Lorenzo Carcaterra (born October 16, 1954) is an American writer of Italian descent. Hell’s Kitchen is the setting for his most famous book, ''Sleepers'', which was adapted as a 1996 film of the same name. In April 2009, he joined '' True/Slant'' as a blogger. True/Slant ceased operations on July 31, 2010, after only being open for a little less than a year total.

Biography

Carcaterra was born in

Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, or Midtown West on real estate listings, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, ...

, New York. His Italian family was from the island of

Ischia Ischia ( , , ) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about from the city of Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Although inhabited since the Bronze Age, as a Ancient G ...

, off the coast of

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. He became a journalist in 1980, when his first articles begin to appear in various newspapers. Carcaterra's wife, Susan Toepfer, died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

on December 24, 2013. She was also the mother of Carcaterra's two children, Kate and Nick.

Published works

Novels

* ''A Safe Place'' (1993) * ''Sleepers'' (1995) ** In the book, Carcaterra writes about himself (played in the film by Jason Patric) and three young friends living in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan in the 1960s. After they stage a street prank that unintentionally leaves a man seriously injured, the book says, the four are sent to an upstate juvenile detention center, where they are brutalized and sexually assaulted by the facility's guards. The Sacred Heart of Jesus Church and School on the West Side of Manhattan, which Carcaterra attended, expressed outrage about Carcaterra's assertions, while the Manhattan District Attorney's office stated that there were no records of a case like the one described in the book. Carcaterra has admitted that he deliberately fictionalized certain details of the story, saying, "You have to change dates, names, places, people. The way they looked; you have to make them look a different way. If it happened here, you have to make it happen there." * ''Apaches'' (1997) * ''

Gangster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...

'' (2001) * ''Street Boys'' (2002) * ''

Paradise City "Paradise City" is a song by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their debut album, ''Appetite for Destruction'' (1987). Released as a single in January 1989, it is the only song on the album to feature a synthesizer. The song pea ...

'' (2004) * ''Chasers'' (2007) * ''Midnight Angels'' (2010) * ''The Wolf'' (2014) * ''Tin Badges'' (2019)

Other

* Introduction to Modern Library Classics unabridged version of ''

The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Alexandre Dumas. It was serialised from 1844 to 1846, and published in book form in 1846. It is one of his most popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers'' (184 ...

'', a novel which plays an important role in Carcaterra's autobiographical novel ''Sleepers'' * He has written and produced a number of episodes of ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

''. * He used his knowledge of New York City to contribute to the 2008 video game ''

Alone in the Dark ''Alone in the Dark'' is a survival horror video game series originally developed by Infogrames. In most of the games, the player controls private investigator Edward Carnby, who goes to investigate a haunted house or town that is full of undea ...

''. * He has written for other publications, including ''

National Geographic Traveler ''National Geographic Traveler'' is a magazine published by National Geographic Partners, NG Media in Armenia, Belgium, the Netherlands, China, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Latin America, Israel, Poland, Romania, Slov ...

''.

References

External links

Lorenzo Carcaterra Official Site

A love story
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carcaterra, Lorenzo 1954 births Living people 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American writers of Italian descent Novelists from New York (state) Organized crime novelists People from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan Writers from Manhattan