Carl Hiaasen

{{Infobox writer

| name = Carl Hiaasen

| image = Carl Hiaasen at 2016 National Book Festival (cropped).png

| caption = Carl Hiaasen at the 2016 National Book Festival

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1953|03|12}}

| birth_place = Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.

| occupation = Author and journalist

| alma_mater = Emory University
University of Florida

| period = 1974–Present (Retired from The Miami Herald in 2021){{cite web |last1=Gabbat |first1=Adam |title=Carl Hiaasen ends Miami Herald career with warning for journalism's future |url=http://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/mar/15/carl-hiaasen-miami-herald-column-journalism |website=TheGuardian.com |date=March 15, 2021 |access-date=June 25, 2021}}

| genre = Crime fiction, thrillers, satirical fiction, children's fiction

| subject = Environmentalism, political corruption, fraudsters, Florida

| spouse = {{marriage|Katie Fox|2020}}

| relatives = Rob Hiaasen (brother)

| website = {{Official website}}

| awards = {{Plainlist}}

{{Awards|Heywood Broun Award from Newspaper Guild|1980}}
{{Awards|Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists|2010}}
{{Awards|Newbery Honor from the Association for Library Service to Children|2003}}
{{Awards|Marjorie Harris Carr Award for Environmental Advocacy from the Florida Defenders of the Environment|2017}}

}}

Carl Hiaasen ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|aɪ|.|ə|s|ɛ|n}}; born March 12, 1953) is an American journalist and novelist. He began his career as a newspaper reporter and by the late 1970s had begun writing novels in his spare time, both for adults and for middle grade readers. Two of his novels have been made into feature films, and one has been made into a TV series.

Hiaasen's adult novels are humorous crime thrillers set in Florida. They feature casts of eccentric, sometimes grotesque characters and satirize aspects of American popular culture. Many of the novels include themes related to environmentalism and political corruption in his native state.

Early life and education

The first of four children born to Odel and Patricia Hiaasen, Hiaasen was born in 1953 of Norwegian and Irish ancestry.{{Cite web |title=Biblio.com |url=https://www.biblio.com/carl-hiaasen/author/183}} Raised in Plantation, Florida, then a rural suburb of Fort Lauderdale, he started writing at age six when his father gave him a typewriter for Christmas.{{cite web |url= http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/carl-hiaasen|title=Biography: Carl Hiaasen |author= |date= c. 2013|publisher= Scholastic|access-date=March 17, 2013}} After graduating from Plantation High School{{Cite web |date=September 9, 2018 |title=Carl Hiaasen: Pain and tears are proof that my brother, Rob, mattered |url=https://www.capitalgazette.com/opinion/columns/ac-ce-column-carl-hiaasen-20180909-story.html |access-date=September 18, 2023 |website=The Capital Gazette}} in 1970, he entered Emory University, where he contributed satirical humor columns to the student newspaper The Emory Wheel.{{cite journal|last1= Parvin|first1= Paige|title= We Knew Them When|journal= Emory Magazine|issue= Winter 2013|publisher= Emory University|url= http://www.emory.edu/EMORY_MAGAZINE/issues/2013/winter/features/nongraduate.html|access-date= March 17, 2013|archive-date= October 11, 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141011024257/http://www.emory.edu/EMORY_MAGAZINE/issues/2013/winter/features/nongraduate.html|url-status= dead}} In 1972, he transferred to the University of Florida, where he wrote for The Independent Florida Alligator. Hiaasen graduated in 1974 with a degree in journalism.

Journalism

Hiaasen was a reporter at TODAY (Cocoa, Florida) for two years before being hired in 1976 by the Miami Herald, where he worked for the city desk, Sunday magazine and award-winning investigative team. Hiaasen was a columnist for the newspaper from mid-1985 until he retired in March 2021. His columns have been collected in three published volumes, Kick Ass (1999), Paradise Screwed (2001) and Dance of the Reptiles (2014), all edited by Diane Stevenson.

