Kellerman, Jesse 1978–

views updated

Kellerman, Jesse 1978–

PERSONAL: Born September 1, 1978, in Los Angeles, CA; son of Jonathan (a clinical psychologist and writer) and Faye (a dentist and writer) Kellerman; married; wife's name Gabriella. Education: Obtained bachelor's degree from Harvard University; Brandeis University, M.F.A.

ADDRESSES: Home—New York, NY. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Penguin Group, G.P. Putnam's Sons Publicity, 375 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014.

CAREER: Playwright and novelist.

AWARDS, HONORS: Princess Grace Award, Princess Grace Foundation, 2003, for Things beyond Our Control.

WRITINGS:

(With Jonathan Kellerman) Daddy, Daddy, Can You Touch the Sky? (juvenile; short verses), Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Sunstroke (novel), Putnam (New York, NY), 2005.

STAGE PLAYS

Very Very Small Things (produced at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2001), Playscripts (New York, NY), 2006.

Fafrotskies, produced at Brandeis University, 2003.

Things beyond Our Control (first produced at Linhart Theater, 2006), Samuel French (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Jesse Kellerman is the son of two best-selling authors, Faye and Jonathan Kellerman. He made his start as a playwright, however, producing three stage plays before deciding to shift his focus to novels. After winning the Princess Grace Award for young playwrights, he took the opportunity to write his first novel, Sunstroke.

The story centers around an Hispanic secretary, Gloria Mendez, working for a novelty company in Los Angeles. When she gets word that her boss, whom she has long adored from a distance, died in an accident in Mexico, she goes down to identify the body. Gloria finds, however, that her boss's personal life was more complex and secretive than she knew, which leads to a series of personal discoveries of her own.

Gilbert Cruz, writing in Entertainment Weekly, labeled the debut a "slow-burning, sunbaked noir treat." Writing in Booklist, Keir Graff commented that the "tightly focused thriller features expertly drawn characters, vivid scenes, and simmering tension." A Publishers Weekly reviewer however, expected a bit more, believing that the "adventure is a bit too cool and cerebral to be a thriller and too literary to be a genre mystery." Overall, a critic writing in Kirkus Reviews concluded that Sunstroke is "funny, exciting, and stylishly written," further calling it "a delicious tour de force not to be missed."