John Twelve Hawks
Encyclopedia
John Twelve Hawks is the author of the 2005 dystopian novel The Traveler
and its sequels, The Dark River
and The Golden City
, collectively comprising the Fourth Realm Trilogy
. "John Twelve Hawks" is a pseudonym
and his real identity is unknown.
and that he communicates using the Internet and an untraceable satellite phone
, usually employing a voice scrambler
. Biographical information about his background is based on five sources:
website was only one line: "John Twelve Hawks lives off the grid." At some point in 2007, that line disappeared and was replaced with "John Twelve Hawks is the author of the New York Times bestseller, The Traveler."
John Twelve Hawks is his "adopted" name, but in the Spiegel interview he states he is not an American Indian
. In the Spiegel interview he talks about visiting East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall
. In the USA Today article, his response to a question about religion began with, "When I was in my twenties..." and when an editor asked him whether the "realm of hell" could be compared to current conditions in Iraq, Hawks replied "it's more like Beirut in the '70s
". In the Spiegel interview and in the Daily Telegraph article, Hawks states that he drives a 15-year-old car and that he does not own a television. These personal facts and a description of JTH's unique lifestyle were confirmed in the 2008 Joseph Mallozzi
Weblog interview.
The SFF World interview indicates that Twelve Hawks lived in a commune
and learned about literature by stealing books from a restricted university library and then returning the books the next day. In the same interview, he states he wrote The Traveler after passing through some sort of personal crisis. In the interview in SFF World Twelve Hawks claims that he has "no plans to go public" regarding his identity.
In the audiobook version of The Traveler, there is an interview with John Twelve Hawks in which he mentions that he has been practicing martial arts for years.
According to Twelve Hawks' agent, Joe Regal, "He lives in New York, Los Angeles and London", and The Traveler sets its story in all three of these locations.
The Traveler (novel)
The Traveler is a 2005 novel by John Twelve Hawks, which impressed critics and became an international bestseller, in part due to the reclusive behaviour of its author. The Dark River, book two of The Fourth Realm Trilogy, was published in July 2007...
and its sequels, The Dark River
The Dark River (novel)
The Dark River is the second in a trilogy of dystopian novels written by reclusive author John Twelve Hawks.-The World of The Dark River:...
and The Golden City
The Golden City (novel)
The Golden City is the third in Fourth Realm Trilogy of dystopian novels written by reclusive author John Twelve Hawks. It was released in the United States on September 8, 2009....
, collectively comprising the Fourth Realm Trilogy
Fourth Realm Trilogy
The Fourth Realm Trilogy refers to the trilogy of books written by elusive author John Twelve Hawks and published between 2004 and 2009. The novels describe parallel universes, including one controlled by a shadow group called The Brethren using the Vast Machine...
. "John Twelve Hawks" is a pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
and his real identity is unknown.
Sources
Both John Twelve Hawks and his American publisher state that he has never met his editorLiterary editor
A literary editor is an editor in a newspaper, magazine or similar publication who deals with aspects concerning literature and books, especially reviews. A literary editor may also help with editing books themselves, by providing services such as proof reading, copy-editing, and literary...
and that he communicates using the Internet and an untraceable satellite phone
Satellite phone
A satellite telephone, satellite phone, or satphone is a type of mobile phone that connects to orbiting satellites instead of terrestrial cell sites...
, usually employing a voice scrambler
Scrambler
In telecommunications, a scrambler is a device that transposes or inverts signals or otherwise encodes a message at the transmitter to make the message unintelligible at a receiver not equipped with an appropriately set descrambling device...
. Biographical information about his background is based on five sources:
- a 2005 article in USA TodayUSA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
- a 2005 interview by Rob Bedford in SFF World
- a 2006 interview published in Germany in Der SpiegelDer SpiegelDer Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
- a portion of a 2007 Daily Telegraph article about popular writers
- a 2008 Q&A interview on the Weblog of Joseph MallozziJoseph MallozziJoseph Mallozzi is a Canadian writer and producer.He is most noted for his contributions to the Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis, and Stargate Universe television series. He joined the Stargate production team at the start of Stargate SG-1s fourth season in 2000...
, a writer and producer of Stargate SG-1Stargate SG-1Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
and Stargate:Atlantis.
Origin of his name
During an online conversation John Twelve Hawks had with his fans on his new website he explained the origin of his name:
The real story is this …
I was walking through a forest …
Encountered a hawk nesting area …
And 12 hawks circled around my head for about ten minutes ….
So close that the tip of their wings brushed the side of my head.
That was why I picked the name. REAL hawks. Not symbolic ones.
Information
Twelve Hawks' initial biography on the Random HouseRandom House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
website was only one line: "John Twelve Hawks lives off the grid." At some point in 2007, that line disappeared and was replaced with "John Twelve Hawks is the author of the New York Times bestseller, The Traveler."
John Twelve Hawks is his "adopted" name, but in the Spiegel interview he states he is not an American Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
. In the Spiegel interview he talks about visiting East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
. In the USA Today article, his response to a question about religion began with, "When I was in my twenties..." and when an editor asked him whether the "realm of hell" could be compared to current conditions in Iraq, Hawks replied "it's more like Beirut in the '70s
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...
". In the Spiegel interview and in the Daily Telegraph article, Hawks states that he drives a 15-year-old car and that he does not own a television. These personal facts and a description of JTH's unique lifestyle were confirmed in the 2008 Joseph Mallozzi
Joseph Mallozzi
Joseph Mallozzi is a Canadian writer and producer.He is most noted for his contributions to the Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis, and Stargate Universe television series. He joined the Stargate production team at the start of Stargate SG-1s fourth season in 2000...
Weblog interview.
The SFF World interview indicates that Twelve Hawks lived in a commune
Commune (intentional community)
A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...
and learned about literature by stealing books from a restricted university library and then returning the books the next day. In the same interview, he states he wrote The Traveler after passing through some sort of personal crisis. In the interview in SFF World Twelve Hawks claims that he has "no plans to go public" regarding his identity.
In the audiobook version of The Traveler, there is an interview with John Twelve Hawks in which he mentions that he has been practicing martial arts for years.
According to Twelve Hawks' agent, Joe Regal, "He lives in New York, Los Angeles and London", and The Traveler sets its story in all three of these locations.