Richard Rayner (born 15 December 1955) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

author who now lives in Los Angeles.

Early life

He was born on 15 December 1955 in the northern city of

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

. Rayner attended schools in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and Rydal School in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

before studying philosophy and law at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mo ...

. He has worked as an editor at '' Time Out'' Magazine, in London, and later on the literary magazine ''

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make ...

'', then based in Cambridge.

First book

Rayner is the author of nine books. His first, ''Los Angeles Without A Map'', was published in 1988. Part-fiction, part-travelogue, this was turned into a movie '' L.A. Without a Map'' (for which Rayner co-wrote the screenplay with director

Mika Kaurismäki Mika Juhani Kaurismäki (; born 21 September 1955) is a Finnish film director. Early life and education Mika Kaurismäki was born in Orimattila. He is the elder brother of Aki Kaurismäki. After high school, Kaurismäki worked as a painter of ...

) starring

David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...

Vinessa Shaw Vinessa Elizabeth Shaw (born July 19, 1976) is an American film actress and model. She began her career as a child actress, making her feature film debut in the slasher film ''Home Sweet Home (1981 film), Home Sweet Home'' (1981). She had her b ...

, Julie Delpy,

Vincent Gallo Vincent Gallo (born April 11, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and musician. He has won several accolades, including a Volpi Cup for Best Actor, and has been nominated for the Palme d'Or, the Golden Lion, and the Bronze Horse. Gallo was ...

, and, in an uncredited part,

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...

1996–present

In 1996, Rayner published ''The Blue Suit'', a memoir about his early life that won an

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

Non-Fiction Award in the UK, and was described as 'a beguiling portrait of the artist as a writer and a crook' by 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 ...

. Novels like ''The Cloud Sketcher'' and ''Devil's Wind'' followed. ''Murder Book'', another novel, grew out of a time that Rayner spent riding with the

Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

. *
LAPC
, ''

Magazine'', January 22, 1995 *
Inside the LAPD, After the Riots
—

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

In 2009, Rayner published ''A Bright And Guilty Place'', a non-fiction historical narrative set in Los Angeles in the late 1920s and early 1930s, featuring various true-life tabloid crimes of the era. Rayner is a prolific journalist and short-story writer. He has published in

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

, The

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

, Esquire,

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

and Granta Magazine among others. He wrote about the Los Angeles Riots for Granta Magazine, and about the post-Rodney-King Los Angeles Police Department for the New York Times Magazine. Further cover stories for the New York Times magazine include reporting on issues such as immigration, partner-swapping in Orange County, and women in the US military. His non-fiction work for the New Yorker has included a profile of

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the ...

, and a story about how a Finnish

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

helped put leaves back on pest-ravaged Beijing trees in time for the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

. Rayner wrote and presented 'Back to Bradford', a documentary for UK's

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

about returning to his home town. Rayner wrote a monthly column entitled ''Paperback Writers'' for the Los Angeles Times. His work has been translated into more than twenty languages. He is married to a Finn, Päivi Suvilehto, and the couple have two sons, Harry and Charlie. He has lived in Venice, California since 1992. Rayner is the writer and co-creator, with Don Handfield, and executive producer, of the historical drama '' Knightfall'', concerning the downfall and legend of the Knights Templar, which aired in the USA on the History channel, starting late 2017. The show stars Tom Cullen, Jim Carter, and Julian Ovenden, and was shot in Prague in 2016 and 2018. Rayner co-wrote 'The Rift', the first episode of the Steven Spielberg produced reboot of 'Amazing Stories' for Apple TV, aired in April 2020. Rayner has taught creative writing at King's College Cambridge and the University of Southern California. Currently he teaches in the Theater, Film and Television Department at UCLA.

Bibliography

Novels

* '' Los Angeles Without A Map'' (1988 - adapted for film in 1998) * '' The Elephant'' (1991) * '' Murder Book'' (1998) * '' The Cloud Sketcher'' (2001) * '' The Devil's Wind'' (2005)

Short fiction

;Stories

Non-fiction

*
Los Angeles
in ''The Best Of Granta Reportage'',

Books, London (1993) * '' The Blue Suit'' (1995), Review:
Portrait Of The Artist As A Writer And A Crook
by Michuko Kakutani, ''New York Times'', October 27, 1995 *

, ''

Magazine'', January 22, 1995 *
Existential Cowboy
, ''

'', May 18, 1998 * '' Drake's Fortune'' (2002) about the con artist Oscar Hartzell * '' The Associates: Four Capitalists Who Created California'' (2008) features profiles of Collis Huntington,

Charles Crocker Charles Crocker (September 16, 1822 – August 14, 1888) was an American railroad executive who was one of the founders of the Central Pacific Railroad, which constructed the westernmost portion of the first transcontinental railroad, and took ...

, Mark Hopkins and

Leland Stanford Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824June 21, 1893) was an American attorney, industrialist, philanthropist, and Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician from Watervliet, New York. He served as the eighth governor of Calif ...

*
Bug Wars
, ''

'', August 25, 2008 * '' A Bright And Guilty Place'' (2009) about the murderer of Los Angeles underworld figure Charles H. Crawford * Discusses issues with

Stephen E. Ambrose Stephen Edward Ambrose (January 10, 1936 – October 13, 2002) was an American historian, academic, and author, most noted for his books on World War II and his biographies of U.S. presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. He was a lon ...

's biography of Eisenhowe.
Everything you need to know about "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
—

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive and liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, includ ...

*
Inside the LAPD, After the Riots
—

References

External links

Rayner's Official Website

A Bright And Guilty Place
Rayner's book Website
An interview with Richard Rayner
on ''Notebook on Cities and Culture''
Richard Rayner
in ''

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Rayner, Richard 1955 births Living people Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Writers from Bradford British writers The New Yorker people