Bill Granger
Bill Granger, born on June 1, 1941, in Chicago, Illinois, is an American author and journalist known for his contributions to the thriller genre, particularly with his "November Man" series. After serving in the U.S. Army, Granger began his journalism career with United Press International, later working for the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times. His first novel, "The November Man," published in 1979, features a CIA operative and was notable for its chilling coincidence with a real-life assassination linked to the IRA. Granger authored twelve sequels in the series, along with several police procedurals and other novels, some under pseudonyms. He collaborated with his wife on books about Chicago politics and special education, reflecting their personal experiences. Despite facing significant health challenges after a stroke in 2000, Granger's earlier works received critical acclaim, with nominations for the Pulitzer Prize and an Edgar Allan Poe Award for his novel "Public Murders." His writing is often recognized for its fast pace and realistic portrayal of espionage, even as some volumes were critiqued for their complexity and violence.
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Bill Granger
Writer
- Born: June 1, 1941
- Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
- Died: April 22, 2012
Biography
Bill Granger was born June 1, 1941, in Chicago, Illinois, the son of carpenterWilliam Cecil Granger and Ruth Elizabeth (née Griffith) Granger. He attended Chicago’s DePaul University from 1959 to 1963, and served two years in the United States Army after graduation. Granger married writer Lori Meschke on June 27, 1967, and the couple had one son.
Granger went to work as a reporter for United Press International in Chicago in 1963, moved on to the Chicago Tribune in 1966, and became a reporter and columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1969 to 1978. He gave up reporting to become a freelance columnist and novelist in 1980. In January, 2000, Granger suffered a debilitating stroke affecting his memory, which forced him to retire to the Illinois Veterans’ Home in Manteno.
Granger’s first novel, The November Man, appeared in 1979. Featuring a middle-aged Central Intelligence Agency operative named Devereaux code-named “November,” the book involved a plot by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to assassinate a cousin of the Queen of England. Within weeks of the book’s publication, real life seemed to imitate art when Lord Mountbatten, Queen Elizabeth’s cousin, was indeed assassinated by the IRA. Twelve more November Man thrillers appeared over the next decade and a half. Plans were announced in 2005 for a motion picture based on the eighth novel in the series, There Are No Spies, to be called simply The November Man.
Granger also wrote four police procedurals set in Chicago and featuring Terry Flynn and Karen Kovac; two appeared under his own name and two under a pseudonym, Joe Gash. Another Chicago series of three novels featured former sports writer Jimmy Drover. Granger also used Chicago as the setting of the gritty Time for Frankie Coolin, but published it under the pseudonym Bill Griffith. Granger wrote two books about Chicago politics with his wife Lori, and the pair coauthored The Magic Feather: The Truth About “Special Education,” a scathing look at the popular educational program based on the experiences of their son Alec.
Granger was nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize, and his novel Public Murders won the Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America for best original paperback.
Granger’s early November Man novels recalled the works of such renowned spy novelists as Len Deighton and John le Carré, and although the series declined in quality in its middle volumes, later volumes showed a renewed vitality. Although praised for their fast pace and decidedly unglamorous take on the subject of espionage, they were also criticized as needlessly confusing and sometimes excessively violent. Granger’s pseudonymous novel of Chicago working-class life and petty crime, Time for Frankie Coolin, was probably his most successful in purely literary terms.