William Bayer
Encyclopedia
William Bayer is an American novelist, the author of Switch, among other works. Bayer has written a series of novels featuring fictional New York Police Department lieutenant Frank Janek. He has also written adaptions of his novels for television, and written for other TV shows. His books have been translated into French, Italian, German, Dutch and Japanese. He has written two novels under the pseudonym David Hunt. He wrote and directed the 1971 feature film Mississippi Summer
. He attended the Sidwell Friends School
in Washington, D.C.
in 1946; the Hawken School
in Lyndhurst, Ohio
from 1946–1953, and graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy
Exeter, New Hampshire
in 1956. In 1960 he graduated cum laude from Harvard College
, Cambridge, Massachusetts
. From 1962–1968 he served as a Foreign Service Officer
with the United States Information Agency
. He is married to cookbook author Paula Wolfert, and has lived with her in Tangier, Morocco; New York City
, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts; and in Newtown, Connecticut
. They moved to San Francisco in 1994. They currently reside in Sonoma, California
.
as "The best blend of sex and slowly growing horror since Looking for Mr. Goodbar
. His novel Peregrine won the 1982 Mystery Writers of America
Edgar Award for best novel. The French edition of The Dream Of The Broken Horses was awarded the 2005 Prix Mystere de la Critique for best foreign crime novel. Bayer received the 1994 Prix Calibre 38 for the French edition of Mirror Maze, and the 1997 Lambda Literary Award
for best mystery for The Magician's Tale. Mississippi Summer won the Golden Hugo Award for Best First Feature at the 1970 Chicago International Film Festival
.
Personal life
Bayer is the son of attorney Leo Bayer and Eleanor Rosenfeld Bayer, later known as the screenwriter Eleanor PerryEleanor Perry
Eleanor Perry was an American writer known primarily for her screenplays.Born Eleanor Irene Rosenfeld in Cleveland, Ohio, she attended Western Reserve University, where she wrote for the college's literary magazine. Together with her first husband, attorney Leo G...
. He attended the Sidwell Friends School
Sidwell Friends School
Sidwell Friends School is a Quaker private school located in Bethesda, Maryland and Washington, D.C., offering pre-kindergarten through secondary school classes. Founded in 1883 by Thomas Sidwell, its motto is "Eluceat omnibus lux" , alluding to the Quaker concept of inner light...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in 1946; the Hawken School
Hawken School
Hawken School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory day school in Northeast Ohio.Hawken currently has two main campuses, the Lower and Middle Schools in Lyndhurst and the Upper School in Gates Mills, plus a third, an urban campus in University Circle, The Sally & Bob Gries Center...
in Lyndhurst, Ohio
Lyndhurst, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 15,279 people, 6,642 households, and 4,397 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,480.1 people per square mile . There were 6,855 housing units at an average density of 1,561.4 per square mile...
from 1946–1953, and graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
Exeter, New Hampshire
Exeter, New Hampshire
Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The town's population was 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood...
in 1956. In 1960 he graduated cum laude from Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. From 1962–1968 he served as a Foreign Service Officer
Foreign Service Officer
A Foreign Service Officer is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. As diplomats, Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S. embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic...
with the United States Information Agency
United States Information Agency
The United States Information Agency , which existed from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to "public diplomacy". In 1999, USIA's broadcasting functions were moved to the newly created Broadcasting Board of Governors, and its exchange and non-broadcasting information functions were...
. He is married to cookbook author Paula Wolfert, and has lived with her in Tangier, Morocco; New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts; and in Newtown, Connecticut
Newtown, Connecticut
Newtown is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 27,560 at the 2010 census. Newtown was founded in 1705 and incorporated in 1711.-Government:...
. They moved to San Francisco in 1994. They currently reside in Sonoma, California
Sonoma, California
Sonoma is a historically significant city in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA, surrounding its historic town plaza, a remnant of the town's Mexican colonial past. It was the capital of the short-lived California Republic...
.
Critical reception
"Punish Me With Kisses" was praised by Gael GreeneGael Greene
Gael Greene is an American restaurant critic, author and novelist. She became New York magazine's restaurant critic in fall, 1968 at a time when most New Yorkers were unsophisticated about food and there were few chefs anyone knew by name. She was a passionate early "foodie" before that word was...
as "The best blend of sex and slowly growing horror since Looking for Mr. Goodbar
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
Looking for Mr. Goodbar is a 1975 novel by Judith Rossner. Rossner based the novel on the events surrounding the brutal murder of Roseann Quinn, a 28-year-old New York City schoolteacher in 1973.-References:...
. His novel Peregrine won the 1982 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....
Edgar Award for best novel. The French edition of The Dream Of The Broken Horses was awarded the 2005 Prix Mystere de la Critique for best foreign crime novel. Bayer received the 1994 Prix Calibre 38 for the French edition of Mirror Maze, and the 1997 Lambda Literary Award
Lambda Literary Award
Lambda Literary Awards are awarded yearly by the US-based Lambda Literary Foundation to published works which celebrate or explore LGBT themes. Categories include Humor, Romance and Biography. To qualify, a book must have been published in the United States in the year current to the award...
for best mystery for The Magician's Tale. Mississippi Summer won the Golden Hugo Award for Best First Feature at the 1970 Chicago International Film Festival
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
.
Novels
- Search of a Hero, 1962
- Stardust, 1974
- Visions of Isabelle, 1975
- Tangier, E. P. DuttonE. P. DuttonE. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. In 1986, the company was acquired by Penguin Group and split into two imprints: Dutton Penguin and Dutton Children's Books.-History:Edward Payson Dutton founded...
, 1978, ISBN 0525214100 - Punish Me With Kisses, Pocket BooksPocket BooksPocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books.- History :Pocket produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in America in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing industry...
, 1981, ISBN 0-671-41991-9 - Peregrine, St Martins Press, 1981, ISBN 0312926448 (1982 Edgar AwardEdgar AwardThe Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
winner) - Switch, Simon & SchusterSimon & SchusterSimon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
, 1984, ISBN 0671494244 (Janek novel) - Pattern Crimes, VillardVillard (imprint)Villard, also known as Villard Books, is a major publishing imprint of Random House, one of the largest publishing companies in the world. It was founded in 1983. Villard began as an independent imprint of Random House, and are currently an imprint of Ballantine Books, itself a subsidiary of Random...
, 1987, ISBN 0-394-55876-6 - Blind Side, Villard, 1989, ISBN 0394572572
- Wallflower, Villard, 1991, ISBN 0679400478 (Janek novel)
- Mirror Maze, Villard, 1994, ISBN 0679414592 (Janek novel)
- Tarot, Rivages (France), 2001, ISBN 978-2743608323
- The Dream of the Broken Horses, AtriaAtriaAtria may refer to:*Atrium , an anatomical structure of the heart*Atrium , a large open space within a building*Atria or Alpha Trianguli Australis, a star in the constellation Triangulum Australe...
, 2002, ISBN 0743403363 - La Ville des Couteaux ("City of Knives"), Rivages (France), 2008, ISBN 978-2743618520
As David Hunt
- The Magician's Tale, Putnam, 1997 (1997 Lambda Literary Award winner)
- Trick of Light, 1998
Nonfiction
- Breaking Through, Selling Out, Dropping Dead & Other Notes On Filmmaking, 1971, revised 1989
- The Great Movies, 1973