Carl Hiaasen

Infobox Writer
name = Carl Hiaasen


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birthdate = March 12, 1953
birthplace = Plantation, Florida
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occupation = Novelist
Journalist
nationality = American
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genre = Crime Fiction
Thrillers
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spouse = Connie Lyford
Fenia Clizer
website = http://www.carlhiaasen.com/

Carl Hiaasen (pronEng|ˈhaɪəsɛn) (born March 12, 1953) is an American journalist and novelist.

Biography

Born and raised in Plantation, Florida, (near Fort Lauderdale) of Norwegian heritage,cite web | title=My Lunch with Carl Hiaasen | work=Salon | url=http://archive.salon.com/people/lunch/2000/01/31/hiaasen/index.html | accessdate=2008-10-08] Hiaasen was the first of four children and the son of a lawyer, Kermit Odel, and teacher, Patricia. He married Connie Lyford just after high-school graduation and entered Emory University in 1970, where he contributed numerous satiric pieces to the school newspaper, "The Emory Wheel". In 1972 he transferred to the University of Florida, graduating in 1974 with a degree in journalism. Carl and Connie divorced in 1996, and he married Fenia Clizer in 1999. He has one son from his first marriage and another from his second.

After two years as a reporter for "Cocoa Today" out of Cocoa, Florida, he joined the "Miami Herald" in 1976, where he currently (as of 2008) works.cite web | title=Biography | work=Carl Hiaasen's Official Website | url=http://www.carlhiaasen.com/bio.html | accessdate=2008-10-08] In 1979 he turned to investigative journalism, concentrating on construction and property development, exposing schemes to destroy Florida's natural beauty for the sake of profit; several of his novels have plots based around such schemes. Since 1985 he has written a regular column for the "Herald", which currently appears weekly.

In the 1980s he embarked on a career as a novelist. He co-wrote three thrillers with fellow-journalist Bill Montalbano: "Powder Burn" (1981), "Trap Line" (1981), and "A Death in China" (1986). After Montalbano became a foreign correspondent, Hiaasen wrote his first solo novel, "Tourist Season" (1986), introducing many of his distinctive styles and themes.

Hiaasen's fiction mirrors his concerns as a journalist and Floridian. His novels have been classified as "environmental thrillers" and are usually found on the mystery shelves in bookshops, although they can just as well be read as mainstream reflections of contemporary life. His books have been published in 33 different languages.

Hiaasen's Florida is a hive of greedy businessmen, corrupt politicians, dumb blondes, apathetic retirees, intellectually challenged tourists, hard-luck redneck cooters, and militant ecoteurs. It is the same Florida of John D. MacDonald and Travis McGee, but aged another 20 years and viewed with a more satiric or sardonic eye.

In addition to writing, Hiaasen also does speaking engagements and lectures. His first venture into writing children's novels was "Hoot", which received the Newbery Honor Award and was made into a movie.cite web | title=The Book | work=Official Hoot Site | url=http://www.hootmovie.com/dl_the_book.html | accessdate=2008-10-08] Jimmy Buffett played the role of a classroom teacher in the film version.cite web | title=Hoot | work=New Line Cinema | url=http://www.newline.com/properties/hoot.html | accessdate=2008-10-08] Hiaasen's second children's novel was "Flush".cite web | title=Books: Flush | work=Carl Hiaasen's Official Website | url=http://www.carlhiaasen.com/books/books-flush.html | accessdate=2008-10-08]

Over the past six years Hiaasen has been working with British theatre producers for the adaptation of his bestseller "Lucky You"; the resulting play includes music by Loudon Wainwright III, and premieres this summer at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2008.cite web | title=Carl Hiaasen's Lucky You | work=Edinburgh Comedy Festival | url=http://www.edcomfest.com/shows/Carl_Hiaasens_Lucky_You | accessdate=2008-10-08]

Bibliography

Fiction

* "Tourist Season" (1986)
* "Double Whammy" (1987)
* "Skin Tight" (1989)
* "Native Tongue" (1991)
* "Strip Tease" (1993) (filmed in 1996 as "Striptease" by Andrew Bergman, starring Demi Moore and Burt Reynolds)
* "Stormy Weather" (1995)
* "Lucky You" (1997)
* "Naked Came the Manatee" (1998) (Collaboration with 12 other authors)
* "Sick Puppy" (2000)
* "Basket Case" (2002)
* "Hoot" (2002) (young adult novel) (released as a movie in May 2006 by director Wil Shriner)
* "Skinny Dip" (2004)
* "Flush" (2005) (young adult novel)
* "Nature Girl" (2006)
* "Scat" (2009) (young adult novel)

With Bill Montalbano
* "Powder Burn" (1981)
* "Trap Line" (1982)
* "A Death in China" (1984)

hort stories

* " [http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1028052/index.htm Tart of Darkness] " (2003, "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue")

Non-fiction

* "Team Rodent: How Disney Devours the World" (1998)
* "Kick Ass" (1999)
* "" (2001)
* "The Downhill Lie" (2008)

Collections

* "A Carl Hiaasen Collection" (2000) (an audiobook set containing "Tourist Season", "Stormy Weather", and "Strip Tease")

Awards

"Hoot" has won both a Newbery Honor from the Association for Library Service to Children and won the 2005 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award, selected for the latter honor by school-age children (grades 4-8) in the U.S. State of Illinois.cite web | title=Past Winners of the Caudill Award | work=Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award | url=http://www.rebeccacaudill.org/winners/index.htm | accessdate=2008-10-08]

References

External links

* [http://www.carlhiaasen.com Carl Hiaasen's homepage]
* [http://www.miamiherald.com/424/index.html Carl Hiaasen's columns in "The Miami Herald"]
*worldcat id|id=lccn-n85-133706