His only brother was Rob Hiaasen, an editor and columnist at The Capital newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, who was killed in the mass shooting at the newspaper's office on June 28, 2018.{{cite web |last1=Alanez |first1=Tonya |title=South Florida's Rob Hiaasen, novelist Carl Hiaasen's brother, killed in newsroom shooting |url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/fl-reg-rob-hiaasen-obit-20180628-story.html |website=Sun-Sentinel.com |date=June 29, 2018 |access-date=June 29, 2018}} Carl Hiaasen's 1991 novel Native Tongue carries the dedication "For my brother Rob."

Novelist

After becoming a reporter, Hiaasen began writing novels in his spare time. The first three were co-authored with his friend and fellow journalist William Montalbano: Powder Burn (1981), Trap Line (1982), and A Death in China (1984). His first solo novel, Tourist Season (1986), featured a group of ragged eco-warriors who kidnap the Orange Bowl Queen in Miami. The book's main character was whimsically memorialized by Jimmy Buffett in a song called "The Ballad of Skip Wiley", which appeared on his Barometer Soup album.

Twenty-one of Hiaasen's novels and nonfiction books have been on the New York Times Best Seller lists. His work has been translated into 34 languages. In 2016, his novel Razor Girl was shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize.

An earlier Hiaasen novel, Strip Tease, was adapted into the 1996 feature film Striptease starring Demi Moore and Burt Reynolds. Another book, Bad Monkey, has been adapted into a series on Apple TV. It stars Vince Vaughn and is written and executive produced by Bill Lawrence, who co-created Ted Lasso.{{cite web|url=https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/news/2021/08/apple-orders-new-drama-series-bad-monkey-starring-vince-vaughn-and-written-by-bill-lawrence/|title = Apple orders new drama series "Bad Monkey," starring Vince Vaughn and written by Bill Lawrence}} The series began airing in August 2024. Bad Monkey has been renewed for a second season.{{Cite web |title=Apple's acclaimed hit comedy "Bad Monkey" lands season two renewal |url=https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/news/2024/12/apples-acclaimed-hit-comedy-bad-monkey-lands-season-two-renewal/ |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=Apple TV+ Press |language=en-US}}

Hiaasen's first venture into writing for younger readers was the 2002 novel Hoot, which was named a Newbery Medal honor book. It was adapted as a 2006 film of the same name (starring Logan Lerman, Brie Larson and Luke Wilson). The movie was written and directed by Wil Shriner. Jimmy Buffett provided songs for the soundtrack, and appeared in the role of Mr. Ryan, a middle school teacher.

Hiaasen's subsequent children's novels are Flush; Scat; Chomp; Skink - No Surrender, which introduces one of his most popular adult characters to younger readers; Squirm; and the latest, Wrecker.

In 2014, Skink was longlisted for a National Book Award in Young People's Literature. Hiaasen's books for young readers feature environmental themes, eccentric casts and adventure-filled plots. Squirm, which is set in Florida and Montana, was published in fall 2018 and opened at #4 on the New York Times bestseller list for middle-grade novels.

Wrecker, released on September 26, 2023, is set in Key West during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kirkus Reviews called it, "A batten-down-the-hatches thriller anchored by critical real-life themes".{{Cite web |date=June 21, 2023 |title=Wrecker |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/carl-hiaasen/wrecker-hiaasen/ |access-date=September 18, 2023 |website=Kirkus Reviews}} Booklist wrote, "Wielding his writing talents and wit, Hiaasen seamlessly incorporates...disparate elements into one heck of a ride".{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Julia |date=July 2023 |title=Wrecker, by Carl Hiaasen |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Wrecker-/pid=9778879 |access-date=September 18, 2023 |website=Booklist}} Wrecker debuted at number one on The New York Times Children's Middle Grade Hardcover Best Sellers List.{{Cite news |date=October 15, 2023 |title=Children's Middle Grade Hardcover Best Sellers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2023/10/15/childrens-middle-grade-hardcover/ |access-date=October 25, 2023 |newspaper=The New York Times}}

His adult book, Squeeze Me, was published on August 25, 2020, and debuted at #2 on the New York Times Combined Print and E-Book Best Sellers List. The novel takes place during the glitzy Palm Beach social season, and features wild pythons and a fictional, well-fed U.S. president who has a vacation mansion on the island. Amazon and the Washington Post listed Squeeze Me among the best novels of 2020.

