A hugely successful American writer and novelist, specialising in crime fiction, Donald Westlake (1933 - 2008) was born in Brooklyn, New York, attended Harpur College in Binghamton, New York State, and was part of the United States Air Force for two and a half years.
Several of Westlake's novels have been made into motion pictures, and he is himself a screenplay writer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his script The Grifters written in 1990, adapted from the novel by Jim Thompson.
In addition to writing under his own name, Donald Westlake also published under several pseudonyms, Richard Stark being the most prominent. He began using this name in 1959 for some short stories which were published in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. Famously played by Lee Marvin in Point Blank and Mel Gibson in Playback, Parker, the professional hard hitting thief, is Stark's most enduring creation.
Donald E. Westlake won three Edgar Awards and was deservedly named a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master.
He married Abigail Westlake (also known as Abby Adams Westlake and Abby Adams), a non fiction writer, and they lived in Manhattan for many years, then in upstate New York.
You can find out more information by visiting Donald Westlake's web site.
Website:
http://www.donaldwestlake.com
Bibliography:
The Mercenaries 1960 Random House
Killing Time 1961 Random House
361 1962 Random House
Killy 1963 Random House
Pity Him Afterwards 1964 Random House
The Fugitive Pigeon 1965 Random House
The Busy Body 1966 Random House
The Spy in the Ointment 1966 Random House
God Save the Mark 1967 Random House
Who Stole Sassi Manoon? 1968 Random House
Somebody Owes Me Money 1969 Random House
Up Your Banners 1969 Macmillan
The Hot Rock 1970 Simon & Schuster
Adios Scheherezade 1970 Simon & Schuster
I Gave at the Office 1971 Simon & Schuster
Bank Shot 1972 Simon & Schuster
Cops and Robbers M. Evans 1972 Simon & Schuster
Gangway (with Brian Garfield) 1973 Simon & Schuster
Help I Am Being Held Prisoner 1974 Simon & Schuster
Jimmy the Kid 1974 Simon & Schuster
Brothers Keepers 1975 Simon & Schuster
Two Much 1975 Simon & Schuster
Dancing Aztecs 1976 Simon & Schuster
Enough (containing A Travesty & Ordo) 1977 Simon & Schuster
Nobody's Perfect 1977 Simon & Schuster
Castle in the Air 1980 Simon & Schuster
Kahawa 1981 Viking
Why Me 1983 Viking
A Likely Story 1984 Penzler Books
High Adventure 1985 Mysterious Press
Good Behavior 1985 Mysterious Press
Trust Me on This 1988 Mysterious Press
Sacred Monster 1989 Mysterious Press
Drowned Hopes 1990 Mysterious Press
Humans 1992 Mysterious Press
Don't Ask 1993 Mysterious Press
Baby, Would I Lie? 1994 Mysterious Press
Smoke 1995 Mysterious Press
What's the Worst That Could Happen? 1996 Mysterious Press
The Ax 1997 Mysterious Press
The Hook 2000 Mysterious Press
Bad News 2001 Mysterious Press
Put a Lid on It 2002 Mysterious Press
Writing as Richard Stark:
Elizabeth Taylor (a biography of, in fact) by John B. Allan 1962 Monarch Books
The Hunter (later retitled Point Blank because of the movie, later retitled Payback because of the other movie) 1962 Pocket Books
The Man With the Getaway Face later re-titled Steel Hit in the UK 1963 Pocket Books
The Outfit 1963 Pocket Books
The Mourner 1963 Pocket Books
The Score later retitled Killtown in the UK 1963 Pocket Books
The Jugger 1965 Pocket Books
The Seventh later retitled The Split because of the movie 1966 Pocket Books
The Handle later retitled Run Lethal in the UK 1966 Pocket Books
The Rare Coin Score 1967 Gold Medal
The Damsel 1967 Macmillan
The Green Eagle Score 1967 Gold Medal
The Black Ice Score 1968 Gold Medal
The Sour Lemon Score 1969 Gold Medal
The Dame 1969 MacMillan
The Blackbird 1969 MacMillan
Lemons Never Lie 1971 World
Slayground 1971 Random House
Deadly Edge 1971 Random House
Plunder Squad 1972 Random House
Butcher's Moon 1974 Random House
Comeback 1997 Mysterious Press
Backflash 1998 Mysterious Press
Flashfire 2000 Mysterious Press
Non-Fiction by David E. Westlake:
Under an English Heaven 1972 Simon & Schuster
Writing as Tucker Coe (all published originally by Random House):
Kinds of Love, Kinds of Death 1966
Murder Among Children 1967
Wax Apple 1970
A Jade in Aries 1970
Don't Lie to Me 1972
Writing as Samuel Holt, republished in 2006 by Felony & Mayhem:
One Of Us Is Wrong 1986
I Know A Trick Worth Two Of That 1986
What I tell You Three Times Is False 1987
The Fourth Dimension Is Death 1989
Writing as Edwin West for Monarch Books:
Brother and Sister 1961
Campus Doll 1961
Young and Innocent 1961
Strange Affair 1962
Writing as Curt Clark:
Anarchaos 1966 Ace Books
Writing as Timothy J. Culver:
Ex officio 1970 M. Evans
Two books adapted from Mohonk Mountain House mystery weekends, both by Donald and Abby Westlake, both published in 1987 by Dennis McMillan Publications:
High Jinx (introduction by Martin Cruz Smith)
Transylvania Station (introduction by Stephen King)
One more.
Elizabeth Taylor (a biography of, in fact) by John B. Allan in 1962, Monarch Books
Writing as J. Morgan Cunningham:
Comfort Station, by the vibrant J. Morgan Cunningham, a Signet paperback original, 1970, inspired by the works of Arthur Hailey.
Produced screenplays and teleplays:
Cops and Robbers 1973 story and screenplay
Hot Stuff 1979 co-story and co-screenplay
Supertrain (TV pilot) 1979 story and teleplay
The Stepfather 1987 screenplay and co-story
Father Dowling 1987 (TV pilot) story and teleplay
Why Me 1990 co-screenplay from my novel
The Grifters 1990 screenplay from Jim Thompson novel
Fly paper 1993 (TV anthology episode), teleplay from Dashiell Hammett short story
Films from Donald E. Westlake's books:
The Jugger 1966 in France, as Made In USA
Point Blank 1967 from The Hunter, remade as Payback 1999
The Busy Body 1967
The Score 1967 in France, as Mise a Sac
The Seventh Split 1968
The Hot Rock 1972
Cops And Robbers 1973
Bank Shot 1974
The Outfit 1974
Jimmy the Kid 1983 remade in Germany 1999 don't know the title
Two Much 1984 in France, as The Twin, remade in USA as Two Much 1996
Slayground 1984
Why Me 1990
Dancing Aztecs 1996 in France, don't know the title
A Travesty (part of the volume Enough) 1999 cable movie A Slight Case of Murder
What's the Worst That Could Happen? 2001 as What's the Worst That Could Happen?
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