Joe Richard Lansdale (born October 28, 1951) is an American writer and martial arts instructor. A prose writer in a variety of genres, including

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense, he has also written comic books and screenplays. Several of his novels have been adapted for film and television. He is the winner of the

British Fantasy Award The British Fantasy Awards (BFA) are awarded annually by the British Fantasy Society (BFS), first in 1976. Prior to that they were known as The August Derleth Fantasy Awards (see August Derleth Award). First awarded in 1972 (to ''The Knight of ...

, the American Horror Award, the

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

, and eleven Bram Stoker Awards.

Early life

Lansdale grew up in

East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that consists of approximately 38 counties. It is roughly divided into Northeast Texas, Northeast, Southeast Texas, Sout ...

, the son of a mechanic.

Career

Lansdale's writing is characterized by a deep sense of irony, and features strange or absurd situations or characters, such as

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

and

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

battling a soul-sucking

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and Organ (biology), organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to Chemical substance, chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the ...

in a nursing home (the plot of his

Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since ...

-nominated novella, '' Bubba Ho-Tep'', which was made into a movie by

Don Coscarelli Don Coscarelli Jr. (born February 17, 1954) is an American film director, film producer, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in horror films. His directing credits include the first four films in the Phantasm (franchise), '' ...

). His '' Hap and Leonard'' series of twelve novels, four

novellas A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

, and three short story collections feature Hap Collins and Leonard Pine who live in the fictional town of Laborde, in

, where they find themselves solving a variety of crimes. Hap is a white working class laborer in his mid forties who once protested against the war in Vietnam and spent time in federal prison rather than be drafted, and Leonard is a gay black Vietnam vet. Both of them are accomplished fighters. The stories (told from Hap's point of view) are violent, and characterized by strong language and sexual situations. Lansdale depiction of East Texas is essentially "good" but blighted by racism, ignorance, urban and rural deprivation and corrupt public officials. His novels are also characterized by sharp humor and "wisecracking" dialogue. These books have been adapted into a TV series for the

SundanceTV Sundance TV (formerly known as Sundance Channel) is an American pay television channel owned by AMC Networks that launched on February 1, 1996. The channel is named after Robert Redford's character in ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' and, w ...

channel and a series of

graphic novels A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics scholars and ...

in 2017. Season 2 is based on the second ''Hap and Leonard'' novel '' Mucho Mojo'' and season 3, which premiered on 3/7/18, is based on the third novel '' The Two-Bear Mambo''. Much of Lansdale's work has been issued and re-issued as limited editions by

Subterranean Press Subterranean Press is a small press publisher in Burton, Michigan. Subterranean is best known for publishing genre fiction, primarily Horror fiction, horror, suspense and dark mystery, fantasy, and science fiction. In addition to publishing novel ...

and as trade paperbacks by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard Publications. Lansdale's novel titled '' Fender Lizards'' was published in November 2015 by Subterranean Press. In February 2016 two full-length novels '' Hell's Bounty'' was published Feb 27 also by Subterreanean Press and a new Hap and Leonard novel titled ''Honky Tonk Samurai'' was released Feb 2 by Mulholland Books. On January 31, 2017 ''Coco Butternut: A Hap and Leonard Novella'' was released by Subterranean Press and ''Rusty Puppy'' was released by Mulholland Books February 21, 2017. A new

mosaic novel A mosaic novel is a novel in which individual chapters or short stories share a common setting or set of characters with the aim of telling a linear story from beginning to end, with the individual chapters, however, refracting a plurality of viewp ...

titled ''Blood and Lemonade'' was released on March 14, 2017. Lansdale and daughter Kasey started a new publishing company called Pandi Press to control the re-issue and publication of his older works. Lansdale book of essays and memoirs, '' Miracles Ain't What They Used To Be'', was released by

PM Press PM Press is an independent publisher, founded in 2007 by a small collective of people, that specializes in radical literature. Previously based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the press relocated to Binghamton, New York, in 2022. Bookstores In ...

