James Patterson

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Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox writer 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. Patterson's books have sold more than 425 million copies,<ref name="investors-ultimate-story" /> and he was the first person to sell one million e-books.<ref name="usa-today-donates-1-million" /><ref name="guinness-million-ebooks" /> In 2016, Patterson topped ForbesTemplate:'s list of highest-paid authors for the third consecutive year, with an income of $95 million.<ref name="guardian-highest-paid-authors-2016" /> His total income over a decade is estimated at $700 million.<ref name="notjustrich" />

In November 2015, Patterson received the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He has donated millions of dollars in grants and scholarship to various universities, teachers' colleges, independent bookstores, school libraries, and college students to promote literacy.<ref name="literarian-award-2015" />

Early life

James Patterson was born on March 22, 1947, in Newburgh, New York, the son of Isabelle (Template:Nee), a homemaker and teacher, and Charles Patterson, an insurance broker.<ref name="humanites360-bibliography" /><ref name="legacy-isabelle-patterson-obit" /> The family was working-class and of Irish descent.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Patterson graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in English from Manhattan University and with an M.A. in English from Vanderbilt University.<ref name="media-bistro-interview" />

Career

Patterson was a PhD candidate at Vanderbilt<ref name="npr-mrs-bridge" /> when he took a job as an advertising executive at J. Walter Thompson.<ref name="media-bistro-interview" /> After Patterson retired from advertising in 1996,<ref name="nyt-magazine-james-patterson-inc" /> he devoted his time to writing.<ref name="guardian-interview" /> Patterson later said that his greatest influence was probably Evan S. Connell's 1959 debut novel Mrs. Bridge.<ref name="npr-mrs-bridge" /> In 1976, Patterson published his first novel, The Thomas Berryman Number. The novels featuring his character Alex Cross, a forensic psychologist formerly of the Washington D.C. 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.<ref name="GjtkY" /> Patterson has had more than 114 New York Times bestselling novels,<ref name="nyt-starts-jimmy-patterson" /> 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; as of 2010, Patterson's novels had in recent years sold more copies than those of Stephen King, John Grisham, and Dan Brown combined.<ref name="nyt-magazine-james-patterson-inc" /> His books have sold approximately 305 million copies worldwide.<ref name="usa-today-donates-1-million" /> In 2008, Patterson replaced Jacqueline Wilson as the most borrowed author in Britain's libraries.<ref name="Ko9Gm" /> He retained this position at least until 2013.<ref name="W95bN" /> In 2018, Patterson 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,<ref name="nyt-starts-jimmy-patterson" /> 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.Template:Citation needed In 2019, Patterson was awarded a National Humanities Medal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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,<ref name="telegraph-income" /> such as J.D. Barker, Candice Fox, Maxine Paetro, Andrew Gross, Mark Sullivan, Ashwin Sanghi, Michael Ledwidge, and Peter de Jonge.<ref name="qQdB3" /> In May 2017, it was announced that Patterson would also co-author a crime fiction book with former U.S. President Bill Clinton.<ref name="ejF23" /> Patterson said the novel, The President Is Missing, would provide a level of detail that only a former U.S. president can offer.<ref name="deadline-president-is-missing-tv" /> Patterson has often said that collaborating with others brings new and interesting ideas to his stories. Of his process, Patterson has said that he is simply more proficient at dreaming up plots than crafting sentence after sentence.<ref name="abebooks-top-10-ghostwritten" />

In September 2009, Patterson signed a deal to write or co-write 11 books for adults and six 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.<ref name="OD1A2" />

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.<ref name="sS2Et" /> 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. Patterson has also set up the James Patterson Teacher Education Scholarship in the schools of education at Appalachian State University,<ref name="S8L5L" /> Michigan State University,<ref name="jLHyo" /> Florida Atlantic University,<ref name="VtpIb" /> and the University of Florida.<ref name="POeWB" /> Patterson also ran the College Book Bucks scholarship program.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2020, his JP Entertainment company signed a first-look deal with Entertainment One.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In June 2022, Patterson apologized on Facebook for his accusations of racism after saying 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 white people. Following publication of data confirming that white males are overrepresented in the publishing field, Patterson said: "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."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In March 2023, Patterson signed an exclusive first-look deal with Skydance Television.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Reception

Patterson has been criticized for co-authoring many of his books<ref name="1NWKu" /> and for being more of a brand that focuses on making money than an artist who focuses on his craft.<ref name="zzu2k" />

In an interview for USA Weekend, Stephen King said Patterson was "a terrible writer but he's very successful."<ref name="tLDp8" /> 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."<ref name="AKLwb" /> 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."<ref name="wsj-sales" />

