Brad Meltzer is a bestselling
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
political thrillerA political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political power struggle. They usually involve various extra-legal plots, designed to give political power to someone, while his opponents try to stop him. They can involve national or international political scenarios....
novelist, non-fiction writer, TV show creator and award-winning comic book author.
Early life
Brad Meltzer was born April 1, 1970. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and then moved to South
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, where he graduated from North Miami Beach Senior High School in 1988. He then obtained a degree from the
University of MichiganThe University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, the first in his immediate family to attend a four-year college. In 1993, Meltzer lived in
Beacon Hill, Boston, MassachusettsBeacon Hill is a historic neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, that along with the neighboring Back Bay is home to about 26,000 people. It is a neighborhood of Federal-style rowhouses and is known for its narrow, gas-lit streets and brick sidewalks...
with roommate, fellow comic book writer/artist
Judd WinickJudd Winick is an American comic book, comic strip and television writer/artist and former reality television personality...
, working in sales at
Games MagazineGames magazine is a United States magazine devoted to games and puzzles, and is published by Games Publications, a division of Kappa Publishing Group.-History:...
by day while working on his first novel by night. Afterwards Meltzer graduated from
Columbia Law SchoolColumbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
, and was selected to the prestigious
Columbia Law ReviewThe Columbia Law Review is a law review edited and published by students at Columbia Law School. In addition to articles, the journal regularly publishes scholarly essays and student notes. It was founded in 1901 by Joseph E. Corrigan and John M. Woolsey, who served as the review's first...
.
Career
According to his website, his first novel
Fraternity garnered 24 rejection letters, but he then sold his second novel,
The Tenth Justice, while in law school.
In 1994, he co-wrote the original swearing-in oath that is taken by all
AmeriCorpsAmeriCorps is a U.S. federal government program that was created under President Bill Clinton by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 and later expanded by 50 percent under President George W. Bush...
members, and has been delivered by Presidents
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
.
In 1996, Meltzer created what may have been first ever author website for his first novel,
The Tenth Justice.
In addition to his novels, he was the co-creator of the television series
Jack & BobbyJack & Bobby is an American television series that aired on The WB network. It featured two brothers, one of whom would become President of the United States, serving from 2041 to 2049...
, which ran for one season (2004–2005) on the WB television network.
He created a six-issue
story arcA story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
for
DC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
'
Green ArrowGreen Arrow is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City...
#16 - #21 (October 2002 - April 2003), and the controversial 2004
miniseriesA miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
Identity Crisis. Meltzer was one of many writers and artists who contributed to
Superman/BatmanSuperman/Batman was a monthly comic book series published by DC Comics that features the publisher's two most popular characters: Batman and Superman...
#26, a tribute book dedicated to Sam Loeb, the son of writer
Jeph LoebJoseph "Jeph" Loeb III is an American film and television writer, producer and award-winning comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV series Smallville and Lost, writer for the films Commando and Teen Wolf and was a writer and Co-Executive Producer on the NBC TV show Heroes from its...
, who died of cancer in 2005 at the age of 17. Meltzer scripted pages 11–12 and 19 of the book, which was cover dated June 2006.
Meltzer took over the writing duties for a 13-issue stint on the new monthly
Justice League of AmericaThe Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
series, which started with issue #0 on July 19, 2006, and issue #1 following a month later. Meltzer and artist
Gene HaGene Ha is an American comics artist and writer best known for his work on books such as Top 10 and Top 10: The Forty-Niners, with Alan Moore and Zander Cannon, for America's Best Comics, the Batman graphic novel Fortunate Son, with Gerard Jones, and The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, among...
received the 2008
Eisner AwardThe Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
for Best Single Issue (or One-Shot) for their work on issue 11 of the series. The award was presented by Samuel L Jackson and
Gabriel MachtGabriel S. Macht is an American actor. Macht is known for playing The Spirit in the film of the same name, and lately for his role as Harvey Specter on the USA Network series Suits.-Personal life:...
