Career Highlights
- Each of Lee Child’s novels follows the adventures of a former American military policeman named Jack Reacher
- Gone Tomorrow is the 13th book in the Reacher series
- Killing Floor won the Anthony Award for Best First Novel, a coveted literary award for mystery writers
- Child Drives a supercharged Jaguar, which was built in a plant thirty yards from the hospital where he was born
- Holds a Visiting Professorship at the University of Sheffield in the UK, where he went to law school
Career Overview
Lee Child is the pen name of British thriller writer Jim Grant, who was born in Coventry England. He has written 13 books and won the coveted Anthony Award for Best First Novel. Child went to law school at Sheffield University, despite having no ambition to be lawyer, where he worked part-time in the local theater. After graduating, Child joined Granada Television in Manchester and began an eighteen-year career as a presentation director. There he worked on shows like "Brideshead Revisited," "The Jewel in the Crown," "Prime Suspect" and "Cracker."
When Child was fired at age 40 because of corporate restructuring, he decided to become an author. An avid reader, Child bought six dollars' worth of papers and pencils and sat down to write his first book, Killing Floor. Killing Floor was an instant hit and won the Anthony Award for Best First Novel. Child collaborated with 14 other authors to write the 17-part serial thriller "The Chopin Manuscript" narrated by Alfred Molina that was broadcast weekly on Audible.com in 2007. Child now lives in France and New York.
Lee Child joins ThinkTalk host Erika Thomas to discuss his experiences as an author, and how he got into writing. Child offers career advice for aspiring authors to create what he calls “organic, living, breathing books.” Lee Child joins ThinkTalk host Erika Thomas to discuss his experiences as an author, and how he got into writing. Child offers career advice for aspiring authors to create what he calls “organic, living, breathing books.”
