Barry Eisler
| Barry Eisler | |
|---|---|
 Barry Eisler, 2009. | |
| Born |
1964 (age 51–52) United States |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Genre | Thriller |
| Website | |
|
barryeisler | |
Barry Mark Eisler (born 1964) is a best-selling American novelist. He is the author of two thriller series, the first featuring anti-hero John Rain, a half-Japanese, half-American former soldier turned freelance assassin, and a second featuring black ops soldier Ben Treven. Eisler also writes about politics and language on his blog Heart of the Matter, and at the blogs CHUD, Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, MichaelMoore.com, The Smirking Chimp, and Truthout.
Early life
Eisler was born in New Jersey,[1] his father was a wholesale office supplier, and his mother an environmental activist. Eisler graduated from Cornell Law School in 1989.[2][3]
Early career
After completing law school, Eisler joined the CIA, where he trained for three years afterward and held a covert position with the Directorate of Operations.[3] In 1992, he resigned after becoming disillusioned with the bureaucracy and joined the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges.[2] In 1994, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to work for the firm's technology licensing division, then left to work in Japan for Matsushita.[1][2]
In 1999, he returned to the Bay Area to join a startup.[2]
In 2003, he started writing full-time, when he sold the rights to his debut novel, Rain Fall, the first of his series featuring John Rain.[2]
Self-publishing
Eisler made news in March 2011 when he walked away from a reported half million dollar advance from St. Martin's Press in order to go the self-publishing route pioneered by his colleague Joe Konrath and others.[4][5] He then took a six-figure deal to publish the seventh John Rain novel, The Detachment (2011), under Amazon Publishing's Thomas & Mercer mystery imprint.[6]
Awards
Eisler's novel Rain Fall won the 2005 Barry Award for Best Thriller [7] and The Gumshoe Award.[8] Fault Line reached Number 18 on The New York Times Hardcover Bestseller List.[9]
Books
After amicably terminating his previous publishing contracts and regaining his rights, Eisler changed the titles and covers on all the Rain books, and the covers of the Treven books.[10][11]
John Rain Novels
- A Clean Kill in Tokyo (2002), previous published as Rain Fall
- A Lonely Resurrection (2003), previously published as Hard Rain in the US and Blood from Blood in the UK
- Winner Take All (2004), previously published as Rain Storm in the US and Choke Point in the UK
- Redemption Games (2005), previously published as Killing Rain in the US and One Last Kill in the UK
- Extremis (2006), previously published as The Last Assassin
- The Killer Ascendant (2007), previously published as Requiem for an Assassin
- The Detachment (2011)(w/ Ben Treven)
- Graveyard of Memories (2014)
Ben Treven Novels
- Fault Line (2009)
- Inside Out (2010)
- The Detachment (2011)(w/ John Rain)
Other
- The God's Eye View (2016)
- Livia Lone (2016)
Shorts
- "The Lost Coast" (Larison, 2011), short story
- "Paris is a Bitch" (Rain/Delilah, 2011), short story
- "The Khmer Kill" (Dox, 2012), short story
- "London Twist" (Delilah, 2013), novella
Essays
- Eisler, Barry; Konrath, J.A. & Kilborn, Jack (2011). Be the Monkey: A Conversation About the New World of Publishing Between Authors Barry Eisler and Joe Konrath. ASIN B004SV2IPC.[12][13]
- Eisler, Barry (2011). The Ass Is A Poor Receptacle For The Head: Why Democrats Suck At Communication, And How They Could Improve. ASIN B0050O7VLW.
Screen adaptations
In April 2009, Sony Pictures Japan released a mostly Japanese language film version of Rain Fall starring Shiina Kippei as Rain and Gary Oldman as Rain's nemesis, CIA Station Chief William Holtzer.
In August 2014, Slingshot Global Media announced the launch of a new TV mini-series, Rain, based on the book. Keanu Reeves will portray the iconic character as well as serve as the executive producer alongside Eisler, Chad Stahelski, and David Leitch. The scriptwriter is yet to be decided upon.[14]
Personal life
Eisler earned a black belt at the Kodokan International Judo Center and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.[1] He is married to literary agent (not his agent) Laura Rennert; they have a daughter.[2]
References
- 1 2 3 Eisler, Barry. "Goodreads Author Barry Eisler". Goodreads. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Zinko, Carolyne Zinko (July 25, 2010). "PROFILE: After the CIA, Barry Eisler writes thrillers". SFGate.
- 1 2 Eisler, Barry. "From the Author". Retrieved 5 April 2013.
- ↑ Pinter, Jason. "Why I'm Self-Publishing". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
- ↑ National Public Radio. "Barry Eisler's 'Detachment' From 'Legacy' Publishing". Morning Edition. National Public Radio. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
- ↑ O'Brien, Jenny. "Thriller author Barry Eisler signs with Amazon's Thomas & Mercer imprint". Puget Sound Business Journal. Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ↑ "Barry awards". Deadly Pleasures. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ↑ "The gumshoe award". Crime Fiction Awards. Omnimystery. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ↑ "Hardcover Bestseller List". The New York Times. March 29, 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ↑ "Home Page". BarryEisler.com. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- ↑ "FAQ". BarryEisler.com. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- ↑ Eisler, Barry; Konrath, J.A. & Kilborn, Jack. Be the Monkey: A Conversation About the New World of Publishing Between Authors Barry Eiser and Joe Konrath. Amazon.
- ↑ Eisler, Barry; Konrath, J.A. & Kilborn, Jack. Be the Monkey: A Conversation About the New World of Publishing Between Authors Barry Eisler and Joe Konrath (Free download ed.).
- ↑ Rain (TV mini-series). IMDb. 2016.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barry Eisler. |
- Barry Eisler Official Website
- Eisler's blog, Heart of the Matter
- Eisler on Truthout
- Article on the John Rain Books by Jeff Riggenbach
- IMDB listing for Rain Fall
- Eisler on GRITtv
- Eisler on The Young Turks
- Eisler, Barry (Guest Blogger) (September 11, 2006). "Blurbersion". Buzz, Balls & Hype.