The project of rebuilding the Westlake bibliography continues and there are still a few surprises to be found. Yet another pseudonym has been uncovered but it mostly belongs to another author, Laurence Janifer (aka Larry Mark Harris). The title in question was very likely finished by Don when Harris was unable to meet his deadline. You can read about it Read More …
The epic project of building a database and uploading images from every copy of every book in Don’s personal library has begun. The full collection containing one copy of every edition of every book in print, and in every language, numbers in the hundreds. Several hundreds. So far, I’ve been able to catalog the first 41. The 41st book in Read More …
Donald Westlake was nothing if not thorough. In fact, there’s a very strong case to be made that he was a bit OCD, if not for the countervailing case to be made out of the disorder of his filing system. Suffice it to say, the things he cared about received detailed attention and the things he didn’t care for… um… Read More …
Along with the other back-end trouble I had with the old host, I lost the ability to embed audio files in a reliable way. Well, that’s all over now, thanks partly to the migration, improvements in the new WordPress update and the existence of SoundCloud. There are currently only three audio tracks on the entire site and all three are Read More …
Back on March 11, when this website was still in the throes of technical difficulties, I had the pleasure of joining in on a podcast discussion of The Comedy is Finished with Jesse Willis from SFF Audio and Trent Reynolds from The Violent World of Parker. Both gentlemen are well-read, insightful and great fun to chat with and listen to. Read More …
Been a long time getting this site back to normal. Lots of updates while it was in safe mode. There will definitely be separate blog posts coming in the near future but, for now, here’s an annotated list of the doings in the past few months… Violent World of Parker Happy Birthday to Donald Westlake [Editor’s note: Special thanks Read More …
You can find links to sample chapters in some of the book pages on this site and more are being added over time. Indicating which books have sample chapters in the bibliography is on my list of things to do, possibly this weekend. Until then, it’s pot luck. Below, the first few paragraphs of The Mercenaries, the first book Read More …
@ExtAngel Glenn Kenny Goddamnit. I should never go to the gym while I’m in the MIDDLE of a Richard Stark novel. 14 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® @WDGagliani W.D. Gagliani Openings: John Dortmunder was a man on whom the sun shone only when he needed darkness. / Donald Westlake, Bad News, 2001 ((I can relate!)) 16 Nov via Read More …
By Daniela Gitlin on her blog Westlake wrote quirky, smart stories about quirky, smart people living full lives outside the law. Sure, they go down quick and easy as escapist trash. But to think they are trash would be a mistake, like falling for Columbo’s dull bulb act. Single-handed creator of the comedic caper and noir crime fiction, Westlake Read More …
From Seacoast Online – Portsmouth, NH Even with more than 3,000 titles in Mainely Murders and 10,000 in their ever-expanding collection, Keeney and Whetstone admit there are books they will never sell. “I collect Richard Stark, which is another name for Donald Westlake. He was among the first of the good and bad guys. He’s a robber and Read More …
by Ed Gorman (on his blog) How’s this for an opener? I’m about to review the worst book Donald E. Westlake ever wrote. Don’t take my word for it. Here’s Westlake himself speaking. “I spoiled a book by having him do something he wouldn’t do. The sixth book in the series is called The Jugger, and that book Read More …
by Josie Campbell, Staff Writer for Comic Book Resources At the 2011 Long Beach Comic Con, artist Darwyn Cooke and IDW Publishing Special Projects Editor Scott Dunbier joined forces on the Darwyn Cooke panel to talk about Cooke’s ongoing IDW work adapting author Richard Stark AKA Donald Westlake’s “Parker” novels into graphic novel form. Immediately opening the Read More …
