Paul McCusker (born October 3, 1958) is an American writer and producer. He is best known for his work on ''

Adventures in Odyssey ''Adventures in Odyssey'' (AIO), or simply ''Odyssey'', is an Evangelical Christian radio drama and comedy series created and produced by Focus on the Family. Aimed at families with children age 12 and younger, the series first aired in 1987 as ...

'', a nationally syndicated radio drama, and for his work with Focus on the Family's Radio Theatre. He has written over 50 books, 21 plays and 4 musicals. His best known works are the play "Catacombs", the novels ''The Mill House'' and ''Epiphany'', and his audio adaptations of

C.S. Lewis CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...

's works.

Career

McCusker grew up in

Bowie, Maryland Bowie () is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 58,329. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County, and the fifth most populous c ...

. He graduated from college with a degree in journalism and spent several years writing copy for a local publisher. From the late 1970s, he began writing sketches and plays for his church, Grace Baptist, many of which were published and are still in print. Among his most popular plays are "Catacombs" and "First Church of Pete's Garage". In 1985, McCusker moved to California to write for

Continental Singers Continental Singers, Inc (also simply called, "The Continentals") was an evangelical Christian nonprofit organization based in Ventura, California. It was founded in 1967 with a mission to, "Advance the kingdom of Jesus Christ around the world th ...

and their touring drama group The Jeremiah People. In 1987, he was invited by Focus on the Family to help develop a radio show for kids, which later became ''

''. He still consults on the show's scripts and writes them on occasion. He has also written 18 tie-in novels, including the " Passages" series. In the late 1990s, McCusker developed Focus on the Family's Radio Theatre. He has also dramatized

's ''

The Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, tele ...

'' and ''

The Screwtape Letters ''The Screwtape Letters'' is a Christian apologetic novel by C. S. Lewis and dedicated to J. R. R. Tolkien. It is written in a satirical, epistolary style and while it is fictional in format, the plot and characters are used to address Chris ...

'', as well as '' A Christmas Carol'', ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

'', ''Amazing Grace'', and the ''Father Gilbert Mysteries''. He won a Peabody Award in 1997 for his work on ''

Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have ...

: The Cost of Freedom''. Paul also writes novels, ''The Mill House'' and ''Epiphany'' being perhaps the best-known, and ''TSI: The Gabon Virus'' (2009) his most recent, which was co-written with Dr. Walt Larimore. Paul has continued his audio drama efforts with the

Augustine Institute The Augustine Institute (AI), located in Greenwood Village, Colorado, United States, is a private Catholic graduate theology school that offers master's degree programs inspired by Pope John Paul II's call for a New Evangelization. In addition ...

, writing and directing ''Brother Francis,'' ''The Trials of Saint Patrick,'' and ''Ode to Saint Cecilia''

Personal life

Paul McCusker now lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado with his wife Elizabeth and two children; Thomas and Eleanor. In 2007, he converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

References

Sources

Works of McCusker
at

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

"'Radio Theatre': Tales With a Message" - Radio World

"Marjorie tops magical ton" - Star News

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110904171552/http://www.audiotheatrecentral.com/2011/02/atc-episode-6-father-gilbert-soul-in.html Interview with Paul McCusker regarding Adventures in Odyssey & Focus on the Family Radio Theatre - 2/28/2011]
Screenwriter for Beyond The Mask

External links

*
''Adventures in Odyssey''

From Faith, Media & Culture column at Beliefnet.com. {{DEFAULTSORT:McCusker, Paul 1958 births Living people 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American radio writers American male radio actors Adventures in Odyssey Converts to Roman Catholicism Novelists from Maryland People from Bowie, Maryland 21st-century American male writers