Lou Berney

Lou Berney (born 1964) is an American crime fiction author who has published six books since 1991. For his works, Berney has won multiple awards including an Anthony, Barry and Edgar for The Long and Faraway Gone. With November Road, Berney won the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger while also winning additional Anthony and Barry awards. Apart from writing, Berney was a screenwriter whose written film, Angels Sing, was released in 2012. Berney has also taught at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma City University during the 2010s.

Early life and education

Berney was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1964.^[1][2] While living with siblings as a child, Berney liked the stories his father told.^[3] He was dismissed from several jobs as a teenager, which included positions in photography and property maintenance.^[4] Berney worked for a student newspaper as a writer.^[5] For his post-secondary education, Berney went to Loyola University New Orleans for a journalism program before he graduated with a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.^[6][7]

Career

During 1989, The New Yorker published Berney's short story titled News of the World.^[8][5] In 1991, Berney released The Road to Bobby Joe and Other Stories. During the 1990s, Berney completed two unpublished books before he became a screenwriter.^[7][2] During the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, Berney took three months to write a screenplay called Gutshot Straight. Berney planned to turn Gutshot Straight into a movie before publishing his work as a book in 2010.^[9] His written film, Angels Sing, was released to theaters in 2013.^[10][11]

Following Gutshot Straight, Berney released Whiplash River in 2012 as a followup book for his Shake Bouchon series.^[12] His last Bouchon book, Double Barrel Bluff, was not released during the scheduled 2020 release.^[13][14] Outside of series, additional books published by Berney were The Long and Faraway Gone in 2015 and November Road in 2018.^[15][16] That year, November Road was planned for a movie adaptation when Lawrence Kasdan bought the book's film rights.^[17] During 2020, Berney abandoned an unfinished book he started in the late 2010s.^[3] Dark Ride was released by Berney in 2023.^[18]

Apart from his works, Berney was a writing teacher throughout the 2000s.^[19] In 2011, Berney began teaching creative writing for Oklahoma City University.^[13] He continued to teach at Oklahoma City during the 2010s while also teaching with the University of Oklahoma.^[20]

Writing process and themes

At the beginning of his writing process, Berney focuses on creating the backgrounds of people he plans to write about. He then moves on toward the book's events. For his books, Berney uses a laptop and types them out at a coffeehouse in Oklahoma City.^[13] With his two Shake Bouchon books, Berney chose Panama and Egypt as locations. While listing authors that made up his career, Berney said Elmore Leonard was "a huge influence."^[1]

For The Long and Faraway Gone, Berney thought about using the Oklahoma City bombing before choosing different events that occurred in Oklahoma City.^[20] Berney based his book on murders that occurred at a Sirloin Stockade during the late 1970s and the disappearances of two children at the Oklahoma State Fair during the early 1980s.^[21] With November Road, Berney based his book on the conspiracy theory that the New Orleans crime family were behind the assassination of John F. Kennedy.^[22] Berney intended to have the main characters meet each other in a town before he decided to have them meet during their individual travels.^[23][24]

Nominations and awards

Before working in screenwriting, Paramount Pictures awarded Berney a fellowship.^[19] With Gutshot Straight, Berney was nominated for the 2011 Barry Award in the Best First Mystery/Crime Novel category.^[25] In 2013, Whiplash River received a nomination for the Best Paperback Original category as part of the Anthony Awards and Edgar Awards.^[26][27] With The Long and Faraway Gone, Berney was nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller in 2016.^[28]

That year, Berney received the 2016 Macavity Award in the Best Mystery Novel category. In the Best Paperback Original categories for 2016, Berney also won the Anthony, Barry, and Edgar awards.^[29][30] The Long and Faraway Gone was on the longlist for the Dublin Literary Award in 2017.^[31]

For November Road, Berney received the Hammett Award in 2019.^[32] In the Best Novel category, Berney received the Macavity and Anthony Awards in 2019.^[33][34] At the Barry Awards, Berney won the 2019 Best Mystery/Crime Novel category and was nominated for the Best Mystery/Crime Novel of the Decade award in 2020.^[25] In awards held by the Crime Writer's Association during 2020, November Road was a Gold Dagger nominee and won the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger.^[35] At the Oklahoma Book Awards, both The Long and Faraway Gone and November Road won the fiction category during the 2010s.^[36]

