Steve Kluger (born June 24, 1952) is an American author, playwright, journalist, librettist and lyricist, whose writing is noted for its baseball, gay, and historical (particularly

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 opposin ...

) themes. He has also worked on civil rights, gay rights, and baseball community causes, including Japanese American internment redress and the campaign to save

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...

. His second novel, ''

Last Days of Summer ''Last Days of Summer'' is a 1998 novel written by Steve Kluger. It is an epistolary novel told completely through forms of correspondence; letters, postcards, interviews with a psychiatrist, progress reports, and newspaper clippings. Taking pla ...

'', is the basis for the 2018 musical of the same title. Steve Kluger lives in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...

Early life and education

Kluger was born and raised in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. He graduated from

Hackley School Hackley School is a private college preparatory school located in Tarrytown, New York, and is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. Founded in 1899 by a wealthy philanthropist, Frances Hackley, Hackley was intended to be a Unitarian al ...

Tarrytown, New York Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North ...

, in 1970, and attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

Published and produced works

Novels

* ''Changing Pitches'' (1984) * ''

'' (1998) * '' Almost Like Being in Love'' (2004) * ''My Most Excellent Year'' (2008)

Non-fiction

*''Yank: World War II from the Guys Who Brought You Victory'' (1990)

Plays

* ''Bullpen'' (1984) * ''Cafe 50's'' (1988) * ''Pilots of the Purple Twilight'' (1989) * ''After Dark'' (2001) * ''Last Days of Summer'' (musical, 2018) (book and lyrics)

Newspaper articles

For

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

, Kluger has contributed the following commentaries: *"Washington's Senators: Baseball As It Should Be," October 11, 2004 *"The Curse of the Black Sox," October 26, 2005 *"The Best Things in Life are Free—For Now," February 15, 2006 *"Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor—or Not," August 2, 2006 *"Foley Fade-Out," October 11, 2006 *"Field of Dreams," April 26, 2007 *"The Aging of Aquarius," August 13, 2009 *"Thank You, Mr. President, From Us Kids," November 22, 2013 Other newspaper and magazine pieces include: *"You Gotta Have Heartburn,"

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

, May 16, 1983 *"'Play Ball!' — Words to Remember Manzanar,"

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

, August 7, 2002 *"Blame it All on the Gay Agenda,"

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

, November 2, 2006

Awards and honors

'' won the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

Alex Award The Alex Awards annually recognize "ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults ages 12 through 18". Essentially, the award is a listing by the American Library Association parallel to its annual Best Books for Young A ...

in 1999; '' Almost Like Being in Love'' won the 2004

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...

for Romance; and ''My Most Excellent Year'' received the 2009 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award for outstanding achievement in

Young Adult fiction Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kluger, Steve 1952 births 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male novelists Living people Date of birth missing (living people) People from Baltimore American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Lambda Literary Award winners American LGBT novelists American LGBT dramatists and playwrights American gay writers