Susan Isaacs
Encyclopedia
Susan Isaacs is an American
novel
ist and screenwriter
. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, educated at Queens College
, and worked as a senior editor
at Seventeen
magazine. She married Elkan Abramowitz, a lawyer, in 1968 and in 1970 left work to stay at home with her newborn son, Andrew. Three years later, in 1973, she gave birth to her daughter Elizabeth. She freelanced during this time, writing political speeches and magazine articles. She now lives on Long Island
with her husband.
Her first novel, Compromising Positions, was published in 1978. It was chosen as a main selection of the Book of the Month Club
and was, like all of her subsequent novels, a New York Times bestseller
. Her fiction has been translated into thirty different languages all over the world. In 1985, she adapted her own novel for the screenplay of the film Compromising Positions
, which starred Susan Sarandon
and Raul Julia
. She wrote and co-produced Touchstone Pictures’ Hello Again
, a 1987 comedy starring Shelley Long
and Judith Ivey
. In addition to writing books, essays, and screenplays, Isaacs has reviewed books for The New York Times
, the Los Angeles Times
, The Washington Post
, and Newsday
. Isaacs has also written about politics and First Amendment issues.
Isaacs serves as a chairman on the board of Poets & Writers
and is a past president of the Mystery Writers of America
. She is a member of The Creative Coalition
, National Book Critics Circle
, PEN
, the International Association of Crime Writers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors
, and the Adams Round Table. She sits on the boards of the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association, the Queens College Foundation, the North Shore Child and Family Guidance Association, and the Nassau County Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ist and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, educated at Queens College
Queens College, City University of New York
Queens College, located in Flushing, Queens, New York City, is one of the senior colleges of the City University of New York. It is also the fifth oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning. The college's seventy seven acre campus is located in the heart of the...
, and worked as a senior editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
at Seventeen
Seventeen (magazine)
Seventeen is an American magazine for teenagers. It was first published in September 1944 by Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications. News Corporation bought Triangle in 1988, and sold Seventeen to K-III Communications in 1991. Primedia sold the magazine to Hearst in 2003. It is still in the...
magazine. She married Elkan Abramowitz, a lawyer, in 1968 and in 1970 left work to stay at home with her newborn son, Andrew. Three years later, in 1973, she gave birth to her daughter Elizabeth. She freelanced during this time, writing political speeches and magazine articles. She now lives on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
with her husband.
Her first novel, Compromising Positions, was published in 1978. It was chosen as a main selection of the Book of the Month Club
Book of the Month Club
The Book of the Month Club is a United States mail-order book sales club that offers a new book each month to customers.The Book of the Month Club is part of a larger company that runs many book clubs in the United States and Canada. It was formerly the flagship club of Book-of-the-Month Club, Inc...
and was, like all of her subsequent novels, a New York Times bestseller
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
. Her fiction has been translated into thirty different languages all over the world. In 1985, she adapted her own novel for the screenplay of the film Compromising Positions
Compromising Positions
Compromising Positions is a 1985 film released by Paramount and directed by Frank Perry. The screenplay, by Susan Isaacs, was adapted from her 1978 detective novel. The plot concerns a Long Island housewife and former journalist who becomes involved in a murder investigation...
, which starred Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...
and Raul Julia
Raúl Juliá
Raúl Rafael Juliá y Arcelay was a Puerto Rican actor.Born in San Juan, he gained interest in acting while still in school. Upon completing his studies, Juliá decided to pursue a career in acting. After performing in the local scene for some time, he was convinced by entertainment personality Orson...
. She wrote and co-produced Touchstone Pictures’ Hello Again
Hello Again (film)
Hello Again is a 1987 romantic fantasy-comedy film, directed and produced by Frank Perry, written by Susan Isaacs and starring Shelley Long, Judith Ivey, Gabriel Byrne, Corbin Bernsen, Sela Ward, Austin Pendleton, Carrie Nye, Robert Lewis, Madeleine Potter, Thor Fields and Illeana...
, a 1987 comedy starring Shelley Long
Shelley Long
Shelley Lee Long is an American actress best known for her role as Diane Chambers on the sitcom Cheers, for which she won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress and two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress...
and Judith Ivey
Judith Ivey
Judith Lee Ivey is an American actress and director.-Personal life:Ivey was born in El Paso, Texas, the daughter of Dorothy Lee , a teacher, and Nathan Aldean Ivey, a college instructor and dean. She spent 1965-1968 in Dowagiac, Michigan, where she attended Union High School through tenth grade...
. In addition to writing books, essays, and screenplays, Isaacs has reviewed books for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, and Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
. Isaacs has also written about politics and First Amendment issues.
Isaacs serves as a chairman on the board of Poets & Writers
Poets & Writers
Poets & Writers, Inc. is one of the largest nonprofit literary organization in the United States serving poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers...
and is a past president of the Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America is an organization for mystery writers, based in New York.The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday....
. She is a member of The Creative Coalition
Creative Coalition
The Creative Coalition is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, politically-active group formed of members of the American entertainment industry....
, National Book Critics Circle
National Book Critics Circle
The National Book Critics Circle is an American tax-exempt organization for active book reviewers. Its flagship is the National Book Critics Circle Award....
, PEN
International PEN
PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
, the International Association of Crime Writers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors
American Society of Journalists and Authors
The American Society of Journalists and Authors was founded in 1948 as the Society of Magazine Writers, and is an organization of independent nonfiction writers in the United States...
, and the Adams Round Table. She sits on the boards of the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association, the Queens College Foundation, the North Shore Child and Family Guidance Association, and the Nassau County Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Works
- Compromising Positions (1978)
- Close Relations (1980)
- Almost Paradise (1984)
- Shining Through (1988)
- Magic Hour (1991)
- After All These Years (1993)
- Lily White (1996)
- Red, White and Blue (1998)
- Long Time No See (2001)
- Any Place I Hang My Hat (2004)
- Past Perfect (2007)
- As Husbands Go (2010)
Filmography
- Compromising PositionsCompromising PositionsCompromising Positions is a 1985 film released by Paramount and directed by Frank Perry. The screenplay, by Susan Isaacs, was adapted from her 1978 detective novel. The plot concerns a Long Island housewife and former journalist who becomes involved in a murder investigation...
(novel, screenplay) (1985) - Hello AgainHello Again (film)Hello Again is a 1987 romantic fantasy-comedy film, directed and produced by Frank Perry, written by Susan Isaacs and starring Shelley Long, Judith Ivey, Gabriel Byrne, Corbin Bernsen, Sela Ward, Austin Pendleton, Carrie Nye, Robert Lewis, Madeleine Potter, Thor Fields and Illeana...
(screenplay, co-producer, actor) (1987) - Shining ThroughShining ThroughShining Through is a 1992 British-American World War II film drama, directed and written by David Seltzer and starring Michael Douglas and Melanie Griffith, with Liam Neeson, Joely Richardson and John Gielgud in supporting roles. Although based on the novel of the same name by Susan Isaacs, the...
(novel) (1992)