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James Carlos Blake

ジェームズ・カルロス・ブレイク

James Carlos Blake

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1943-05-26 （Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico）
Died
2025-01-11 （Venice, Florida, U.S.） age 81
Nationality
American
Languages
English
Residence History
Tampico, Mexico → Brownsville, Texas, U.S. → Miami, Florida, U.S. → Bowling Green, Ohio, U.S. → King Fahd University area / Saudi Arabia (teaching) → Venice, Florida, U.S.

Career

Occupations
writer, novelist, short story writer, essayist, college instructor
Active Years
1970-2025
Affiliations
Texas Institute of Letters
Memberships
Texas Institute of Letters
Influenced By
Tradition of American Southern/Western outlaw literature, Cormac McCarthy (often compared to)
Influenced
Martin Koolhoven (film director), Filmmakers and screenwriters (through film options and adaptations)
Nominations
1995: Finalist, Best Novel of the West (Western Writers of America): The Pistoleer, 2015: Shortlisted, CWA Gold Dagger Award (UK): The Rules of Wolfe

Education

Saint Joseph's Academy
Country: United States
Primary/secondary education (high school)
University of South Florida
Degree: BA, MA
Country: United States
Earned BA and MA degrees
Bowling Green State University
Degree: MFA
Country: United States
Attended on a fellowship; earned an MFA

Awards

Quarterly West Novella Prize
1991
Work: “I, Fierro”
Organization: Quarterly West
Result: winner
Authors in the Park National Short Story Competition Award
1993
Work: “Under the Sierras”
Organization: Authors in the Park
Result: winner
Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Fiction)
1997
Work: In the Rogue Blood
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: winner
Southwest Book Award
1999
Work: Borderlands
Organization: Border Regional Library Association
Result: winner
Chautauqua South Book Award
1999
Work: Red Grass River
Organization: Chautauqua South
Result: winner
Japan Adventure Fiction Association Prize
2005
Work: A World of Thieves
Organization: Japan Adventure Fiction Association
Result: winner
Maltese Falcon Award
2007
Work: Under the Skin
Organization: Maltese Falcon Society of Japan
Result: winner
Grand Prix du Roman Noir Étranger
2013
Work: Red Grass River
Organization: Grand Prix du Roman Noir Étranger
Result: winner
Prix de Beaune (Best Foreign Novel)
2020
Work: Handsome Harry
Organization: Prix de Beaune
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Pistoleer

1995 historical fiction / western

An account of the life and times of Texas outlaw John Wesley Hardin, structured as a sequence of first-person narratives by many characters; explores violence, honor, and celebrity.

violencehonorfateoutlaw culture

In the Rogue Blood

1997 historical fiction

Follows the misadventures of a pair of American brothers around the Mexican–American War era; acclaimed for its treatment of violence as an engine in U.S. history.

violence and historyfamilyborderlands

Red Grass River

1998 historical fiction

A story of crime and violence set in early 20th-century Florida, exploring regional identity, kinship, and criminal gangs.

crimeregional identityviolence

Under the Skin

2003 historical fiction / crime fiction

Set in the early 20th century, this novel examines violence, morality, and fate through its characters' lives.

violencemoralityfate

A World of Thieves

2002 historical fiction

Portrays a cast of thieves and outlaws set between the 19th and 20th centuries.

thievesoutlaw culturehonor

Handsome Harry

2004 historical fiction / crime

Depicts 1930s gangsters and bank robbers; received recognition in France.

gangstersfriendshipviolence

The Killings of Stanley Ketchel

2005 historical fiction

A biographical novel about ragtime-era boxing champion Stanley Ketchel, focusing on his life and murder.

sports historyviolencefame
Adaptations
  • [film (optioned)] Untitled (The Killings of Stanley Ketchel)

The Rules of Wolfe

2013 contemporary novel / crime

One of Blake's first contemporary novels, exploring gangs and violence through male perspectives as part of a series.

gangsviolencefriendship and betrayal

Bibliography

  • The Pistoleer (1995)
  • The Friends of Pancho Villa (1996)
  • In the Rogue Blood (1997)
  • Red Grass River (1998)
  • Wildwood Boys (2000)
  • A World of Thieves (2002)
  • Under the Skin (2003)
  • Handsome Harry (2004)
  • The Killings of Stanley Ketchel (2005)
  • Borderlands (short fiction collection, 1999)
  • Country of the Bad Wolfes (2012)
  • The Rules of Wolfe (2013)
  • The House of Wolfe (2015)
  • The Ways of Wolfe (2017)
  • The Bones of Wolfe (2020)

Adaptations

  • The Killings of Stanley Ketchel was optioned by writer/producer Terence Winter
  • The Friends of Pancho Villa was planned as a film by Emir Kusturica with Johnny Depp attached at one point but was not produced

Translations of Works

  • Red Grass River (translated into French; won Grand Prix du Roman Noir Étranger)
  • Handsome Harry (translated into French; won Prix de Beaune)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lean, gritty prosenarrative woven with historical detailuse of multiple first-person narrators
Recurring Motifs
violence as art and historical engineoutlaws and honorborderlands and cultural mixingfate tied to character

Health

  • pneumonia
    2025
    Died of pneumonia at a nursing home in January 2025

Legacy

James Carlos Blake was acclaimed for his chronicles of outlaw life and his treatment of violence; his work crossed the boundaries of historical and crime fiction and found international recognition, with several works optioned for film.

Academic Societies

  • Texas Institute of Letters

In Popular Culture

  • Several works were optioned for film, attracting interest from filmmakers and TV producers

Quotes

  • "one of the greatest chroniclers of the mythical American outlaw life"
    Source: Entertainment Weekly (citation) (2004)
  • "one of the most original writers in America today and … certainly one of the bravest."
    Source: Chicago Sun-Times (citation) (2003)

Trivia

  • Worked as a snake-catcher, Volkswagen mechanic, swimming pool maintenance man, and county jail properties officer early in life.
  • Served in the U.S. Army Airborne (paratroopers).
  • Third-generation Mexican descent; family lore includes an executed British pirate ancestor.
  • Left teaching in 1997 to write full-time.