James Patterson
BornJames Brendan Patterson
(1947-03-22) March 22, 1947
Newburgh, New York, U.S.
Alma materManhattan College
Vanderbilt University
GenreMystery, young adult fiction, thriller, comedy, realistic fiction, romance, science fiction, fantasy
Notable worksAlex Cross series
Women's Murder Club series
Maximum Ride series
Michael Bennett series
Middle School series
I Funny series
Spouse
Susan Patterson
​
(m. 1997)​
Children1
Website
www.jamespatterson.com

James Brendan Patterson (born March 22, 1947) is an American author. Among his works are the Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Women's Murder Club, Maximum Ride, Daniel X, NYPD Red, Witch & Wizard, Private and Middle School series, as well as many stand-alone thrillers, non-fiction, and romance novels. His books have sold more than 425 million copies,[1] and he was the first person to sell 1 million e-books.[2][3] In 2016, Patterson topped Forbes's list of highest-paid authors for the third consecutive year, with an income of $95 million.[4] His total income over a decade is estimated at $700 million.[5]

In November 2015, Patterson received the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation.[6] Patterson has donated millions of dollars in grants and scholarship to various universities, teachers' colleges, independent bookstores, school libraries, and college students to promote literacy.[7]

Early life

James Patterson was born on March 22, 1947, in Newburgh, New York, the son of Isabelle (née Morris), a homemaker and teacher, and Charles Patterson, an insurance broker.[8][9] The family was working-class and of Irish descent.[10] He graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in English from Manhattan College and an M.A. in English from Vanderbilt University.[11]

Career

Patterson was a PhD candidate at Vanderbilt[12] when he took a job as an advertising executive at J. Walter Thompson.[11] After he retired from advertising in 1996,[13] he devoted his time to writing.[14] His greatest influence, he said later, was probably Evan S. Connell's 1959 debut novel Mrs. Bridge.[12] In 1976, he published his first novel, The Thomas Berryman Number. The novels featuring his character Alex Cross, a forensic psychologist formerly of the Washington DC. Metropolitan Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation who now works as a private psychologist and government consultant, are his most popular and the top-selling U.S. detective series of the 2010s. Patterson has written more than 200 novels since 1976.[15] He has had more than 114 New York Times bestselling novels,[16] and holds The New York Times record for most #1 New York Times bestsellers by a single author – 67 – which is also a Guinness World Record. His novels account for one in 17, roughly 6%, of all hardcover novels sold in the United States; in recent years his novels have sold more copies than those of Stephen King, John Grisham, and Dan Brown combined.[13] His books have sold approximately 305 million copies worldwide.[2] In 2008, he replaced Jacqueline Wilson as the most borrowed author in Britain's libraries.[17] He retained this position at least until 2013.[18] In 2018, he worked with Stephen David Entertainment on the true crime television series James Patterson's Murder Is Forever.

Patterson's awards include the Edgar Award, the BCA Mystery Guild's Thriller of the Year, the International Thriller of the Year award,[16] and the Children's Choice Book Award for Author of the Year. He is the first author to have No. 1 new titles simultaneously on The New York Times adult and children's bestsellers lists, and to have two books on NovelTrackr's top-ten list at the same time. In 2019, Patterson was awarded a National Humanities Medal.[19] He appeared on the Fox TV show The Simpsons (in the episode "Yokel Chords") and in various episodes of Castle as himself.

Patterson works with a variety of co-authors,[20] such as J.D. Barker, Candice Fox, Maxine Paetro, Andrew Gross, Mark Sullivan, Ashwin Sanghi, Michael Ledwidge, and Peter de Jonge.[21] In May 2017, it was announced that Patterson would also co-author a crime fiction book with former U.S. President Bill Clinton.[22] Patterson said the novel, The President Is Missing, would provide a level of detail that only a former U.S. president can offer.[23] Patterson has often said that collaborating with others brings new and interesting ideas to his stories. Of his process, he has said that he is simply more proficient at dreaming up plots than crafting sentence after sentence.[24]

In September 2009, Patterson signed a deal to write or co-write 11 books for adults and 6 for young adults by the end of 2012. Forbes reported the deal was worth at least $150 million, but according to Patterson the estimate was inaccurate.[25]

Patterson founded the James Patterson PageTurner Awards in 2005 to donate over $100,000 that year to people, companies, schools, and other institutions that find original and effective ways to spread the excitement of books and reading.[26] The PageTurner Awards were put on hold in 2008 to focus on Patterson's new initiative, ReadKiddoRead.com, which assists parents, teachers, and librarians in finding books for their children. The social networking site for ReadKiddoRead is hosted by Ning. The website is inspired by methods Patterson used with his own son, Jack, who had been a reluctant reader. He has also set up the James Patterson Teacher Education Scholarship in the schools of education at Appalachian State University,[27] Michigan State University,[28] Florida Atlantic University,[29] and the University of Florida.[30] Patterson also runs the College Book Bucks scholarship program. Recently, his JP Entertainment company signed a first-look deal with Entertainment One.[31]

