John Burnham Schwartz

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John Burnham Schwartz (born 1965) is an American novelist and screenwriter. Schwartz is best known for his novels Reservation Road (1998) and The Commoner (2008). His fifth novel, Northwest Corner, a sequel to Reservation Road, was published in 2011.[1]

Career[]

John Burnham Schwartz was born in 1965, in New York City, the son of Alan U. Schwartz, an entertainment attorney, and Paula Schwartz (née Dunaway), an editor and writer.[2] Schwartz's parents later apparently divorced; in 1983 his mother married the poet W. S. Merwin, and was known as Paula Merwin.[3][4]

Growing up in New York City, Schwartz attended the Manhattan Country School.[5] He later attended Harvard College, where he majored in Japanese studies.[5] After graduating in 1987, with a B.A. in East Asian Studies,[2][6] he initially accepted a position with a Wall Street investment bank, before finally turning the position down, after selling his first novel.[3][5] That book, Bicycle Days, a coming of age story about a young American man in Japan, was published in 1989 on his 24th birthday, and garnered strong reviews.[3][6] In 1991 he was a recipient of a Lyndhurst Foundation Award.[2]

Schwartz's second novel Reservation Road (1998), about a family tragedy and its aftermath, was critically acclaimed, and in 2007 was made into a major motion picture.[7] The film, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, and Jennifer Connelly, was directed by Terry George, based on a screenplay that was co-written by Schwartz and George.[3][8]

Schwartz went on to publish Claire Marvel (2002), a love story set in the United States and France,[9][10] and, in 2008, The Commoner, a novel inspired by the life of Empress Michiko of Japan, the current empress and crown princess of Japan, and the first commoner to marry into the Japanese imperial family.[3]

He was a co-writer, with Sam Levinson and Samuel Baum, of the screenplay for The Wizard of Lies, a 2017 HBO movie about the disgraced financier Bernie Madoff, based on the non-fiction book of the same title by Diana B. Henriques; the screenplay was a 2018 nominee for a Writers Guild of America Award, for an adapted long-form program.[11]

Schwartz has contributed articles to publications including The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The Boston Globe, and Vogue.[2] He has taught at Harvard, the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, and Sarah Lawrence College.[2] He is the Literary Director of the Sun Valley Writers' Conference, based in Ketchum, Idaho.[12]

He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife, screenwriter and food writer Aleksandra Crapanzano, and their son Garrick.[2][13]

Novels[]

  • Bicycle Days (1989)
  • (1998)
  • Claire Marvel (2002)
  • The Commoner (2008)
  • Northwest Corner (2011)
  • The Red Daughter (2019)

Filmography[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Meadows, Susannah (July 28, 2011). "Reconstructive Surgery for a Shattered Family" (review of Northwest Corner). The New York Times. nytimes.com. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "John Burnham Schwartz." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Retrieved via Biography In Context database, 2018-04-07.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Rich, Motoko (January 17, 2008). "How a Japanese Empress Inspired an American Literary Prince". The New York Times. nytimes.com. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  4. ^ "The Merwin Conservancy co-founder Paula Merwin dies". The Maui News. mauinews.com. March 11, 2017. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c "MCS Alumni Spotlight: Matt Schwartz ’77 & John Burnham Schwartz ’79". Manhattan Country School. manhattancountryschool.org. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Payne, Peggy (July 9, 1989). "'I am Alec. Please Look After Me'" (review of Bicycle Days). The New York Times. nytimes.com. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  7. ^ Myerson, Julie (August 5, 2011). "‘Reservation Road,’ Revisited". The New York Times. nytimes.com. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  8. ^ Dargis, Manohla (October 19, 2007). "Two Fathers, Facing Different Anguish" (review of film Reservation Road). The New York Times. nytimes.com. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  9. ^ Cronin, Justin (April 14, 2002). "Bittersweet" (review of Claire Marvel). The Washington Post. washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  10. ^ Mendelsohn, Daniel (2002). "Love (Dis)Connection" (review of Claire Marvel). New York. nymag.com. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b McNary, Dave; Nyren, Erin (February 12, 2018). "'Get Out', 'Call Me by Your Name', 'The Handmaid's Tale' win WGA awards". Chicago Tribune. chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  12. ^ "Background". Sun Valley Writers' Conference. svwc.com. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  13. ^ "John Burnham Schwartz: About the Author". Penguin Random House. penguinrandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2018-04-08.

External links[]

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