Fever Beach,{{Cite book |url=https://carlhiaasen.com/books/fever-beach/ |title=Fever Beach by Carl Hiaasen |isbn=978-0-593-32094-5 |language=en-US |last1=Hiaasen |first1=Carl |publisher=Random House }} his latest novel, was published on May 13, 2025 and opened at #8 on the New York Times Combined Print and E-Book Best Sellers List. It features the character Twilly Spree, who was introduced in 2000's Sick Puppy, and tells the story of two fumbling hate-mongers who are trying to start their own white nationalist group.

Hiaasen's most recent nonfiction work is Assume the Worst: The Graduation Speech You'll Never Hear, which was published in April 2018 and illustrated by Roz Chast, known for her cartoons in The New Yorker.

Songwriting

During the 1990s, Hiaasen co-wrote the lyrics of three songs with his friend, L.A. rocker Warren Zevon. "Rottweiler Blues" and "Seminole Bingo" appeared on Zevon's Mutineer album in 1995. The third song they wrote together, "Basket Case," was done in conjunction with Hiaasen's novel of the same name, and appeared in 2002 on Zevon's album My Ride's Here.

Hiaasen co-wrote "Fish Porn" on Jimmy Buffett's final album, Equal Strain on All Parts, with Buffett and Mac McAnally.

Personal life

File:Carl and Katie Hiaasen.jpg

Hiaasen is a fly fisherman who has won the Invitational Fall Fly Bonefish Tournament in Islamorada six times, fishing with guide Tim Klein.{{cite magazine |title=Writer Hiaasen again wins Islamorada Invitational |url=https://www.saltwatersportsman.com/news/writer-hiaasen-again-wins-islamorada-invitational/ |magazine=Salt Water Sportsman |date=24 September 2011}}

His wife is Katie Fox, whom he married in 2020. Hiaasen was previously married to Connie, a nurse, whom he thanks in the dedication for Skin Tight.

Works

= Fiction =

== Adult fiction ==

Tourist Season (1986)
Double Whammy (1987)
Skin Tight (1989)
Native Tongue (1991)
Strip Tease (1993) (filmed in 1996 as Striptease by Andrew Bergman, starring Demi Moore and Burt Reynolds){{cite web |title=Biography |publisher=Carl Hiaasen's Official Website |url=http://www.carlhiaasen.com/bio.html |access-date=October 8, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011064130/http://www.carlhiaasen.com/bio.html |archive-date=October 11, 2008 }}
Stormy Weather (1995)
Naked Came the Manatee (1996) (A Mystery Thriller Parody with 12 other authors)
Lucky You (1997)
Sick Puppy (2000)
Basket Case (2002)
Skinny Dip (2004)
Nature Girl (2006)
Star Island (2010)
Bad Monkey (2013) (released as a TV series in August 2024){{Cite news |last=Soloski |first=Alexis |date=2024-08-13 |title='Bad Monkey,' Bad Deer, Bad Weather: The Fun of Filming in Florida |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/13/arts/television/bad-monkey.html |access-date=2024-08-14 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}
Razor Girl (2016)
Squeeze Me (2020)
Fever Beach (2025)

With William Montalbano

Powder Burn (1981)
Trap Line (1982)
A Death in China (1984)

== Fiction for young readers ==

Hoot (2002) (released as a movie in May 2006 by director Wil Shriner)
Flush (2005)
Scat (2009)
Chomp (2012)
Skink - No Surrender (2014) (young adult novel featuring a recurring hero from his adult fiction series)
Squirm (2018)
Wrecker (2023)

= Short stories =

"Tart of Darkness"{{cite web |author=Carl Hiaasen |url=http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1028052/index.htm |title=A crazed photographer has kidnapped a beautiful model and - 02.18.03 - SI Vault |publisher=Sports Illustrated |date=February 18, 2003 |access-date=October 22, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304062230/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1028052/index.htm |archive-date=March 4, 2009 }} (2003, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue)
The Edible Exile (2013)

= Non-fiction =

Team Rodent: How Disney Devours the World (1998)
Kick Ass: Selected Columns (1999)
Paradise Screwed: Selected Columns (2001)
The Downhill Lie (2008)
Dance of the Reptiles: Selected Columns (2014)
Assume the Worst: The Graduation Speech You'll Never Hear (2018)

