Quicknation    Elmore Leonard

Images of Elmore Leonard: G Y AOL AV MSN Books of Elmore Leonard: B

Elmore Leonard (born October 11, 1925 in New Orleans, LouisianaElmore Leonard is a popular American novelist, author, and screenwriter.

His father worked for General Motors (GM), as a site locator for GM facilities, which caused the family to move frequently. Although Leonard was born in New Orleans, he did not live there for long. The family moved often until he was nine, in 1934, when they settled in Detroit, Michigan.

About this time, two major influences occurred that would show up in many of his works. Gangsters such as Bonnie and Clyde were making national headlines, as were the Detroit Tigers baseball team. In the early 1930s, Bonnie and Clyde were on their rampage, and were killed in May, 1934. The Tigers made it to the World Series in 1934. Leonard turned these events into lifelong fascinations with both sports and guns.

Leonard graduated from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School in 1943.

Leonard got his first breaks in the fiction market during the 1950s, regularly publishing pulp western novels. He has since forayed into mystery, crime, and more topical genres, as well as screenwriting. He has been commended by critics for his gritty realism and strong dialogue. His writing takes liberties with proper grammar in exchange for flow.

A number of his novels have been adapted as films, perhaps most notably .

Leonard now lives in Oakland County, Michigan. Many of his more recent novels are set in Metro Detroit.