John Saul (born February 25, 1942) is an American author of suspense and horror novels. Most of his books have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list.^[1]

Born in Pasadena, Saul grew up in Whittier, California, and graduated from Whittier High School in 1959. He went on to several colleges, including Cerritos College, Antioch College, San Francisco State University and Montana State University, variously majoring in anthropology, liberal arts and theater, but remains degree-less. After leaving college, Saul decided to become a writer, and spent 15 years working in various jobs while learning his craft.^{[citation needed]}

Prior to the start of his bestselling thriller career, Saul had around 10 books published under pen names, the first of which he wrote in one weekend after unexpectedly losing his job. His first book sale earned him just $200.^[2] Today he has over 60 million books in print.^[3]

In 1976, Dell Publishing contacted him about his writing a psychological thriller. The resulting novel, Suffer the Children, appeared on all the bestseller lists in the United States and reached the number one spot in Canada.^{[citation needed]} His 1979 novel Cry for the Strangers was made into a 1982 TV movie starring Patrick Duffy and Cindy Pickett.^[4][5] In addition to his novels, Saul has had several one-act plays produced in Los Angeles and Seattle.^{[citation needed]}

Saul lives part-time in the Pacific Northwest, both in Seattle and in the San Juan Islands, and has a residence on the Big Island of Hawaii. Saul is openly gay. He lives with his partner of almost 50 years (since 1975) who has collaborated on several of his novels.^[1] He is a frequent speaker at the Maui Writers' Conference.