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."<ref name="wapo-kill-alex-cross" />

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 book-stores, 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?"<ref name="salon-book-bailout-ads" /> Patterson called the ads an attempt to "stir the pot a little bit."<ref name="publishers-weekly-ads" /> Digital Book World called the ads "refreshing, really. And brave."<ref name="digital-book-world-optimism" /> Maureen Sullivan, president of the American Library Association, told the Tampa Bay Times she was writing Patterson a thank-you letter.<ref name="tampa-bay-save-books" />

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.<ref name="digital-humanities-collaboration" /><ref name="new-yorker-president-is-missing" /> 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."<ref name="the-conversation-collaboration" /><ref name="newstalk-collaboration" /><ref name="independent-collaboration" /> 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.<ref name="guardian-president-is-missing" />

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal life

Patterson and his wife, Susan, live in Palm Beach, Florida.<ref name="website-bibliography" /> They have a son, who was born on February 8, 1998.

In 2015, Patterson established the James Patterson Pledge with Scholastic Book Clubs to put books in the hands of young readers.<ref name="spokesman-donates-2-million" />

Works

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Awards

Year Award Category Result
2007 International Thriller Writers Awards "Thrillermaster" Award Template:Won
2015 National Book Award Literarian Award for Outstanding Service award Template:Won
2015 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Innovator's Award Template:Won
2019 National Humanities Medal Template:Won
2019 New York State Writers Hall of Fame Class of 2019 Template:Won
2025 International Thriller Writers Awards Silver Bullet Award Template:Won


Work Year & Award Category Result Ref.
The Thomas Berryman Number 1977 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel Template:Won
Sam's Letters to Jennifer 2005 Audie Awards Romance Template:Nominated
Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever 2008 Hampshire Book Awards Book Award Template:Nominated
Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment 2008-2009 South Dakota Library Association SD Teen Choice Book Awards Template:Win <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2007-2008 Soaring Eagle Book Award Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports 2008 Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The 8th Confession

(with Maxine Paetro)

2009 Goodreads Choice Awards Mystery & Thriller Template:Nominated <ref> Template:Cite web </ref>
Maximum Ride: The Final Warning 2009 Kids' Book Choice Awards Author of the Year Template:CFinalist <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Maximum Ride: MAX 2011 Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Now You See Her

(with Michael Ledwidge)

2011 Goodreads Choice Awards Mystery & Thriller Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Fang: A Maximum Ride Novel 2011 Children’s Choice Book Awards Teen Choice Book of the Year Template:Nominated <ref> Template:Cite web </ref>
Women's Murder Club: 11th Hour

(with Maxine Paetro)

2012 Goodreads Choice Awards Mystery & Thriller Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Guilty Wives

(with David Ellis)

2012 Goodreads Choice Awards Mystery & Thriller Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life

(with Chris Tebbetts)

2012-2013 Soaring Eagle Book Award Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2012 Kids' Book Choice Awards Author of the Year Template:CFinalist <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
First Love

(with Emily Raymond)

2015 Audie Awards Romance Template:Nominated
Cross Justice 2017 Audie Awards Thriller or Suspense Template:Won
The President is Missing

(with Bill Clinton)

2018 Goodreads Choice Awards Mystery & Thriller Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
All-American Murder: The Rise and Fall of Aaron Hernandez, the Superstar Whose Life Ended on Murderers' Row

(with Alex Abramovich and Mike Harvkey)

2018 Goodreads Choice Awards Non-Fiction Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Word of Mouse

(with Chris Grabenstein)

2019 Children's Literature Association of Utah Bee Hive Book Awards Children's Fiction Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Along Came a Spider: 25th Anniversary Edition 2020 Audie Awards Mystery Template:Nominated
The House of Kennedy

(with Cynthia Fagen)

2020 Goodreads Choice Awards History & Biography Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Ali Cross 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards Middle Grade & Children's Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2023-2024 Indian Paintbrush Book Award Template:Sho <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Walk in My Combat Boots

(with Matt Eversmann & Chris Mooney)

2021 Goodreads Choice Awards History & Biography Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Best Nerds Forever

(with Chris Grabenstein)

2021 Goodreads Choice Awards Middle Grade & Children's Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Becoming Muhammad Ali

(with Kwame Alexander)

2022 Mangolia Book Awards Grades 3-5 Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2023 Grand Canyon Reader Award Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2023 South Dakota Children's Book Awards Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The House of Wolves

(with Mike Lupica)

2024 International Thriller Writers Awards Audiobook Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Adaptations

Film

Television

Filmography

Television

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

References

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