Bruen spent twenty-five years as an English teacher in Africa, Japan, S.E. Asia and South America.[1] His travels have been hazardous at times, including a stint in a Brazilian jail.
His works include the well-received White Trilogy and The Guards. In 2006, Hard Case Crime released Bust, a collaboration between Bruen and New York crime author Jason Starr. Bruen's short story "Words Are Cheap" (2006) appears in the first issue of Murdaland. He has also edited an anthology of stories set in Dublin, Dublin Noir. Jack Taylor's informant, named China, is a nod of the head by Ken Bruen to author Alan Hunter's original informant character named China, in the George Gently series of novels, first published in 1955. Bruen is also the recipient of the first David Loeb Goodis Award (2008) for his dedication to his art.
Other works of note include The Killing of the Tinkers, The Magdalen Martyrs, The Dramatist and Priest, all part of his Jack Taylor series, which began with The Guards. Set in Galway, the series relates the adventures and misadventures of a disgraced former police officer working as a haphazard private investigator whose life has been marred by alcoholism and drug abuse. It chronicles the social change in Ireland in Bruen's own lifetime, paying particular attention to the decline of the Catholic Church as a social and political power. Themes also explored include Ireland's economic prosperity from the mid-1990s onwards, although it is often portrayed as a force which has left Ireland as a materialistic and spiritually drained society which still harbours deep social inequality. This is the side of the Celtic Tiger best portrayed in Bruen's Ireland-based novels. Immigration is also a theme to be found in these works.
Literary awards
Bruen is the recipient of many awards: The Shamus Award in 2007 (The Dramatist) and 2004 (The Guards), both for Best P.I. Hardcover;[2]The Macavity Award in 2005 (The Killing of the Tinkers) and 2010 (Tower, cowritten by Reed Farrel Coleman), both for Best Mystery Novel;[3]The Barry Award in 2007 (Priest) for Best British Crime Novel;[4] the Grand Prix de Literature Policiere in 2007 (Priest) for Best International Crime Novel.[5] He was also a finalist for the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 2004 (The Guards)[6] and 2008 (Priest),[7] both for Best Novel.
Bibliography
Non-series (including collections of stories)
Funeral: Tales of Irish Morbidities (1991)
Shades of Grace (1993)
Martyrs (1994)
Sherry and Other Stories (1994)
All the Old Songs and Nothing to Love (1994)
The Time of Serena-May & Upon the Third Cross (1994)
Rilke on Black (1996)
The Hackman Blues (1997)
Her Last Call to Louis MacNeice (1998)
London Boulevard (2001)
Dispatching Baudelaire (2004)
American Skin (2006)
A Fifth of Bruen: Early Fiction of Ken Bruen (2006) (collection including Funeral: Tales of Irish Morbidities (1991); Shades of Grace (1993); Martyrs (1994); Sherry and Other Stories (1994); All the Old Songs and Nothing to Love (1994); and The Time of Serena-May & Upon the Third Cross (1994)
^ ab"Fantasticfiction.co.uk". Fantasticfiction.co.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
^"The Shamus Awards". The Thrilling Detective. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
^"The Macavity Awards". Mystery Readers International. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
^. Deadly Pleasures. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
^"Crime Fiction Awards". Omnimystery.com. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
^"Edgar Award 2004 – Winner and Nominees". AwardsandWinners.com. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
^"Edgar Award 2008 – Winners and Nominees". AwardsandWinners.com. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
^. Bouchercon.info. 2 October 2003. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
Further reading
Jeannerod, Dominique. "Representations of Crime and Punishment in French and Irish Crime Fiction." Masson, Antoine, O'Connor, Kevin (eds.) Representations of Justice, Bern, Peter Lang, (2007) 23–37
Kincaid, Andrew. "Down These Mean Streets": The City and Critique in Contemporary Irish Noir Éire-Ireland – Volume 45:1&2, Earrach/Samhradh / Spring/Summer 2010, 39–55
Murphy, Paula. "Murderous Mayhem": Ken Bruen and the New Ireland." CLUES: A Journal of Detection 24.2 (Winter 2006): 3–16
Murphy, Paula. "Ken Bruen's American Skin and Postmodern Media Culture". Americana: The Journal of American Popular Culture 7.1 (Spring 2008)
Murphy, Paula. "Ken Bruen". Twenty-first Century Irish Writers, Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 386. Michael R. Molino, (ed.). Gale, Farmington Hills (2020), 62-74.