.
In September 2006, Meltzer participated in a work group along with the CIA, FBI, various
psychologistPsychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
s, and Department of Homeland Security intelligence staff to brainstorm new ways that terrorists might attack the U.S.
In 2008, it was announced that Meltzer would write an arc of
Joss WhedonJoseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...
's
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season EightBuffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics. The series serves as a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and follows the events of that show's final televised season. It is produced by Joss Whedon, who wrote the...
comic book for
Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
. Whedon would later star as himself, alongside
Brian K. VaughanBrian Keller Vaughan is an American comic book and television writer. He is best known for the comic book series Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways, and Pride of Baghdad, and was one of the principal writers of the television series Lost, during seasons three through five...
and
Damon LindelofDamon Laurence Lindelof is an American television writer and executive, most recently noted as the co-creator and executive producer for the television series Lost. He has written for and produced Crossing Jordan, and wrote for Nash Bridges, Wasteland, and the MTV anthology series Undressed...
in the trailer for Meltzer's 2008 release of
The Book of LiesThe Book of Lies is a novel written by Brad Meltzer which assumes a connection between the story of Cain and Abel and the superhero Superman, written by Jerry Siegel.- External links :* http://www.bradmeltzer.com/novels/book-of-lies/book-of-lies.php...
. Whedon, Vaughan and Lindelof - who portray themselves - act as conspiracy theorists who believe in a so-called "Book of Lies", which in Meltzer's novel connects the original murder story (
Cain and AbelIn the Hebrew Bible, Cain and Abel are two sons of Adam and Eve. The Qur'an mentions the story, calling them the two sons of Adam only....
) to the murder of
Jerry SiegelJerome "Jerry" Siegel , who also used pseudonyms including Joe Carter, Jerry Ess, and Herbert S...
's father, shortly before the conception of the iconic
SupermanSuperman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
character. In 2010, Meltzer wrote #32 - #35 of
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season EightBuffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics. The series serves as a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and follows the events of that show's final televised season. It is produced by Joss Whedon, who wrote the...
.
In May 2010, Meltzer released his first nonfiction book,
Heroes For My Son, a book he had worked on for almost a decade, since the night his first son was born.
The book is part of a two-book deal with Meltzer's publisher, and stated in a May 2010 interview that he was working on
Heroes for My Daughter. The book is a collection of stories from the lives of 52 people such as
Jim HensonJames Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
,
Rosa ParksRosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....
and Mr. Rogers, and was written for his son, Jonas. It debuted at #2 on the New York Times Bestseller List.
Meltzer hosts the History series,
Brad Meltzer's DecodedBrad Meltzer's Decoded, , is an American mystery and conspiracy theory investigation television series, produced by Go Go Luckey and Berman/Braun, that premiered December 2, 2010 on the History channel...
, which premiered December 2, 2010.
While Meltzer was conducting research for his novel
The Inner Circle, former U.S. President George H.W. Bush gave him a copy of the secret letter that he had left in the Oval Office desk for
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
Personal life
Meltzer lives in Florida with his wife, an attorney. He has two sons and a daughter.
Selected bibliography
- The Tenth Justice (1998)
- Dead Even (1999)
- The First Counsel (2001)
- The Millionaires (2002)
- The Zero Game (2005)
- The Book of Fate
The Book of Fate is a novel by author Brad Meltzer. It is a political thriller with "Freemasonry conspiracy theory" undertones. It was released in September 2006 and found its way quickly to the New York Times Bestseller List.-Plot synopsis:...
(2006)
- The Book of Lies
The Book of Lies is a novel written by Brad Meltzer which assumes a connection between the story of Cain and Abel and the superhero Superman, written by Jerry Siegel.- External links :* http://www.bradmeltzer.com/novels/book-of-lies/book-of-lies.php...
(2008)
- Heroes for my Son (2010) Non-Fiction
- The Inner Circle (2011)
External links