Meny
  • It is 72 years today since Orhan Pamuk was born.

    Turkish author, born and grew up in Istanbul, Nisantasi, in an affluent middle-class family. The father was a civil engineer, as was Orhan’s grandfather, who laid the foundations for the family’s fortune. After graduating from school – the secular American Robert College – Pamuk studied Architecture and Journalism. Until he was 22, he devoted himself to painting and dreamt of becoming an artist. T...

    Further reading

  • It is 67 years today since Fred Vargas was born.

    Fred Vargas is a pseudonym used by the French historian, archaeologist and crime writer Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau. "Vargas" was a character played by Ava Gardener in The Barefoot Contessa; the name was first used by Audoin-Rouzeau’s twin sister Joëlle, the visual artist Jo Vargas. Their father, Philippe Audoin-Rouzeau, was a journalist and a famous figure in surrealist circles. He was very part...

    Further reading

  • It is 158 years today since E.W. Hornung was born.

    The English teacher and journalist Ernest William Hornung (Willie to his family) was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s brother-in-law. If Sir Arthur was the father of Sherlock Holmes, the most famous fictional detective in the world, you could say that Hornung created the most famous crook, the gentleman thief A.J. Raffles. Like Holmes, Raffles has occasionally turned up in books by other authors.
    H...

    Further reading

Sample of Authors

Portrait image of Joyce Carol Oates

Oates, Joyce Carol
1938 -

American author, born into a Protestant working-class family in the little town of Lockport in the western part of the...

Further reading
Portrait image of John Hart

Hart, John
1965 -

John Hart is considered to be one of the great names in American crime fiction during the 21st century. All of his books...

Further reading
Portrait of Janwillem van de Wetering

Wetering, Janwillem van de
1931 - 2008

Janwillem (actually Jan Willem) van de Wetering was a Dutch author born in Rotterdam to a merchant family. After graduating...

Further reading
Portrait image of Jesper Stein

Stein, Jesper
1965 -

As a journalist, Stein was known by his full name, Jesper Stein Larsen. For his literary career, he used the shortened...

Further reading