bruen, born, 1951, citation, needed, irish, writer, hard, boiled, noir, crime, fiction, born1951galway, irelandoccupationnovelistgenrecrime, fiction, thrillersliterary, movementmodern, crime, fiction, noir, contents, biography, education, teaching, career, wri. Ken Bruen born 1951 citation needed is an Irish writer of hard boiled and noir crime fiction Ken BruenBorn1951Galway IrelandOccupationnovelistGenreCrime fiction thrillersLiterary movementModern crime fiction Noir Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Education and teaching career 1 2 Writing career 2 Literary awards 3 Bibliography 3 1 Non series including collections of stories 3 2 Jack Taylor 3 3 Detective Sergeant Tom Brant and Chief Inspector James Roberts 3 4 Max Fisher and Angela Petrakos 3 5 Adaptations 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksBiography EditEducation and teaching career Edit Born in Galway 1 he was educated at Gormanston College County Meath and later at Trinity College Dublin where he earned a PhD in metaphysics Bruen spent twenty five years as an English teacher in Africa Japan S E Asia and South America 1 His travels have been hazardous at times including a stint in a Brazilian jail Writing career Edit Bruen is part of a literary circle that includes Jason Starr Reed Farrel Coleman and Allan Guthrie His works include the well received White Trilogy and The Guards In 2006 Hard Case Crime released Bust a collaboration between Bruen and New York crime author Jason Starr Bruen s short story Words Are Cheap 2006 appears in the first issue of Murdaland He has also edited an anthology of stories set in Dublin Dublin Noir Jack Taylor s informant named China is a nod of the head by Ken Bruen to author Alan Hunter s original informant character named China in the George Gently series of novels first published in 1955 Bruen is also the recipient of the first David Loeb Goodis Award 2008 for his dedication to his art Other works of note include The Killing of the Tinkers The Magdalen Martyrs The Dramatist and Priest all part of his Jack Taylor series which began with The Guards Set in Galway the series relates the adventures and misadventures of a disgraced former police officer working as a haphazard private investigator whose life has been marred by alcoholism and drug abuse It chronicles the social change in Ireland in Bruen s own lifetime paying particular attention to the decline of the Catholic Church as a social and political power Themes also explored include Ireland s economic prosperity from the mid 1990s onwards although it is often portrayed as a force which has left Ireland as a materialistic and spiritually drained society which still harbours deep social inequality This is the side of the Celtic Tiger best portrayed in Bruen s Ireland based novels Immigration is also a theme to be found in these works Literary awards EditBruen is the recipient of many awards The Shamus Award in 2007 The Dramatist and 2004 The Guards both for Best P I Hardcover 2 The Macavity Award in 2005 The Killing of the Tinkers and 2010 Tower cowritten by Reed Farrel Coleman both for Best Mystery Novel 3 The Barry Award in 2007 Priest for Best British Crime Novel 4 the Grand Prix de Literature Policiere in 2007 Priest for Best International Crime Novel 5 He was also a finalist for the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 2004 The Guards 6 and 2008 Priest 7 both for Best Novel Bibliography EditNon series including collections of stories Edit Funeral Tales of Irish Morbidities 1991 Shades of Grace 1993 Martyrs 1994 Sherry and Other Stories 1994 All the Old Songs and Nothing to Love 1994 The Time of Serena May amp Upon the Third Cross 1994 Rilke on Black 1996 The Hackman Blues 1997 Her Last Call to Louis MacNeice 1998 