In June 2022, Patterson set off a controversy when he said in an interview that older white males find it difficult to find work in film, theater, television and publishing, and that the problem is "just another form of racism". Patterson's publishing house, Hachette, has a workforce that is 65% white and 78% of senior positions are filled by whites. Following publication of data confirming that white males are overrepresented in the publishing field, Patterson apologized on Facebook for his accusations of racism. "I apologize for saying white male writers having trouble finding work is a form of racism. I absolutely do not believe that racism is practiced against white writers. Please know that I strongly support a diversity of voices being heard—in literature, in Hollywood, everywhere."[32]

In March 2023, Patterson signed an exclusive first-look deal with Skydance Television.[33]

Reception

Patterson has been criticized for co-authoring many of his books[34] and for being more of a brand that focuses on making money than an artist who focuses on his craft.[35]

In an interview for USA Weekend, Stephen King said Patterson was "a terrible writer but he's very successful."[36] King also implied, when asked on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert about how many hours it takes him to write a book, that Patterson needed only 12 hours for two books, noting he and Patterson had "a mutual respect—sort of".[37] Patterson said of King in a Wall Street Journal interview, "He's taken shots at me for years. It's fine, but my approach is to do the opposite with him—to heap praise."[38]

Legal thriller writer Lisa Scottoline said in a review of Patterson's Kill Alex Cross, "They used to say that 50 million Elvis Presley fans couldn't be wrong, and James Patterson makes 50 million fans look like a good start. He has sold more than 230 million books, and his fans aren't wrong, either."[39]

In 2013, Patterson took out ads titled "Who Will Save Our Books? Our Bookstores? Our Libraries?" in Publishers Weekly and The New York Times Book Review, which employed the text "If there are no bookstores, no libraries, no serious publishers with passionate, dedicated, idealistic editors, what will happen to our literature? Who will discover and mentor new writers? Who will publish our important books? What will happen if there are no more books like these?"[40] Patterson called the ads an attempt to "stir the pot a little bit."[41] Digital Book World called the ads "refreshing, really. And brave."[42] Maureen Sullivan, president of the American Library Association, told the Tampa Bay Times she was writing Patterson a thank-you letter.[43]

In 2017, digital humanities scholars Simon Fuller and James O'Sullivan published research showing that Patterson does not do much actual writing when collaborating with other authors.[44][45] O'Sullivan writes: "Patterson is all about story... 'author', in its widely accepted sense, isn't always the most appropriate term for his role within the writing process."[46][47][48] O'Sullivan later conducted the same analysis on The President is Missing, a collaboration between Patterson and Bill Clinton; here O'Sullivan concludes that Patterson did most of the writing, aside from the end of the novel.[49]

Book banning

In March 2023, Patterson's Maximum Ride series were banned from two elementary school libraries in Florida's Martin County School District and placed in their middle school libraries.[50] Patterson criticized the move, calling it a "borderline absurd decision". He encouraged readers to "send a polite note" to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in response to legislation passed to seek community input on school library materials.[51]

Personal life

Patterson, his wife, Susan, and their son live in Lake Worth Beach in Palm Beach County, Florida.[52] In 2015, Patterson established the James Patterson Pledge with Scholastic Book Clubs to put books in the hands of young readers.[53] James and Susan have a son named Jack Patterson born February 8, 1998.

Works

Adaptations

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2009–2010 Castle Himself Episodes: "Flowers For Your Grave", "A Deadly Game"

