Reed Farrel Coleman (born March 29, 1956) is an American writer of

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...

and a poet.

Life and career

Reed Farrel Coleman, the youngest of three boys, was born and raised in the Sheepshead Bay,

Coney Island Coney Island is a neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the south and west, and Gravesend to ...

Brighton Beach Brighton Beach is a List of Brooklyn neighborhoods, neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, within the greater Coney Island area along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Brighton Beach ...

section of Brooklyn. As a teenager, he heard a shot while walking to work, and saw a man lying in the street with a fatal stomach wound. That is when he realized, "People do get hurt." He started writing in high school. He has worked at an ice cream store, in air freight at Kennedy Airport, as a car leasing agent, in baby food sales, cooking at a restaurant, as a cab driver, and delivering home heating oil. Coleman met his wife Rosanne at

The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...

in a writing class. They have two children, Kaitlin and Dylan. He now lives on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. Coleman only considered making writing a career once taking a

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

detective fiction class. He is a multiple award-winning author, particularly his Moe Prager series. Also published are series featuring protagonists Gulliver Dowd, Dylan Klein, and Joe Serpe. The Dowd character was based on a retired police detective that he had met. The Joe Serpe novels were originally written under the pen name Tony Spinosa, but are now available as Coleman titles. He has written the stand-alone novels ''Tower'' with Ken Bruen, ''Bronx Reqiem'' with Det. (ret.) John Roe of the NYPD, ''Gun Church'', and several short stories, essays, and poems. Coleman has won Anthony, Audie, Barry, Macavity and Shamus Awards. His books and stories have additionally been nominated for Gumshoe and

Edgar Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of ''wikt:en:ead, ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''Gar (spear), gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Midd ...

Awards. The books have been translated into seven languages. He considers

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

, Lawrence Block,

T.S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

Wallace Stevens Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955) was an American modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as an executive for an insurance compa ...

William Carlos Williams William Carlos Williams (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963) was an American poet and physician closely associated with modernism and imagism. His '' Spring and All'' (1923) was written in the wake of T. S. Eliot's '' The Waste Land'' (1922). ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

to be early influences. Later he found significance in the writing of colleagues Peter Blauner, Ken Bruen, Jim Fusilli, S.J. Rozan, and Peter Spiegelman. He says, though, that his single greatest writing influence was his college poetry professor, David Lehman, who provided "permission to be a writer and...the first clues on self-editing". NPR has referred to him as "a hard-boiled poet", ''

HuffPost ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

'' says, "Coleman is the resident noir poet laureate of the United States" and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' has commented, "If you dragged one (of his books) across the asphalt, you'd half-expect it to leave a chalk outline". With a four-book contract, Coleman takes over writing

Robert B. Parker Robert Brown Parker (September 17, 1932 – January 18, 2010) was an American writer, primarily of fiction within the mystery/detective genre. His most famous works include the 40 novels written about the fictional private detective Spenser. ...

's Jesse Stone series with the September 2014 publication of ''Blind Spot''. He has also been signed to a two-book deal featuring retired Suffolk County (NY) cop turned PI Gus Murphy. He is an adjunct instructor of English at

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

, a former Executive Vice President of

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 ...

, and a founding member of Mystery Writers of America University.

Bibliography

Dylan Klein series

* ''Life Goes Sleeping'', Permanent Press, 1991. * ''Little Easter'', Permanent Press, 1993. * ''They Don't Play Stickball in Milwaukee'', Permanent Press, 1997.

Moe Prager series

* ''Walking the Perfect Square'', Permanent Press, 2001. * ''Redemption Street'', Viking, 2004. * '' The James Deans'', Plume, 2005. * ''Soul Patch'', Bleak House Books, 2007. * ''Empty Ever After'', Bleak House Books, 2008. * ''Innocent Monster'', Tyrus Books, 2010. * ''Hurt Machine'', Tyrus Books, 2011. * ''Onion Street'', Tyrus Books, 2013. * ''The Hollow Girl'', F+W Media, Inc., 2014.

Joe Serpe series

(writing as Tony Spinosa) * ''Hose Monkey'', Bleak House Books, 2006. * ''The Fourth Victim'', Bleak House Books, 2008.

Gulliver Dowd series

* ''Dirty Work'', Raven Books rca Book Publishers 2013. * ''Valentino Pier'', Raven Books rca Book Publishers 2013. *''The Boardwalk'', Raven Books rca Book Publishers 2015. *''Love and Fear'', Raven Books rca Book Publishers 2016.

Gus Murphy series

* ''Where It Hurts,'' 2016. * ''What You Break,'' 2016.

Nick Ryan series

* ''Sleepless City,'' Blackstone Publishing, 2023. * ''Blind to Midnight,'' Blackstone Publishing, 2024.

