Author Biography | Interview | Books by this Author | Readalikes
Armistead Maupin was born in Washington, D.C., in 1944 but grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, he served as a naval officer in the Mediterranean and with the River Patrol Force in Vietnam. Maupin worked as a reporter for a newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina, before being assigned to the San Francisco bureau of the Associated Press in 1971. In 1976 he launched his groundbreaking Tales of the City serial in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Maupin is the author of several novels, including the seven-volume Tales of the City series, Maybe the Moon, The Night Listener and, most recently, Michael Tolliver Lives. Three miniseries starring Olympia Dukakis and Laura Linney were made from the first three Tales novels. The Night Listener became a feature film starring Robin Williams and Toni Collette.
Maupin lives in San Francisco with his husband, Christopher Turner.
Armistead Maupin's website
This bio was last updated on 08/08/2015. We try to keep BookBrowse's biographies both up to date and accurate, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's a tough task. So, please help us - if the information about this author is out of date or inaccurate, and you know of a more complete source, please let us know. Authors and publishers: If you wish to make changes to a bio, send the complete biography as you would like it displayed so that we can replace the old with the new.
You are known for producing complex plotlines full of unexpected twists.
Does this require careful planning, or is the process more organic in nature?
I always let a storyline percolate for a while before I begin to write,
but even then I have only a general road map of the territory. Many of the side
trips arise unexpectedly, which is a source of delight to me. Sometimes, of
course, it's necessary to rewrite in order to look like I'd always planned on
taking that side trip. This requires engaging both sides of your brain
simultaneously. That is, you have to maintain a kind of formal structure but go
a little crazy at the same time. And, for me, that's never a speedy process. I
usually write two pages a day at the very most. I wish I could let it spill out
heedlessly, but I've grown more and more fussy over the years--thanks, in part,
to the invention of the word processor.
Did you know how The Night Listener would end when you began it?
No. That came to me very close to the end, when I was out walking the
dog. But it arose from what I'd already learned about Gabriel--and about
myself--in the course of writing the book. It was thrillingly obvious, too, as
if I should have seen it all along.
...
Become a Member and discover books that entertain, engage & enlighten.
The Prophets
by Robert Jones Jr.
A stunning debut novel about the forbidden union between two enslaved young men on a Deep South plantation.
Reader ReviewsAt the Edge of the Haight
by Katherine Seligman
Winner of the 2019 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction.
Reader ReviewsChoose an author as you would a friend
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Visitors can view some of BookBrowse for free. Full access is for members only.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.