References

1. Elder, Bud (February 8, 2015). "Q&A with Oklahoma City author Lou Berney". The Oklahoman. from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
2. Wilkins, John (October 14, 2018). "Author Berney talks about 'November Road,' JFK, and the choices that make up a life". The San Diego Union-Tribune. from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
3. Petersen, Erik (September 19, 2023). "A pot-loving theme park scare actor? How Lou Berney found 'Dark Ride' an unlikely hero". The Orange County Register. from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
4. "About Lou". Lou Berney. from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
5. Horton, Greg (July 2020). "Edgar, Elmore, Lou". 405 Magazine. p. 17. from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023 – via Issuu.
6. "Loyola in Print". Loyola University New Orleans Magazine. Summer 2010. p. 36. from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022 – via Issuu.
7. "Lou Berney takes grim "Road" trip". Boston Herald. Associated Press. October 9, 2018. from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
8. Berney, Louis (April 3, 1989). "News of the World". The New Yorker. p. 36. from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
9. Lott, Rod (January 7, 2010). "Screenwriter Lou Berney aims to make a name in crime fiction with debut novel, 'Gutshot Straight'". Oklahoma Gazette. from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
10. Jones, Kimberly (January 31, 2013). "SXSW Film Unveils March Lineup". The Austin Chronicle. from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
11. Ellingson, Annlee (December 6, 2013). "Review: Even Willie Nelson and Harry Connick Jr. can't lift 'Angels Sing' above obviousness". Los Angeles Times. from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
12. Herrick, Jenni (July 23, 2012). "Berney's Wild, Twisting 'Whiplash River'". Shepherd Express. from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
13. Marciszewski, April (Spring 2019). "The Plot Thickens: Professor Sells Movie Rights to Crime Novel". Focus. Oklahoma City University. p. 17. from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022 – via Issuu.
14. "Novels by Lou Berney". Lou Berney. from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
15. Lacy, Deborah (February 9, 2015). "Review: The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney". Criminal Element. from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
16. Sheehan, Bill (October 4, 2018). "John F. Kennedy's assassination sets a thriller in motion in 'November Road'". The Washington Post. from the original on September 19, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
17. Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 10, 2018). "Lawrence Kasdan To Script & Direct Film Adaptation Of Lou Berney Novel 'November Road'". Deadline. from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
18. Vognar, Chris (September 19, 2023). "The stoner thriller canon has a new candidate: Lou Berney's novel 'Dark Ride'". The Los Angeles Times. from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
19. Marks, Jay F. (April 4, 2010). "Odd jobs". The Daily Oklahoman. p. 2C.
20. "Novelist to visit libraries in Mount Dora, Leesburg". The Orlando Sentinel. April 6, 2015. p. E1.
21. MeCoy, Don (February 8, 2015). "Novel puts OKC in spotlight". The Oklahoman. p. 9D.
22. Breznican, Anthony (October 9, 2018). "Lou Berney's November Road: A tale of an assassination, a chase, and an unexpected love story". Entertainment Weekly. from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
23. Picker, Lenny (August 10, 2018). "She's Leaving Home: PW Talks with Lou Berney". Publishers Weekly. from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
24. Wolff, Carlo (November 24, 2018). "'November Road' : Lou Berney's latest is a road-worthy thriller". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
25. "Barry Awards". Deadly Pleasures Online Mystery Magazine. from the original on January 30, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
26. "Anthonys 2010 - 2014". Bouchercon. from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
27. Lee, Stephan (May 3, 2013). "2013 Edgar Awards honor best mystery writers". Entertainment Weekly. from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
28. Lewis, David (April 9, 2016). "Here are the 2016 L.A. Times Book Prize winners". Los Angeles Times. from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
29. Williams, Wilda (September 21, 2016). "Bouchercon Winners | Anthony, Barry, Macavity Awards 2016". Library Journal. from the original on May 9, 2024. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
30. Picker, Lenny (April 29, 2016). "Diversity Celebrated at 2016 Edgar Awards". Publishers Weekly. from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
31. "The Long and Faraway Gone". Dublin Literary Award. 3 September 2019. from the original on 11 May 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
32. McDonnell, Brandy. "OKC author Lou Berney's novel 'November Road' wins Dashiell Hammett Award". The Oklahoman. from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
33. "Macavity Awards". Mystery Readers International. from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
34. "Anthonys 2015 - 2019". Boucheron. from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
35. "Australian crime writer shows Midas touch again with second gold dagger in five years". Yorkshire Post. October 24, 2020. p. 14. from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022 – via PressReader.
36. "Previous Award Winners and Special Recognition" (PDF). Oklahoma Department of Libraries. 2021. pp. 2–3. (PDF) from the original on May 9, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2023.