References

  1. ↑ "James Patterson's Ultimate Story: How He Sold 400 Million Books". Investor's Business Daily. October 12, 2022. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Author James Patterson giving $1M to independent bookstores". USA Today. February 19, 2014. Archived from the original on February 20, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  3. ↑ First author to sell more than 1 million e-books Archived February 16, 2015, at the Wayback Machine:
    On July 6, 2010, the Hachette Book Group announced that James Patterson (USA), creator of the Alex Cross and Women's Murder Club series of novels, was the first author to exceed one million sales in e-books, moving 1.14 million units of his books for devices like Kindle and the iPad.
  4. ↑ Forbes's highest-paid authors 2016 (in US dollars) Archived August 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, The Guardian, August 3, 2016
  5. ↑ "James Patterson – The Richest Author in the World". notjustrich.com. February 22, 2015. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  6. ↑ "National Book Foundation Awards". nationalbook.org. National Book Foundation. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  7. ↑ "James Patterson honored with 2015 Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community". Archived from the original on November 28, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  8. ↑ "James Patterson bibliography". humanities360.com. Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Isabelle (Morris) Patterson's Obituary on The Lexington Minuteman". Legacy.com. Archived from the original on November 12, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Literarian Award for James Patterson". December 3, 2015.
  11. 1 2 Rivera, Jeff (November 24, 2010). "So What Do You Do, James Patterson, Bestselling Novelist?". Mediabistro. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  12. 1 2 Patterson, James (December 8, 2009). "The Unexamined Life Examined In Mrs. Bridge". NPR. Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  13. 1 2 Mahler, Jonathan (January 20, 2010). "James Patterson Inc". The New York Times Magazine. Archived from the original on May 2, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  14. ↑ Gaby Wood (April 5, 2009). "The Guardian". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
  15. ↑ "James Patterson – The official web site". Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  16. 1 2 "New York Times". New York Times. Archived from the original on May 30, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  17. ↑ Lea, Richard (February 8, 2008). "James Patterson stamps out library competition". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved August 29, 2008.
  18. ↑ "Library lending figures: which books are most popular?". TheGuardian.com. February 8, 2013. Archived from the original on December 27, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  19. ↑ "James Patterson". National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  20. ↑ "James Patterson's Kentucky fried books". The Telegraph. London. February 8, 2008. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2018. Former advertising guru James Patterson, the most loaned author at British libraries last year, employs ghost writers to help pen the thrillers that make him $40m a year.
  21. ↑ McGrath, Charles (May 5, 2009). "An Author's Collaborator Goes It Alone". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  22. ↑ Alter, Alexandra (May 8, 2017). "James Patterson and Bill Clinton Team Up to Write a Novel". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 9, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  23. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (September 22, 2017). "Bill Clinton & James Patterson's Novel 'The President Is Missing' Lands At Showtime For TV Series Adaptation". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Archived from the original on September 23, 2017. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  24. ↑ Laming, Scott (2012). "Top 10 Ghostwritten Books". AbeBooks.com. AbeBooks. Archived from the original on July 4, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  25. ↑ Donahue, Deirdre; Wilson, Craig; Minzesheimer, Bob (September 16, 2009). "Book Buzz: What's new on the list and in publishing". USA Today. Archived from the original on September 24, 2009. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  26. ↑ James Patterson's PageTurner Awards Archived May 2, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  27. ↑ "Author James Patterson creates scholarship at Appalachian for future teachers". Appalachian State University News. June 11, 2012. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  28. ↑ "James Patterson funds MSU scholarships for future teachers". Michigan State University News. June 5, 2012. Archived from the original on June 13, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  29. ↑ "FAU College of Education Receives Gift from Author James Patterson". Florida Atlantic University. August 14, 2012. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  30. ↑ "James Patterson Scholars". University of Florida. June 3, 2015. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017..
  31. ↑ White, Peter (October 8, 2020). "James Patterson Strikes First-Look Deal With eOne; Sets 'The Noise' Adaptation As First Project". Deadline. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  32. ↑ The New York Times, June 14, 2022 "James Patterson Apologizes for Saying White Writers Face a 'Form of Racism'," by Michael Levenson
  33. ↑ Otterson, Joe (March 21, 2023). "James Patterson Signs First-Look Deal With Skydance Television". Variety. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  34. ↑ "James Patterson, the Best Seller Who Doesn't Write His Own Books". Express. February 26, 2013. Archived from the original on February 27, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Patterson keeps cranking out novels, ignoring his critics". Boston Globe. January 25, 2014. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  36. ↑ Flood, Alison (February 5, 2009). "Twilight author Stephenie Meyer 'can't write worth a darn', says Stephen King". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on November 7, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  37. ↑ "Stephen King The Late Show with Stephen Colbert". youtube.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  38. ↑ "James Patterson Explains Why His Books Sell Like Crazy". The Wall Street Journal. March 30, 2012. Archived from the original on May 30, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  39. ↑ Scottoline, Lisa (November 12, 2011). "Patterson's 'Kill Alex Cross' is thriller with family at its heart". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
  40. ↑ "James Patterson Speaks Out About His Aggressive "Book Industry Bailout" Ads". Salon.com. April 24, 2013. Archived from the original on May 6, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  41. ↑ "Patterson Sees Ads as a Wake Up Call". Publishers Weekly. April 24, 2013. Archived from the original on April 30, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  42. ↑ "An Open Letter to James Patterson on Bravery, Optimism, and the Future of Books". Digital Book World. April 26, 2013. Archived from the original on May 2, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  43. ↑ "Author James Patterson campaigns to save books". Tampa Bay Times. April 26, 2013. Archived from the original on May 1, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  44. ↑ Fuller, Simon; O'Sullivan, James (2017). "Structure over Style: Collaborative Authorship and the Revival of Literary Capitalism". Digital Humanities Quarterly. 011 (1). Archived from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  45. ↑ Lane, Anthony (June 18, 2018). "Bill Clinton and James Patterson's Concussive Collaboration". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on June 6, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  46. ↑ "Why you don't need to write much to be the world's bestselling author". The Conversation. April 3, 2017. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  47. ↑ "Does the worlds bestselling author write his own books?". newstalk.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  48. ↑ "James Patterson: Is the world's bestselling author the main writer?". The Independent. April 4, 2017. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  49. ↑ O'Sullivan, James (June 7, 2018). "Bill Clinton and James Patterson are co-authors – but who did the writing?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 7, 2018. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  50. ↑ Rose, Carol; Wagner, Jodie (March 14, 2023). "Author James Patterson: Write to DeSantis after 'absurd' removal of Maximum Ride books". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  51. ↑ Kurtz, Judy (March 14, 2023). "James Patterson urges fans to reach out to DeSantis on Florida book bans". The Hill. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  52. ↑ "James Patterson – Biography". JamesPatterson.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  53. ↑ "James Patterson donating $2 million to classroom libraries". Spokesman.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
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