's Outspoken Author Series. His newest Hap and Leonard release is a novel titled ''Jackrabbit Smile'' and released March 27, 2018. He also, along with his daughter Kasey, released a collection of Dana Roberts mysteries titled ''Terror is Our Business: Dana Roberts' Casebook of Horrors,'' published in May 2018 by Cutting Block Books. In October 2018 a short story collection titled '' Driving to Geronimo's Grave and Other Stories'' has been published by Subterranean Press as a limited edition. His most recent novel is titled ''More Better Deals'' and was published by Mulholland Books. Its hardcover and Kindle releases were on July 21, 2020. Since then he released a novel ''Big Lizard'' co-written with his son Keith Lansdale released as a limited edition of 1500 hard-copies published by Short, Scary Tales Publications and is also available through

Amazon Kindle Amazon Kindle is a series of e-readers designed and marketed by Amazon. Amazon Kindle devices enable users to browse, buy, download, and read e-books, newspapers, magazines, Audible audiobooks, and other digital media via wireless networking ...

. His novel is titled ''Moon Lake'' and was released by Mulholland Books on June 22, 2021. He released a book of poetry titled ''Apache Witch'' as a limited edition that sold out right away and a Nat Love novella, ''Radiant Apples'', published by

Personal life

Lansdale, who was born in Gladewater,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, lives in

Nacogdoches, Texas Nacogdoches ( ) is a city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Stephen F. Austin State University is located in Nacogdoches and special ...

, with his wife, Karen. He is the writer in residence at Stephen F. Austin State University. He also teaches at his own Shen Chuan martial arts school Lansdale's Self Defense Systems in Nacogdoches and is a member of the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame as

Sōke , pronounced , is a Japanese term that means "the head family ouse" In the realm of Japanese traditional arts, it is used synonymously with the term '' iemoto''. Thus, it is often used to indicate "headmaster" (or sometimes translated as "head o ...

and the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He is the father of actress, musician and publisher Kasey Lansdale and reporter and screenwriter Keith Lansdale. He has described himself as an atheist, though he has also said that he is not anti-religion.

Film and television

Lansdale was a contributing writer for '' Batman: The Animated Series'', credited with three episodes, namely "Perchance to Dream" (season 1, episode 26, which aired October 29, 1992), "Read My Lips"(season 1, episode #59 that aired May 10, 1993), and "Showdown" (season 4, episode 2, aired September 12, 1995). Lansdale also wrote "Identity Crisis" on '' Superman: The Animated Series'' (season 2, episode 6, airing September 15, 1997), and " Critters" (with

Steve Gerber Stephen Ross Gerber (; September 20, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American comic book writer and creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck. Other works include '' Man-Thing'', ''Omega the Unknown,'' ''Marvel Spotlight ...

) for ''

The New Batman Adventures ''The New Batman Adventures'' (often shortened as ''TNBA'') is an American animated superhero television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Br ...

'' (season 2, episode 2, airing September 19, 1998). Lansdale's first film adaptation was '' Bubba Ho-Tep'', based on his novella of the same and released in 2002. The film featured

and a man who believes himself to be

, confined to an old-age rest home, teaming up to fight a mummy who is stealing their friends' souls. In 2010, Lansdale wrote the screenplay for the animated short ''DC Showcase: Jonah Hex''. The short story '' Incident On and Off a Mountain Road'' was adapted for the first episode of the first season of ''

Masters of Horror ''Masters of Horror'' is a horror anthology television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network. Origin In 2002, director Mick Garris invited some director friends to an informal dinner at a restaurant in Sherm ...

