David Liss
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer of 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....
s, essays and short fiction; more recently working also in comic books. He was born in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and grew up in South Florida. Liss received his B. A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
, an M. A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
from Georgia State University
Georgia State University
Georgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities...
and his M. Phil from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He left his post-graduate studies of 18th Century British literature and unfinished dissertation to write full-time. "If things had not worked out with fiction, I probably would have kept to my graduate school career track and sought a job as a literature professor," he said. Now (2010) a full-time writer, Liss lives in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
with his wife and children.
Most of Liss' novels to date (through 2009) are historical
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
-mystery (or historical-thriller) novels. Settings include 18th century London and America, and 17th century
Dutch Golden Age
The Golden Age was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. The first half is characterised by the Eighty Years' War till 1648...
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. One novel, The Ethical Assassin
The Ethical Assassin
- The Ethical Assassin :A 2006 novel written by David Liss that revolves around Lemuel Atlick, a door to door encyclopedia salesman who is caught in the middle of an assassination and becomes a sole witness. The novel is a major departure from the series of economic history adventures Liss had...
, is a contemporary mystery-thriller. His first book, A Conspiracy of Paper
A Conspiracy of Paper
A Conspiracy of Paper is a historical-mystery novel by David Liss, set in London in the period leading up to the bursting of the South Sea Bubble in 1720.-Synopsis:...
(2000), won the 2001 Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
for Best First Novel. A member of the International Thriller Writers
International Thriller Writers
International Thriller Writers, Inc., was founded October 9, 2004, at a meeting at Bouchercon World Mystery and Suspense Conference in Toronto, Canada. Six months later, some 150 authors with more than one billion books sold worldwide had joined the organization as founding members.Co-founders...
, he is a regular attendee at Bouchercon
Bouchercon
Bouchercon, the Anthony Boucher Memorial World Mystery Convention, is an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher....
and Thrillerfest.
Novels
- A Conspiracy of PaperA Conspiracy of PaperA Conspiracy of Paper is a historical-mystery novel by David Liss, set in London in the period leading up to the bursting of the South Sea Bubble in 1720.-Synopsis:...
(2000) - The Coffee TraderThe Coffee TraderThe Coffee Trader is an historical novel by David Liss, set in 17th century Amsterdam. The story revolves around the activities of commodity trader Miguel Lienzo, a Jew who is a refugee from the Portuguese Inquisition. Recovering from near financial ruin, he embarks on a coffee trading scheme with...
(2003) - A Spectacle of CorruptionA Spectacle of CorruptionA Spectacle of Corruption is a historical-mystery novel by David Liss, set in 18th century London. It is the middle of three novels containing the memoir of the fictional Benjamin Weaver, a Jewish former bare-knuckle boxer and current "thief-taker" .-Synopsis:This tale picks up a few months after...
(2004) - The Ethical AssassinThe Ethical Assassin- The Ethical Assassin :A 2006 novel written by David Liss that revolves around Lemuel Atlick, a door to door encyclopedia salesman who is caught in the middle of an assassination and becomes a sole witness. The novel is a major departure from the series of economic history adventures Liss had...
(2006) - The Whiskey RebelsThe Whiskey RebelsThe Whiskey Rebels is an historical novel by American writer David Liss, inspired by events in the early history of the United States. According to Liss , "This novel, in many respects, details the events that led up to the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794".-Synopsis:Despite the title, the novel's action...
(2008) - The Devil's CompanyThe Devil's CompanyThe Devil's Company is a historical-mystery-thriller novel by David Liss, set in 18th century London. It is the third of three novels containing the memoir of the fictional Benjamin Weaver, a retired bare-knuckle boxer, now a "thief-taker"...
(2009) - The Twelfth Enchantment (2011)
Short Fiction
- The Double Dealer, in the anthology ThrillerThriller (book)Thriller is a compilation of 30 thriller short stories edited by James Patterson.-James Penney's New Identity by Lee Child:In Laney, California, a man named James Penney is fired after seventeen years on the job. Infuriated, James burns down his house and starts a new life. However, the fire had...
- What Maisie Knew, in the anthology The New Dead, edited by Christopher Golden. Published by St. Martin’s Griffin (2010), ISBN 978-0-312-55971-7
- Watchlist: A Serial Thriller. ISBN 978-1593155599 (Collaborator)
Comic Books
- The Daring Mystery Comics 70th Anniversary Special, featuring The Phantom Reporter
- Black Panther: The Man Without Fear, new ongoing writer, starting with issue #513
Further reading
- Art at Our Doorstep: San Antonio Writers and Artists featuring David Liss. Edited by Nan Cuba and Riley Robinson (Trinity University Press, 2008).