London Boulevard 2001 Dispatching Baudelaire 2004 American Skin 2006 A Fifth of Bruen Early Fiction of Ken Bruen 2006 collection including Funeral Tales of Irish Morbidities 1991 Shades of Grace 1993 Martyrs 1994 Sherry and Other Stories 1994 All the Old Songs and Nothing to Love 1994 and The Time of Serena May amp Upon the Third Cross 1994 Once Were Cops 2008 Killer Year 2008 Merrick 2014 Callous 2021 Jack Taylor Edit The Guards 2001 2004 Shamus Award for Best Novel Finalist 2004 Edgar Award for Best Mystery Novel Finalist 2004 Macavity Award for Best Novel The Killing of the Tinkers 2002 2005 Macavity Award for Best Novel Finalist 2005 Anthony Award for Best Novel The Magdalen Martyrs 2003 The Dramatist 2004 2007 Shamus Award for Best Novel Priest 2006 2007 Barry Award for Best British Novel Finalist 2008 Edgar Award for Best Mystery Novel Cross 2007 Sanctuary 2008 The Devil 2010 Headstone 2011 Purgatory Aug 2013 Green Hell July 2015 The Emerald Lie September 2016 The Ghosts of Galway November 2017 In the Galway Silence November 2018 Galway Girl November 2019 A Galway Epiphany November 2020 Detective Sergeant Tom Brant and Chief Inspector James Roberts Edit A White Arrest 1998 Taming the Alien 1999 The McDead 2000 Blitz 2002 adapted for the 2011 British crime thriller film Blitz starring Jason Statham Vixen 2003 Calibre 2006 Ammunition 2007 Max Fisher and Angela Petrakos Edit Bust 2006 Finalist 2007 Barry Award for Best Paperback Slide 2007 Finalist 2008 Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original 8 The Max 2008 Pimp 2016 Adaptations Edit Beginning in 2010 nine of the Jack Taylor novels were made into a TV series starring Iain Glen in the title role His Brants and Roberts novel Blitz was adapted into a 2011 film of the same name starring Jason Statham Paddy Considine and Aiden Gillen Bruen s 2014 novel Merrick was adapted for TV as the series 100 Code starring Dominic Monaghan and Michael Nyqvist His 2001 novel London Boulevard was adapted for the big screen in 2010 and starred Keira Knightley Colin Farrell David Thewlis and Ray Winstone References Edit a b Fantasticfiction co uk Fantasticfiction co uk Retrieved 27 February 2012 The Shamus Awards The Thrilling Detective Retrieved 12 February 2017 The Macavity Awards Mystery Readers International Retrieved 12 February 2017 Barry Awards Deadly Pleasures Archived from the original on 23 April 2012 Retrieved 12 February 2017 Crime Fiction Awards Omnimystery com Retrieved 12 February 2017 Edgar Award 2004 Winner and Nominees AwardsandWinners com Retrieved 12 February 2017 Edgar Award 2008 Winners and Nominees AwardsandWinners com Retrieved 12 February 2017 Bouchercon World Mystery Convention Anthony Awards Nominees Bouchercon info 2 October 2003 Archived from the original on 7 February 2012 Retrieved 27 February 2012 Further reading EditJeannerod Dominique Representations of Crime and Punishment in French and Irish Crime Fiction Masson Antoine O Connor Kevin eds Representations of Justice Bern Peter Lang 2007 23 37 Kincaid Andrew Down These Mean Streets The City and Critique in Contemporary Irish Noir Eire Ireland Volume 45 1 amp 2 Earrach Samhradh Spring Summer 2010 39 55 Murphy Paula Murderous Mayhem Ken Bruen and the New Ireland CLUES A Journal of Detection 24 2 Winter 2006 3 16 Murphy Paula Ken Bruen s American Skin and Postmodern Media Culture Americana The Journal of American Popular Culture 7 1 Spring 2008 Murphy Paula Ken Bruen Twenty first Century Irish Writers Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol 386 Michael R Molino ed Gale Farmington Hills 2020 62 74 External links EditKen Bruen at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ken Bruen amp oldid 1128325482, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