''. It aired on October 28, 2005. Lansdale's story "The Job" was made into an 11-minute short in 1997 by A.W. Feidler. It is available on the out-of-print DVD collection, ''Short 5 – Diversity'', on Warner Home Video. The short story "Drive-In Date" was filmed as a short by James Cahill, from a script written by Lansdale, published in ''A Fist Full of Stories''. The film '' Christmas with the Dead'', based on the Lansdale short story of the same name, was filmed in East Texas in Summer 2011. The film starring Brad Maule, Damian Maffei, and Kasey Lansdale is currently showing on the film festival circuit and at private screenings. The DVD has been released. Actor and director

Bill Paxton William Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor, filmmaker and musician. A versatile character actor known for his distinctive Texan drawl and everyman screen persona, he was a four-time Golden Globe Award and a Prime ...

worked for six years on a film adaptation of Lansdale's novel ''The Bottoms''. In a 2015 interview with ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'', Paxton admitted having difficulty getting the project off the ground. Paxton's death left unfinished projects, including ''The Bottoms'' movie. Backup Media and Memento Films International financed '' Cold in July'', an adaptation of Lansdale's cult novel was directed by

Jim Mickle Jim Mickle (born 1979) is an American director and writer, known for such films as ''Mulberry Street (film), Mulberry Street'', ''Stake Land'', ''We Are What We Are (2013 film), We Are What We Are'' and ''Cold in July (film), Cold in July''. He ...

, with acting by

Michael C. Hall Michael Carlyle Hall (born February 1, 1971) is an American actor and musician. He is known for playing Dexter Morgan, the titular character in the Showtime (TV network), Showtime series ''Dexter (TV series), Dexter'' and David Fisher (Six Feet ...

and

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American playwright, actor, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned half a century. He wrote 58 plays as well as several books of short stories, essays, ...

. Filming began in 2013. Accompanied by a movie tie-in edition of the original story released by Tachyon Publications, the film was screened at the 2014

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

. Nick Damici and

developed a '' Hap and Leonard''

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a wikt:private eye, private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. ...

series for the Sundance Channel, which premiered in March 2016. On June 27, 2016, SundanceTV renewed the series for a six-episode second season, which aired in 2017 and was based on the second novel, '' Mucho Mojo''. Season 3 is based the third book, '' The Two-Bear Mambo'' On May 14, 2018, SundanceTV announced the cancellation of the series. Lansdale is the executive producer of the film '' The Pale Door''. Joengreghorror

Awards

Joe Lansdale has won eleven

s over the course of his long career. The short story ''Night They Missed the Horror Show'' won the award for "Short Fiction" in 1988. In the "Long Fiction" category (which is for novellas, though it also initially included comic book work as well), he won in 1989 for '' On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert with Dead Folks'', 1997 for '' The Big Blow'', and 1999 for '' Mad Dog Summer'' (a shared award with Brian A. Hopkins' "Five Days in April"). In 1992 the story ''The Events Concerning a Nude Fold-Out Found in a Harlequin Romance'' shared the "Long Fiction" award with '' Aliens: Tribes'' by Steve Bissette. In 1993, ''

Jonah Hex Jonah Woodson Hex is a fictional antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is scarred on the r ...

: Two Gun Mojo'' won in the newly created "Other Media" category. Lansdale's 2006 anthology '' Retro Pulp Tales'' tied for the Best Anthology category with ''Mondo Zombie'' edited by

John Skipp John Skipp (born May 20, 1957) is a splatterpunk horror and fantasy author and anthology editor, as well as a songwriter, screenwriter, film director, and film producer. He collaborated with Craig Spector on multiple novels, and has also colla ...

. He won a Bram Stoker Award in the long fiction category for ''Fishing for Dinosaurs'' which was published in the collection ''Limbus 2''. Won "Short Fiction" for ''The Folding Man'' in 2010. ''The Drive-In'' and '' Savage Season'' were nominated in the "Novels" category in 1988 and 1990, respectively. '' By Bizarre Hands'' and '' Writer of the Purple Rage'' were nominated for "Fiction Collection" in 1989 and 1994. The short story ''Love Doll: A Fable'' was nominated in "Short Fiction" in 1991. The novella '' Bubba Ho-Tep'' was nominated for "Long Fiction" in 1994. '' Something Lumber This Way Comes'' was nominated in a new "Work for Younger Readers" category, and ''

: Shadows West'' #1 was nominated for "Illustrated Narrative", both in 1999. ''Red Romance'' (published in

