Richard Rayner (born 1955) is a

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author who now lives in Los Angeles.

Early life

He was born on 15 December 1955 in the northern city of Bradford. Rayner attended schools in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

and

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

before studying philosophy and law at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. 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 ma ...

, 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. Biography Mika Kaurismäki is the elder brother of Aki Kaurismäki, and the father of Maria Kaurismäki, who graduated from Tampere School of Art and Media in 2008 ...

) starring

David Tennant David John Tennant ('' né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show '' Doctor Who'', reprising the ...

Vinessa Shaw Vinessa Elizabeth Shaw (born July 19, 1976) is an American film actress and model. She began her career as a child actor, and had her breakout role in Disney's 1993 Halloween comedy-fantasy film ''Hocus Pocus''. Shaw also appeared in '' Ladybug ...

Julie Delpy Julie Delpy (; born 21 December 1969) is a French-American actress, film director, screenwriter, and singer-songwriter. She studied filmmaking at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and has directed, written, and acted in more than 30 films, includ ...

Vincent Gallo Vincent Gallo (born 1961) is an American actor and director. He has had supporting roles in films such as '' Arizona Dream'' (1993), '' The House of the Spirits'' (1993), '' Palookaville'' (1995), and '' The Funeral'' (1996). His lead roles incl ...

, 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 multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awar ...

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'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

. 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 Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal Police, police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the thir ...

. *
LAPC
, ''

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

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

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 weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issue ...

, The

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

, Esquire,

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. ...

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 is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award from four nominations, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, the Ceci ...

, and a story about how a Finnish

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

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 also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

. 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 network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

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 industrialist and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 8th governor of California from 1862 to 1863 and represented California in the United States Sen ...

*
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's biography of Eisenhowe.
Everything you need to know about "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
— Salon.com *
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 the University of Cambridge Writers from Bradford British writers The New Yorker people