Prix Mystère de la critique
2 appearances
William Bayer
ウィリアム・ベイヤー
Uiriamu Beiyā
Pen Names:
David Hunt（Pen name used for some novels）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Nationality
- American
- Languages
- English
- Religion
- Secular Jewish
- Residence History
- Washington, D.C. → Lyndhurst, Ohio → Exeter, New Hampshire → Cambridge, Massachusetts → Tangier, Morocco → New York City → Martha's Vineyard → Newtown, Connecticut → San Francisco, California → Sonoma, California → Hudson Valley, New York
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Film director, Screenwriter
- Active Years
- 1962-2024
- Influenced By
- Dashiell Hammett
- Nominations
- Hammett Prize shortlist for The Murals (2020)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sidwell Friends School | — | — | — | — | United States |
| Hawken School | — | — | — | — | United States |
| Phillips Exeter Academy | — | — | — | — | United States |
| Harvard College | — | — | cum laude | — | United States |
Sidwell Friends School
Country:
United States
Hawken School
Country:
United States
Phillips Exeter Academy
Country:
United States
卒業
Harvard College
Degree:
cum laude
Country:
United States
卒業
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Edgar Award | Peregrine | best novel | Mystery Writers of America | winner |
| 2005 | Prix Mystère de la critique | The Dream of the Broken Horses (French edition) | best foreign crime novel | — | winner |
| — | Prix Mystère de la critique | Switch (French edition) | best foreign crime novel | — | winner |
| 1994 | Prix Calibre 38 | Mirror Maze (French edition) | — | — | winner |
| 1998 | Lambda Literary Award | The Magician's Tale | best mystery | — | winner |
| 1970 | Hugo Award | Mississippi Summer | Best First Feature | Chicago International Film Festival | winner |
Edgar Award
1982
Work:
Peregrine
Category:
best novel
Organization:
Mystery Writers of America
Result:
winner
Prix Mystère de la critique
2005
Work:
The Dream of the Broken Horses (French edition)
Category:
best foreign crime novel
Result:
winner
Prix Mystère de la critique
Work:
Switch (French edition)
Category:
best foreign crime novel
Result:
winner
Prix Calibre 38
1994
Work:
Mirror Maze (French edition)
Result:
winner
Lambda Literary Award
1998
Work:
The Magician's Tale
Category:
best mystery
Result:
winner
Hugo Award
1970
Work:
Mississippi Summer
Category:
Best First Feature
Organization:
Chicago International Film Festival
Result:
winner
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Peregrine
1981 Psychological crime fiction
PursuitCriminal psychology
Translations
- French edition et al.
Switch
1984 Psychological crime fiction
MadnessLoveHorror
Adaptations
- [TV movie] Doubletake / Richard Crenna (1985)
Translations
- French, Japanese et al.
Pattern Crimes
1987 Crime fiction
JerusalemSerial killings
The Magician's Tale
1997 Mystery
VisionMurderSan Francisco
Bibliography
- Peregrine
- Switch
- Wallflower
- Mirror Maze
- In Search of a Hero
- Stardust
- Tangier
- Pattern Crimes
- Blind Side
- The Magician's Tale
- Trick of Light
- The Dream of the Broken Horses
- City of Knives
- The Murals
Adaptations
- Seven CBS TV movies of Frank Janek series (Doubletake, Internal Affairs, etc.)
- Mississippi Summer (1971, directed by himself)
Translations of Works
- French, Italian, German, Dutch, Japanese, and nine other languages
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- psychological crime fictionneo-noirstrong atmosphericssense of place
- Recurring Motifs
- troubled psychoanalystsphotographs/photographerspsycho-eroticismobsessive labyrinthine questspower disparitiesartCleveland antagonists
Legacy
Highly regarded psychological crime novelist, winner of Edgar Award and others. Frank Janek series adapted into popular TV movies. Known for distinctive style and themes.
In Popular Culture
- CBS TV movie series starring Richard Crenna
Quotes
-
A strange seductive story as eerie as a midnight walk in the fog.
Source: The New York Times (1997) -
There is an electricity to Bayer's writing — rich design, crackling fabric.
Source: The Washington Post (1987)
Trivia
- Pronounced 'byer'
- Mother is screenwriter Eleanor Perry
- Married to cookbook author Paula Wolfert
- Parents wrote mysteries as 'Oliver Weld Bayer'
- Graduated cum laude from Harvard