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

' ''Flinch'' #11) was nominated for "Illustrated Narrative" in 2000. In 2014, nominated best Graphic Novel for ''I Tell You It's Love'' & ''The Steam Man'' in 2016. In 2021, ''Apache Witch and Other Poetic Observations'' for "Poetry Collection" was nominated. Other nominations include: * 1986, ''Tight Little Stitches in a Dead Man's Back'' for a

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

. * 2007, ''Cross Plains Universe: Texans Celebrate

Robert E. Howard Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936) was an American writer who wrote pulp magazine, pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He created the character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sor ...

'' for a World Fantasy Award. * He was nominated for the World Fantasy Award eleven times. Other awards include: * 1990, '' On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert with Dead Folks'' won the

for best short story. * 1994, '' Mucho Mojo'' was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. * 1994, International Horror Guild Award for Best Graphic Story/Illustrated Narrative for ''Jonah Hex: Two Gun Mojo''. * 2000, '' The Bottoms'' was given the

for Best Novel by the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the E ...

. It was also named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and the Herodotus Award for best historical mystery novel. It was also nominated for a

Dashiell Hammett Samuel Dashiell Hammett ( ; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the characters he created are Sam Spade ('' The Ma ...

Award for "Best Novel", as well as "Best Mystery Novel" in the Mystery Readers International's

Macavity Awards The Macavity Awards, established in 1987, are a group of literary awards presented annually to mystery writers. Nominated and voted upon annually by the members of the Mystery Readers International, the award is named for the " mystery cat" of T. ...

in 1991. *2001,

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at Comic-Con Internati ...

*2007, he received the World Horror Convention Grand Master Award & the

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, trade name, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association and commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a Non-profit organization, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional sci ...

's Toastmaster award. * 2011, SUGARPRIZE for a body of work during the Sugarpulp Festival. * 2011, The Grinzane Cavour Prize for Literature for a body of work. * 2012, '' Edge of Dark Water'' was listed

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

Editors' Choice for Adult Books for Young Adults by 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. History 19th century ...

. * 2013, His novel '' The Thicket'' was voted one of the best historical novels by the

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

. * 2014, received the Mondello Prize for best Foreign Author. * 2015, He received the

Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...

lifetime achievement award. * 2016, The Western Writers of America gave Paradise Sky a Spur Award for Best Historical Western Novel. He is also frequently cited as winning the American Mystery Award, the Horror Critics Award, and the "Shot in the Dark" International Crime Writer's award. The

Horror Writers Association The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is a worldwide non-profit organization of professional writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting the interests of horror and dark fantasy writers. Overview HWA was formed in 1985 with ...

gave him and the late Rick Hautala

Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement The Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement annually recognizes one to three living artists for "superior achievement in an entire career" which has "substantially influenced the horror genre". It is conferred by the Horror Writers Association, ...

for 2011, which they received at the Bram Stoker Awards Banquet in Salt Lake City, Utah on March 31, 2012 On October 19, 2012 he was inducted into The Texas Literary Hall of Fame.

Bibliography

Adaptations

*'' Incident On and Off a Mountain Road'' (Film) *'' Bubba Ho-Tep'' (Film) *'' Christmas with the Dead'' (Film) *'' Cold in July'' (Film) *'' Hap and Leonard'' (TV series) *'' The Thicket'' (Film)

References

External links

Official website

Interview Pt. 1

Interview Pt. 2

10 Questions for Joe R. Lansdale

Texas Monthly Article
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lansdale, Joe R. 1951 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American fantasy writers American graphic novelists American horror novelists Chapbook writers American mystery writers American male novelists American science fiction writers American male screenwriters American thriller writers Edgar Award winners People from Gladewater, Texas People from Nacogdoches, Texas Splatterpunk Stephen F. Austin State University faculty Novelists from Texas Martial arts school founders American martial artists American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Screenwriters from Texas Writers from Texas American satirists American weird fiction writers American crime fiction writers American atheists Inkpot Award winners