J. A. Konrath
Encyclopedia
Joseph Andrew Konrath is a fiction writer
working in the mystery
, thriller, and horror
genres. He writes as J. A. Konrath.
in Chicago in 1992 and spent the next 12 years garnering close to five hundred rejections for nine unpublished novels. His tenth book, Whiskey Sour, was picked up by Hyperion
in 2003. It was the first in a series featuring Lt. Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels of the Chicago Police Department
. He’s since published dozens of short stories and articles, been translated into eight languages, and edited an anthology called These Guns for Hire for Bleak House Books.
Konrath’s books are known for combining humor with terror. His work has been translated into ten languages. He lives in Schaumburg, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. J.A. Konrath teaches writing at Dupage College, Illinois.
He’s also known in the writing community for his work in self-promotion. Konrath believes that writers must play a large part in marketing their own books, and his blog, A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing, focuses on this. He has outspoken and somewhat controversial views on advertising, the publishing industry
, and internet publicity.
In 2006, Konrath mailed out close to 7000 letters to libraries across the United States
with fellow mystery author Julia Spencer-Fleming
, touting their books to librarians.
Later that year, Konrath signed books in 612 bookstores across 28 states. The booksellers he met on this three month journey were thanked by name in the acknowledgments of his fourth novel, Dirty Martini.
Under the name Jack Kilborn, he penned the novel Afraid for Headline UK/Grand Central.
Konrath’s website features many free downloads, including three full novels.
He is an advocate of the Amazon Kindle
and eBooks, having released a number of previously unpublished works to online retailers. As of June 2009 he had become one of the top selling authors in Amazon's Kindle Store.http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2009/06/amazon-kindle-numbers.html
Joseph A. Konrath is a Fellow of the Association of Independent Authors (AiA)
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
working in the mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
, thriller, and horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
genres. He writes as J. A. Konrath.
Biography
Konrath graduated from Columbia CollegeColumbia College Chicago
Columbia College Chicago is one of the largest art colleges in the United States with nearly 12,000 students pursuing degrees within 120 undergraduate and graduate programs...
in Chicago in 1992 and spent the next 12 years garnering close to five hundred rejections for nine unpublished novels. His tenth book, Whiskey Sour, was picked up by Hyperion
Hyperion (publisher)
Hyperion Books is a general-interest book publishing part of the Disney-ABC Television Group, a division of The Walt Disney Company, established in 1991. Hyperion publishes general-interest fiction and non-fiction books for adults under the following imprints: ABC Daytime Press, ESPN Books,...
in 2003. It was the first in a series featuring Lt. Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels of the Chicago Police Department
Chicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest local law enforcement agency in the...
. He’s since published dozens of short stories and articles, been translated into eight languages, and edited an anthology called These Guns for Hire for Bleak House Books.
Konrath’s books are known for combining humor with terror. His work has been translated into ten languages. He lives in Schaumburg, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. J.A. Konrath teaches writing at Dupage College, Illinois.
He’s also known in the writing community for his work in self-promotion. Konrath believes that writers must play a large part in marketing their own books, and his blog, A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing, focuses on this. He has outspoken and somewhat controversial views on advertising, the publishing industry
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
, and internet publicity.
In 2006, Konrath mailed out close to 7000 letters to libraries across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with fellow mystery author Julia Spencer-Fleming
Julia Spencer-Fleming
Julia Spencer-Fleming is an American novelist.She lives in Maine with her husband, 3 children, a dog, and two cats.-Rev. Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series :...
, touting their books to librarians.
Later that year, Konrath signed books in 612 bookstores across 28 states. The booksellers he met on this three month journey were thanked by name in the acknowledgments of his fourth novel, Dirty Martini.
Under the name Jack Kilborn, he penned the novel Afraid for Headline UK/Grand Central.
Konrath’s website features many free downloads, including three full novels.
He is an advocate of the Amazon Kindle
Amazon Kindle
The Amazon Kindle is an e-book reader developed by Amazon.com subsidiary Lab126 which uses wireless connectivity to enable users to shop for, download, browse, and read e-books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and other digital media...
and eBooks, having released a number of previously unpublished works to online retailers. As of June 2009 he had become one of the top selling authors in Amazon's Kindle Store.http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2009/06/amazon-kindle-numbers.html
Novels
- Endurance (2010) - Under the pseudonym Jack Kilborn ISBN 1453885684
- Trapped (2010) - Under the pseudonym Jack Kilborn ISBN 1453806024
- Shaken (2010) - 7th in Jack Daniels series
- Cherry Bomb (2009) - 6th in Jack Daniels series
- Afraid (2008) - Under the pseudonym Jack Kilborn
- Fuzzy Navel (2008) - 5th in Jack Daniels series ISBN 1401302807
- Dirty Martini (2007) - 4th in Jack Daniels series ISBN 1401302793
- Rusty Nail (2006) - 3rd in Jack Daniels series ISBN 140130088X
- Bloody Mary (2005) - 2nd in Jack Daniels series ISBN 0786890746
- Whiskey Sour (2004) - 1st in Jack Daniels series ISBN 078689072X
Tie-in stories
- "On the Rocks" (Featuring Jack Daniels, first published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (EQMM))
- "With a Twist" (Featuring Jack Daniels, EQMM)
- "Body Shots" (Featuring Jack Daniels, Amazon Shorts)
- "Whelp Wanted" (Featuring Harry McGlade, Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine)
- "Taken to the Cleaners" (Featuring Harry McGlade, The Strand Magazine)
- "Street Music" (Featuring Phineas Troutt, EQMM)
- "Epitaph" (Featuring Phineas Troutt, 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...
edited by James PattersonJames PattersonJames B. Patterson is an American author of thriller novels, largely known for his series about American psychologist Alex Cross...