Robert B. Parker Robert Brown Parker (September 17, 1932 – January 18, 2010) was an American writer, primarily of fiction within the mystery/detective genre. His most famous works include the 40 novels written about the fictional private detective Spenser. ...
's Jesse Stone

* ''Blind Spot'', G.P. Putnam, 2014. * ''The Devil Wins'', G.P. Putnam, 2015. *''Debt to Pay'', G.P. Putnam, 2016. . *''The Hangman’s Sonnet'', Penguin Random House, 2017. *''Colorblind'', Penguin Random House, 2018. *''The Bitterest Pill'', Penguin Random House, 2019.

Standalone novels

* ''Tower'' (with Ken Bruen), Busted Flush Press, 2009. * ''Bronx Requiem: a detective Jack Kenny mystery'' (with John Roe), Hyperion, 2012. * ''Gun Church'', Tyrus, 2012.

Essays and short stories

(a selection)

Fiction

* "Portrait of the Killer As a Young Man"
''Dublin Noir: The Celtic Tiger Vs. the Ugly American'', ed. Ken Bruen, Akashic Books, 2006, pp. 61–66. * "Killing O'Malley" (as Tony Spinosa)
''Hardboiled Brooklyn'', ed. Coleman, Bleak House, 2006, pp. 108–115. * "Bat-Head Speed"
''These Guns for Hire'', ed. by

J. A. Konrath Joseph Andrew Konrath (born March 29, 1970, in Skokie, Illinois) is an American fiction writer working in the Mystery fiction, mystery, Thriller (genre), thriller, and Horror fiction, horror genres. He writes as J. A. Konrath and Jack Kilborn. In ...

, Bleak House, 2006, pp. 299–306. * "Another Role"
''Indian Country Noir'', eds. Sarah Cortez & Liz Martínez, Akashic Books, 2010, pp. 214–238. * "Mastermind" (fr. ''Long Island Noir'', ed. K. Jones)
''USA Noir: Best of the Akashic Noir Series'', ed.

Johnny Temple John Ellis Temple (August 8, 1927 – January 9, 1994) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman from 1952 to 1964, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, where ...

, Akashic Books, 2013, pp 170–179. * "The Terminal"
''Kwik Krimes'', ed. Otto Penzler, Thomas & Mercer, 2013, pp. 93–96.

Nonfiction

* "Go East, Young Man: Robert B. Parker, Jesse Stone, and Spenser"
''In Pursuit of Spenser: Mystery Writers on Robert B. Parker and the Creation of an American Hero'', ed. Otto Penzler, BenBella Books, 2012, pp. 193–210. * "Tomato Red by Daniel Woodrell (1998)"
''Books to Die For'', eds. John Connolly & Declan Burke, Hodder & Stoughton, 2012, pp. 649–654.

Poetry

* ''The Lineup: Poems on Crime 2'', ed. Gerald So, with Patrick Bagley, Richie Narvaez & Anthony Rainone, Poetic Justice Press, 2009. * ''The Lineup: Poems on Crime 3'', ed. Gerald So with Sarah Cortez, Richie Narvaez & AnthonyRainone, Poetic Justice Press, 2010. * ''The Lineup: Poems on Crime 4'', ed. Gerald So with Reed Farrel Coleman, Sarah Cortez, & Richie Narvaez, Poetic Justice Press, 2011.

Awards

Anthony Award

* 2006 Best Paperback Original - ''The James Deans'' - WINNER * 2010 Best Paperback Original - ''Tower'' (w/Ken Bruen) - finalist * 2012 Best Novel - ''Hurt Machine'' - finalist

Audie Award

* 2013 Original Work - ''Gun Church'' - WINNER

Barry Award

* 2006 Best Paperback Novel - ''The James Deans'' - WINNER * 2008 Best Novel - ''Soul Patch'' - finalist * 2012 Best Novel - ''Hurt Machine'' - finalist

Gumshoe Award

* 2006 Best Novel - ''The James Deans'' - finalist

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 ...

* 2006 Best Paperback Original - ''The James Deans'' - finalist * 2008 Best Novel - ''Soul Patch'' - finalist * 2014 Best Short Story - "The Terminal" in ''Kwik Krimes'' - finalist

Macavity Award 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 "Macavity, mystery cat ...

* 2006 Best Mystery Novel - ''The James Deans'' - finalist * 2010 Best Mystery Novel - ''Tower'' (w/Ken Bruen) - WINNER * 2008 Best Mystery Novel - ''Soul Patch'' - finalist * 2014 Best Mystery Short Story - "The Terminal" in ''Kwik Krimes'' - finalist

Shamus Award

* 2006 Best PI Paperback Original - ''The James Deans'' - WINNER * 2008 Best PI Hardcover - ''Soul Patch'' - WINNER * 2009 Best PI Hardcover - ''Empty Ever After'' - WINNER *2017 Best PI Hardcover - ''Where It Hurts'' - WINNER

References

External links

Official Web Site

Mystery Writers of America University

Interview on Beaks and Geeks Podcast
June 10, 2014, accessed July 29, 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Reed Farrel 1956 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American mystery writers Crime novelists Hofstra University faculty Anthony Award winners Barry Award winners Macavity Award winners Shamus Award winners People from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn Writers from Brooklyn Novelists from New York City American male novelists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Brooklyn College alumni