as ''The Infernals'' in the US. The third book in the Samuel Johnson series, ''The Creeps'', was published in 2013. Connolly also collaborated with his partner, journalist

Jennifer Ridyard Jennifer or Jenifer may refer to: People *Jennifer (given name) * Jenifer (singer), French pop singer * Jennifer Warnes, American singer who formerly used the stage name Jennifer * Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer * Daniel Jenifer Film and televi ...

, on ''The Chronicles of the Invaders'', a fantasy trilogy for teen readers: ''Conquest'' (2013), ''Empire'' (2015), and ''Dominion'' (2016). Connolly collaborated with fellow Irish author

Declan Burke Declan "Dec" Burke (born 22 May 1972 from Limerick) is an Irish guitarist, keyboardist and vocalist. Biography Burke was born on 22 May 1972 in Limerick, Ireland, and moved to the UK in 1989. He has one son. Career Burke began as a keyboard p ...

to edit ''Books to Die For: The World's Greatest Mystery Writers on the World's Greatest Mystery Novels'', a nonfiction anthology published in August 2012 by Hodder & Stoughton and in October 2013 by Atria/Emily Bestler Books. ''Books to Die For'' was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America, won the Agatha Award for Best Non-fiction, and won the Anthony Award for Best Critical Nonfiction Work. In 2017, Connolly turned a decades-long fascination with the comedian Stan Laurel into the novel ''he'', a fictional exploration of the comedian's last years. ''Horror Express'', a monograph based on the 1972 film, was nominated for a ''Bram Stoker Award'' for Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction.

Themes

Connolly was drawn to the tradition of American

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, ...

, because it seemed the best medium through which he could explore the issues of compassion, morality, reparation and salvation. He credits veteran authors Ross Macdonald,

James Lee Burke James Lee Burke (born December 5, 1936) is an American author, best known for his Dave Robicheaux series. He has won Edgar Awards for ''Black Cherry Blues'' (1990) and ''Cimarron Rose'' (1998), and has also been presented with the Grand Master ...

, and

Ed McBain Evan Hunter, born Salvatore Albert Lombino,(October 15, 1926 – July 6, 2005) was an American author and screenwriter best known for his 87th Precinct novels, written under his Ed McBain pen name, and the novel upon which the film '' Blackb ...

as influences, and is often praised for writing in a rich and introspective style of prose.

Bibliography

Charlie Parker series

#''Every Dead Thing'' (1999) #''Dark Hollow'' (2000) #''The Killing Kind'' (2001) #''The White Road'' (2002) #''The Reflecting Eye'' (2004) (novella contained within ''Nocturnes'') #''The Black Angel'' (2005) #''The Unquiet'' (2007) #''The Reapers'' (2008) #''The Lovers'' (2009) #''The Whisperers'' (2010) #''The Burning Soul'' (2011) #''The Wrath of Angels'' (2012) # ''The Wolf in Winter ''(2014) # ''A Song of Shadows ''(2015) # ''A Time of Torment'' (2016) #''Parker : A Miscellany'' (2016) # ''A Game of Ghosts'' (2017) # ''The Woman in the Woods'' (2018) # ''A Book of Bones'' (2019) # ''The Dirty South'' (2020) # ''The Nameless Ones'' (2021) # ''The Furies'' (2022) - two novels

Samuel Johnson series

# ''The Gates'' (2009) # ''The Infernals'' (2011), published as ''Hell's Bells'' in the UK # ''The Creeps'' (2013)

The Chronicles of the Invaders trilogy

# ''Conquest'' (2013) # ''Empire'' (2015) # ''Dominion'' (2016)

Other novels

*''Bad Men'' (2003) *''The Book of Lost Things'' (2006) *''He: A Novel'' (2017)

Short story collections

*''Nocturnes'' (2004) – a collection of supernatural tales book-ended by two novellas, 9 of which are transcripts of stories written for presentation on

BBC Radio Four BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

''Five Ghost Stories By John Connolly'': The Erlking, Mr Pettinger's Demon, Mr Gray's Folly, The Ritual of the Bones, Nocturne. *''Night Music: Nocturnes 2 ''(2015)

Short stories

*"The Inkpot Monkey" (2004) – in ''Like A Charm: A Novel In Voices'' – an anthology of short stories from 15 mystery writers, (also featured in ''Nocturnes''). Edited by

Karin Slaughter Karin Slaughter (born January 6, 1971) is an American crime writer. She has written 21 novels, which have sold more than 40 million copies and have been published in 120 countries. Her first novel, ''Blindsighted'' (2001), was published in 27 l ...