) - "Suffer" (Featuring Phineas Troutt, EQMM)
- "Bereaved" (Featuring Phineas Troutt, These Guns for Hire, edited by J. A. Konrath)
- "Potshot" (Featuring Herb Benedict, Amazon Shorts)
- "The One That Got Away" (Featuring The Gingerbread Man, Amazon Shorts)
- "Suckers" (Featuring Harry McGlade) novella co-written by Jeff Strand
- "The Necro File" (Featuring Harry McGlade, first published in Like A Chinese Tattoo)
- "Last Request" (Featuring Phineas Troutt)
- "Overproof" (Featuring Jack Daniels, first published in Chicago Blues edited by Libby Fischer Hellmann)
Other short stories
- "The Agreement" (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine (AHMM)Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery MagazineAlfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine is a monthly digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime and detective fiction. AHMM is named for Alfred Hitchcock, the famed director of suspense films and television.-History:...
) - "Symbios" (Apex Digest)
- "Forgiveness" (Cemetery Dance)
- "Light Drizzle" (Crimespree Magazine)
- "The Shed" (Surreal Magazine)
- "Finicky Eater" (Horror Garage Magazine)
- "The Screaming" (The Many Faces of Van Helsing, edited by Jeanne Cavelos)
- "Don’t Press That Button!" (James Bond in the 21st Century, edited by Glenn Yeffeth)
- "The Bag" (Cold Flesh, edited by Paul Fry)
- "The Big Guys, He Bites, A Matter of Taste" (Small Bites, edited by Garrett Peck and Keith Gouveia)
- "Appalachian Lullabye" (Requiem for the Radioactive Monkey, edited by John Weagley)
- "Lying Eyes" (Twisted Tongue Magazine)
- "Redux" (Spooks, edited by Tina L. Jens & John Everson)
- "The Conversation" (Hard Luck Stories)
- "A Fistful of Cozy" (Shots Magazine UK)
- "Mr. Pull Ups" (Tales From the Red Lion, edited by Tina L. Jens and John Weagley)
- "Punishment" (Like A Chinese Tattoo, edited by Bill Breedlove)
- "The Confession" (Like A Chinese Tattoo, edited by Bill Breedlove)
- "Them's Good Eats" (Gratia Placenti, edited by Jason Sizemore & Gill Ainsworth)
- "Lying Eyes" (Twisted Tongue #2)
- "The Sound of Blunder" co-written with F. Paul Wilson (Blood Lite, edited by Kevin J. Anderson)
- "S.A." (Wolfsbane & Misteltoe, edited by Charlaine Harris & Toni L.P. Kelner)
Unpublished novels
All of these books are available as free downloads at Konrath’s website.- Origin - A thriller about SatanSatanSatan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
being studied in a secret government compound (published November 2010). ISBN 1453887660 - The List - A thriller about a cop who discovers he, and several others, are clones of famous historical figures (published July 2010). ISBN 145288126X
- Disturb - A thriller about a new legal insomniaInsomniaInsomnia is most often defined by an individual's report of sleeping difficulties. While the term is sometimes used in sleep literature to describe a disorder demonstrated by polysomnographic evidence of disturbed sleep, insomnia is often defined as a positive response to either of two questions:...
drug with deadly side effects (published November 2010). ISBN 1453887687 - 55 Proof - A collection of short stories.
Audio
Konrath’s books are available through Brilliance Audio. Dick Hill and Suzie Breck are the voice talents, doing characters in dialect and making the reading sound like a play. Konrath also voices some characters on these productions, and also records short stories as an extra bonus.Continuing characters
- Jack Daniels - A forty-something Chicago Homicide Lieutenant.
- Herb Benedict - Her fifty-something partner.
- Phineas Troutt - Jack’s criminal friend, currently dying of pancreatic cancer.
- Harry McGlade - Jack’s ex-partner, now a private eye.
- Latham Conger - Jack's fiance.
- Mary Streng - Jack's mother and occasional roommate.
Awards and recognition
- 2008 Dirty Martini was on the final ballot for the Barry Award for best novel
- 2007 "Epitaph" was on the final ballot for the British Dagger Award for best short story
- 2006 Bob Kellog Humanitarian Award (www.bksp.org)
- 2005 Love is Murder Award Best Police Procedural (Bloody Mary)
- 2005 Ellery Queen Reader’s Choice Award, 2nd Place ("With a Twist")
- 2004 Whiskey Sour was on the final ballot for the Anthony, Macavity, and Gumshoe Awards for best debut novel
- 2004 Love is Murder Award Best Debut Novel (Whiskey Sour)
- 2004 Derringer Award for Flash Fiction ("The Big Guys")
- 2003 Gross Out Contest Winner, World Horror Con
Joseph A. Konrath is a Fellow of the Association of Independent Authors (AiA)