David Baldacci
Baldacci at the 2015 National Book Festival
Baldacci at the 2015 National Book Festival
Born (1960-08-05) August 5, 1960
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
OccupationNovelist
Alma materVirginia Commonwealth University
University of Virginia
Period1996–present
GenreThrillers, children's literature
Notable worksAbsolute Power
Spouse
Michelle Collin
​
(m. 1990)​
Children2
Signature
Website
www.davidbaldacci.com

David Baldacci (born August 5, 1960) is an American novelist. An attorney by education, Baldacci writes mainly suspense novels and legal thrillers.[1]

Early life and education

David Baldacci was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. He graduated from Henrico High School and earned a B.A. in political science from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law, after which he practiced law for nine years in Washington, D.C. He is of Italian descent.

Career

Richmond, Virginia, hometown of Baldacci

Baldacci began writing stories as a child, when his mother gave him a notebook in which to record them.[2] He wrote for more than two decades, penning short stories and later screenplays without much success.[3]

While practicing law, he turned to novel writing, taking three years to write Absolute Power.[4] Published in 1996, it was sold internationally. To date, Baldacci has published 46 novels for adults as well as seven novels for younger readers.

Personal life and philanthropy

Baldacci resides in Fairfax County, Virginia, with his family. He has daughter Spencer and son Collin [5].

Baldacci and his wife, Michelle, are the co-founders of the Wish You Well Foundation,[6] which works to combat illiteracy in the United States by funding adult literacy programs.[7] Baldacci became involved with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society after his sister, author Sharon Baldacci, was diagnosed with MS.[8]

Baldacci has served for more than a decade on the board of trustees of the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut. In 2019, he donated $1 million to the home.[9]

Works

Baldacci's first novel, Absolute Power, tells the story of a fictional American president and his Secret Service agents who are willing to commit murder in order to cover up the accidental death of a woman with whom the President was having an affair. It was adapted as a film, Absolute Power (1997), starring Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman.

Baldacci wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of his novel Wish You Well; the movie was shot on location in southwest Virginia with Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn, Josh Lucas, and Mackenzie Foy in the lead roles.

Baldacci was a consulting producer on King & Maxwell, a TNT television series based on his characters Sean King and Michelle Maxwell. Jon Tenney and Rebecca Romijn starred.

The Christmas Train, Baldacci's eighth novel, was adapted in 2017 by Hallmark Channel as a Hallmark Hall of Fame feature presentation. The TV movie starred Dermot Mulroney, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Danny Glover and Joan Cusack and was directed by Ron Oliver.

Baldacci's novel One Summer was adapted in 2021 for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries and starred Sam Page, Sarah Drew and Amanda Schull.

Baldacci's novels have been published in over 45 languages and in more than 80 countries, with over 130 million worldwide sales as of 2018.[10]

Bibliography

Sean King and Michelle Maxwell series

The Camel Club series

A. Shaw and Katie James series

John Puller series

Will Robie series

Amos Decker series

  • Memory Man (2015)
  • The Last Mile (2016)
  • The Fix (2017)
  • The Fallen (2018)
  • Redemption (2019)
  • Walk The Wire (2020)
  • Long Shadows (2022)[11]

Atlee Pine series

  • Long Road to Mercy (2018)
  • A Minute to Midnight (2019)
  • Daylight (2020, John Puller crossover)
  • Mercy (2021)[12]

Aloysius Archer series

  • One Good Deed (2019)
  • A Gambling Man (2021)
  • Dream Town (2022)[13]

Travis Devine series

  • The 6:20 Man (2022)[14]
  • The Edge (2023)[15]

Mickey Gibson series

  • Simply Lies (2023)[16]

Stand-alone novels

Short stories and novellas

  • Waiting for Santa (short story) (2002)
  • No Time Left (short story) (2012)
  • Bullseye (short story) Will Robie / Camel Club (2014)
  • The Mighty Johns also known as The Final Play (novella) (2021)[18]

For young readers

Freddy and the French Fries series

  • Freddy and the French Fries: Fries Alive! (Little, Brown and Company, 2005), Baldacci's debut novel for young readers
  • Freddy and the French Fries: The Mystery of Silas Finklebean (Little, Brown and Company, 2006)

The 39 Clues series

Vega Jane series

  • The Finisher (Scholastic Press, 2014), published in the U.K. as The Secrets of Sorcery
  • The Keeper (Scholastic Press, 2015), published in the U.K. as The Maze of Monsters
  • The Width of the World (Scholastic Press, 2017), published in the U.K. as The Rebels' Revolt
  • The Stars Below (Scholastic Press, 2019), published in the U.K. as The End of Time

Adaptations

References

  1. ↑ Shapiro, Ari (27 July 2009). "A Conspiracy Around Every Corner In Baldacci's D.C." www.npr.org. Retrieved 28 May 2022. Anyone who's been to an airport bookstore in the last 10 years has seen Baldacci.
  2. ↑ "Backstage: David Baldacci and Jodi Picoult". Yale Daily News. October 21, 2011.
  3. ↑ Gresham, Tom (December 11, 2019). "David Baldacci once wrote stories in secret at VCU. Now he has millions of readers around the world". Virginia Commonwealth University.
  4. ↑ Lavin, Cheryl (February 6, 1996). "Diary of a Best Seller". Chicago Tribune.
  5. ↑ https://www.washingtonian.com/2007/08/01/mystery-man-david-baldacci/
  6. ↑ "Home". Wish You Well Foundation.
  7. ↑ Alison Bonaguru (2013). "David Baldacci". Virginia Living. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  8. ↑ "David Baldacci". National MS Society. 2013. Archived from the original on May 17, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2013. author Sharon Baldacci was diagnosed with MS.
  9. ↑ "Novelist David Baldacci gifts $1M to Mark Twain home". ABC News. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  10. ↑ Memmott, Carol (February 27, 2013). "David Baldacci clues kids in to Smithsonian's treasures". USA Today. McLean, VA: Gannett. ISSN 0734-7456. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  11. ↑ Baldacci, David (2022-02-07). Long Shadows. ISBN 978-1-5387-1979-4.
  12. ↑ Baldacci, David (2021-11-16). Mercy. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5387-1969-5.
  13. ↑ Baldacci, David (2021-08-03). Dream Town. ISBN 978-1-5387-1974-9.
  14. ↑ Baldacci, David (2021-11-08). The 6:20 Man. ISBN 978-1-5387-1987-9.
  15. ↑ The Edge. 2023-02-06. ISBN 978-1-5387-1991-6.
  16. ↑ "Simply Lies by David Baldacci - 9781529062014". www.panmacmillan.com. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  17. ↑ A Calamity of Souls. 2023-09-04. ISBN 978-1-5387-6505-0.
  18. ↑ "The Final Play - Pan Macmillan AU". Pan Macmillan Australia. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
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