. *"Mr. Gray's Folly" (2005) – in ''Dangerous Women'' – an anthology of short stories from 17 crime writers. Edited by Otto Penzler. *"The Cycle" (2005) – under the pseudonym Laura Froom (after the titular vampire in a story from ''Nocturnes'') in ''Moments: Short Stories by Irish Women Writers in Aid of the Victims of the Tsunami''. Edited by Ciara Considine. *"A Haunting" (2008) – in ''Downturn Tales: Stay-Up-All-Night Stories from Your Favorite Bestselling Authors''. *"Lazarus" (2010) – in ''

The New Dead ''The New Dead: A Zombie Anthology'' is an anthology of zombie short stories edited by Christopher Golden. The stories contained in it were written by authors including Max Brooks, son of Mel Brooks and author of ''World War Z'' and ''The Zombie S ...

'' – an anthology of zombie stories edited by Christopher Golden. *"The Caxton Lending Library & Book Depository" (2013) – a Bibliomystery published as e-text, paperback and limited edition hardcover by

The Mysterious Bookshop The Mysterious Bookshop is an independent bookstore and publisher specializing in mystery fiction, located in New York City. It is one of the oldest mystery bookstores in the U.S. In addition to housing its own imprint, the shop contains the offi ...

, New York *"The Wanderer in Unknown Realms" (2013) – a novella published electronically by Hodder & Stoughton and Atria/Emily Bestler Books and in limited hardcover edition by the author.

Nonfiction

* *

Film adaptations

*'' The New Daughter'' (2009) – partially based on a short story of the same name from ''Nocturnes'', starring

and

, directed by Luiso Berdejo, with a screenplay by John Travis *(Prospective) ''The Gates'', ''The Infernals'', and ''The Creeps'' — acquired for development by DreamWorks Studios as a possible franchise, November 2015

Awards

* Nominee: 1999

Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since ...

(First Novel), for ''Every Dead Thing'' * Nominee: 2000 Barry Award (Best British Crime Novel), for ''Every Dead Thing'' * Winner: 2000

(Best First P.I. Novel), for ''Every Dead Thing'' * Nominee: 2001 Barry Award (Best British Crime Novel), for ''Dark Hollow'' * Nominee: 2002 Barry Award (Best British Crime Novel), for ''The Killing Kind'' * Winner: 2003 Barry Award (Best British Crime Novel), for ''The White Road'' * Nominee: 2005 CWA Short Story Dagger Award, for "Miss Froom, Vampire" * Nominee: 2007 Hughes & Hughes Irish Novel of the Year, for ''The Book of Lost Things'' * Winner: 2012 Agatha Award (Best Nonfiction), with

, for ''Books to Die For'' * Nominee: 2013 Edgar Award (Best Critical/Biographical), with

, for ''Books to Die For'' * Nominee: 2013 H.R.F. Keating Award, with

, for ''Books to Die For'' * Winner: 2013

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 (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America. Among the m ...

(Best Critical Nonfiction Work), with

, for ''Books to Die For'' * Winner: 2014 Edgar Award (Best Short Story), for '' The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository'', ''Bibliomysteries'' * Winner: 2014

(Best Short Story), for ''The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository'', ''Bibliomysteries'' * Nominee: 2016 Barry Award (Best Novel), for ''A Song of Shadows'' * Nominee: 2018

(Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction), for ''Horror Express''

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Connolly, John 1968 births Living people Irish novelists Irish mystery writers Alumni of Dublin City University Writers from Dublin (city) People educated at Synge Street CBS Shamus Award winners Barry Award winners Agatha Award winners Anthony Award winners Edgar Award winners Irish male novelists