Jenny McKean Moore Reading Series Hosts George Pelecanos
George Pelecanos Reading
Thursday, January 23rd
in Marvin Center 301 at 7:30pm
A Washington native, Pelecanos worked many odds and ends jobs before publishing his first crime novel, A Firing Offense, in 1992. His novels plunge readers into the gritty world of murder and drugs that he constructs from personal observation and research. In a conversation Pelecanos explained, “My ‘research‘ often consists of walking into a bar, having a quiet beer, and keeping my ears open…After midnight I do ride-alongs with D.C. cops. This has been very valuable (I go places I will not go alone), and also gives me some insight into the psyche of the police.”
Pelecanos is the beloved crime writer of the D.C. Quartet Series as well as the Derek Strange and Terry Quinn Series. His current series is centered around Spero Lucas, an Iraq veteran who returned from the war and settles in as an investigator for a defense attorney. His latest book, the second in the Lucas series, The Double has been met with high praise from The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today. Pelecanos has received awards in France, Italy, and Japan for his crime novels and was awarded the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes twice, in 2003 and 2004. A jack-of-all-trades, Pelecanos was a producer, writer, and story editor for the HBO series The Wire and was then an Emmy nominee for his writing. He also worked as a writer and producer for the series The Pacific. Currently, he is working as an executive producer for the HBO series Treme.
