Early life

Klavan was born to a secular Jewish family in New York City and grew up in Great Neck, Long Island as one of four sons born to father Gene Klavan, a New York disc jockey, and mother Phyllis, a homemaker.^[2] He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in English Literature.^[3] He worked as a radio and newspaper reporter and a radio news writer before becoming a full-time writer.

Marriage and children

In 1980, he married Ellen Flanagan, daughter of Thomas Flanagan and sister of Caitlin Flanagan.^[4] They have two children, Spencer Klavan and Faith Moore^{[5][failed verification]} and live in Nashville, Tennessee. Spencer Klavan is an Oxford-trained classicist who is married to Joshua Herr, general counsel for the Daily Wire.^{[citation needed]}

Conversion to Christianity

Klavan converted to Christianity at the age of 49 and was baptized privately.^[6][7] Initially he attended the Episcopal Church, but has since left for the Anglican Catholic Church.^{[citation needed]}

Political views

After graduating from Berkeley, Klavan began his writing career as a liberal. He became a conservative during the Reagan administration.^[11][12] He has both praised and criticized former US President Donald Trump. ^[13]

Klavan supports gun rights,^[14] gay marriage^[15] and freedom of speech.^[16]

Awards

Klavan's book Mrs. White, which he wrote under the pen-name Margaret Tracy, won the 1984 Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original.^[17] In 1989, his novel Trapdoor was nominated in the Best Paperback Original category.^[17] In 1990, he won the Edgar Award in the Best Paperback Original category for The Rain, as well as a nomination at the 1990 Anthony Awards for Rough Justice in the paperback category.^[17][18] Klavan was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best Novel in 1992 for his first novel, Don't Say a Word.^[19] He received an Anthony Awards nomination at the 1996 ceremony for True Crime in the Best Novel category.^[18]

Standalone books

• Face of the Earth (1977)
• Agnes Mallory (1985)
• Mrs. White (1987) (as Margaret Tracy, with Laurence Klavan)
• There Fell a Shadow (1988) (as Keith Peterson)
• The Rain (1988) (as Keith Peterson)
• Darling Clementine (1988)
• The Trapdoor (1988) (as Keith Peterson)
• Son of Man (1988)
• The Scarred Man (1989) (as Keith Peterson)
• Rough Justice (1989) (as Keith Peterson)
• Don't Say a Word (1991)
• The Animal Hour (1992)
• Corruption (1993)
• True Crime (1995)
• Suicide (1995)
• The Uncanny (1998)
• Hunting Down Amanda (1999)
• Man and Wife (2001)
• Dynamite Road (2003)
• Shotgun Alley (2004)
• Damnation Street (2006)
• Empire of Lies (2008)
• The Identity Man (2010)
• Crazy Dangerous (2012) ISBN 9781595547934
• If We Survive (2012) ISBN 9781595547965
• Nightmare City (2013) ISBN 9781595547972
• A Killer in the Wind (2013) ISBN 9780802122254
• Werewolf Cop (2016) ISBN 9781605989730
• The Great Good Thing: A Secular Jew Comes to Faith in Christ (2016)
• The Truth and Beauty (2022)

The Homelanders series

• The Homelanders: The Last Thing I Remember (2009)
• The Homelanders: The Long Way Home (2010)
• The Homelanders: The Truth of the Matter (2010)
• The Homelanders: The Final Hour (2011)

The Mindwar trilogy

• Mindwar (2014)
• Hostage Run (2016)
• Game Over (2016)

The Another Kingdom trilogy

• Another Kingdom (2019)
• The Nightmare Feast (2020)
• The Emperor's Sword (2021)

The Cameron Winter Series

• When Christmas Comes (2021) ISBN 978-1-61316240-8
• A Strange Habit Of Mind (2022)
• The House of Love and Death (2023) ISBN 978-1-61316446-4