= Collections =

A Carl Hiaasen (2000) (an audiobook set containing Tourist Season, Stormy Weather, and Strip Tease)

34 books in total

Awards and achievements

;Journalist

1980: National Headliners Award from Sigma Delta Chi.{{Cite book|url=http://db12.linccweb.org/login?url=http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/BiographiesDetailsPage/BiographiesDetailsWindow?disableHighlighting=true&displayGroupName=Biographies&currPage=&scanId=&query=&prodId=BIC1&search_within_results=&p=BIC1&mode=view&catId=&limiter=&display-query=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE%7CH1000045246&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary=true&source=Bookmark&u=lincclin_ircc&jsid=a3adbb4980cd6071beb90ac32020d1fc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904015945/http://db12.linccweb.org/login?url=http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/BiographiesDetailsPage/BiographiesDetailsWindow?disableHighlighting=true&displayGroupName=Biographies&currPage=&scanId=&query=&prodId=BIC1&search_within_results=&p=BIC1&mode=view&catId=&limiter=&display-query=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE%7CH1000045246&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary=true&source=Bookmark&u=lincclin_ircc&jsid=a3adbb4980cd6071beb90ac32020d1fc|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 4, 2023|title=Carl Hiaasen|publisher=Contemporary Authors Online|year=2014|location=Detroit|via=Biography in Context}}
1980: Heywood Broun Award from Newspaper Guild.{{cite book |editor1-last=Mote |editor1-first=Dave |title=Contemporary popular writers |date=1997 |publisher=St. James Press |location=Detroit |isbn=9781558622166 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2MkUAQAAIAAJ |access-date=December 12, 2023}}
2004: Damon Runyon Award from the Denver Press Club.
2010: Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.{{cite book

|title=Fresh Air with Terry Gross, June 13, 2013: Interview with Carl Hiaasen; Review of Slaid Cleaves' album "Still Fighting the War"; Obituary for Yoram Kaniuk.

|date=June 13, 2013

|publisher=National Public Radio (U.S.) WHYY, Inc.

|quote="Scroll down to 'View online' to hear the audio of the interview."|oclc=957238691

}}

;Writer

2003: Newbery Honor from the Association for Library Service to Children, for Hoot.
2005: Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award, for Hoot.
2005: Dagger Awards Nominee - Best Novel, for Skinny Dip.
2009: Sélection prix Nouvel Obs et BibliObs du roman noir, for Croco-deal (Nature Girl).
2011: Prix du Livre Environnement de la Fondation Veolia Environnement - Mention jeunesse, for Panthère (Scat).
2011: Prix Enfantaisie du meilleur roman, for Panthère (Scat).
2012: Prix Barnes & Noble du meilleur roman jeunesse, for Chomp.
2013: Prix Science en toutes lettres from The Académie de Rouen, for Panthère (Scat).
2014: National Book Award for Young People's Literature Longlist, for Skink: No Surrender.
2017: Marjorie Harris Carr Award for Environmental Advocacy from the Florida Defenders of the Environment

References

External links

{{Official website }}
[http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/carl-hiaasen/ Hiaasen's columns in The Miami Herald]
{{LCAuth|n85133706|Carl Hiaasen|41|}}
[http://www.blogtalkradio.com/modernsignedbooks/2017/05/16/msb--carl-hiaasen-razor-girl Roger Nichols of Modern Signed Books interviews Carl Hiaasen about his latest novel, Razor Girl]
{{cite AV media |people=Steve Kroft interviews Carl Hiaasen |date=September 21, 2015 |title=Carl Hiaasen's take on Florida |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/carl-hiaasens-take-on-florida/ |publisher= CBS 60 Minutes }}{{subscription required}}
[https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2018/05/spectator-books-carl-hiaasens-assume-the-worst/ Hiaasen interviewed about his book 'Assume the Worst'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102055736/https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2018/05/spectator-books-carl-hiaasens-assume-the-worst/ |date=January 2, 2020 }}
{{C-SPAN|38517}}
{{Muckrack}}