Author Biography | Interview | Books by this Author | Readalikes
How to pronounce David Benioff: BEN-ee-off
David Benioff (born David Friedman but changed his name to take his mother's maiden name) was born and raised in New York City and attended Dartmouth College and the University of California at Irvine. His father, Stephen Friedman, is a former chairman of Goldman Sachs and current Chairman of the United States President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.
Before the publication of his first novel The 25th Hour, Benioff worked as a club bouncer and high school English teacher, until his adaptation of The 25th Hour into a feature film directed by Spike Lee led to a new new career as a screenwriter, including the screenplays for "The Kite Runner".
Stories from his critically acclaimed collection When the Nines Roll Over appeared in Best New American Voices and The Best Nonrequired American Reading. His latest novel is City of Thieves. He is also a co-creater of the award winning HBO series, "Game of Thrones". He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Amanda Peet, and daughter.
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City of Thieves begs the question: Did all this really happen to
your grandfather?
No. My grandfather was born on a farm in Delaware. He became a furrier and
died in Allentown, Pennsylvania. My grandmother (unlike the non-cooking
grandmother in the book) made the best chopped chicken liver in the state.
Neither one, as far as I know, ever visited Russia.
David notes, "Truth might be stranger than fiction, but it needs a
better editor." (p. 4) How much "editing" did you do?
See answer to number one. A whole lot.
How much additional research did you do to write this novel?
I had a wonderful teacher once, the novelist Ann Patchett. I asked her about
the research she did for The Magician's Assistant, and she told me to
choose the single best book on the given subject and study it obsessively.
Writers are always tempted to track down dozens of books to help give our
make-believe stories that tang of authenticity, but often the problem with too
much research is a writing style that seems too researched, dry and musty, and
eager for a history teacher's gold star of approval.
Unfortunately, my will was not strong enough for me to follow Ann's advice. I
did end up ...
Ramona Ausubel grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She has been published in The New Yorker, One Story, The Paris Review Daily, The Best American Fantasy and elsewhere and has received special mentions in The Best American Short... (more)
If you enjoyed:
City of Thieves
Try:
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by Ramona Ausubel
Debra Dean attended Whitman College where she double-majored in English and Drama. She worked in New York and regional theatre for nearly a decade. She received her MFA degree from the University of Oregon and has written 3 ... (more)
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City of Thieves
Try:
The Madonnas of Leningrad
by Debra Dean
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