Michael Grothaus

{{Infobox writer

| image = Michael Grothaus book signing.jpg

| caption = Grothaus at a book signing at the Piccadilly Waterstones bookstore in London (2016)

| birth_name = Michael Grothaus

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1977|8}}

| birth_place = St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.

| occupation = Novelist, journalist

| citizenship = American

| education = Columbia College Chicago (BA)
University of London (MA)

| period = 1999 to present

| genre = Literary fiction • Speculative fiction • Bildungsroman • Satire • Transgressive fiction • Dark comedy

| subject =

| movement = Postmodernism • Minimalism • Magical realism

| notableworks = Epiphany Jones
Beautiful Shining People

| years_active = 1999 to present

| website = {{url|michaelgrothaus.com}}

}}

Michael Grothaus (born August 1977) is an American novelist and journalist. He is best known for the novel Beautiful Shining People and for his writing about internet subcultures in the digital age.

Biography

Michael Grothaus was born in Saint Louis, Missouri in 1977.{{cite web|url=http://www.thebooktrail.com/cuppa-and-cake/the-other-side-of-the-glitz-with-michael-grothaus/|title=The other side of the Glitz|website=The BookTrail}} In 1998 he began attending Columbia College in Chicago where he studied film and journalism. During his college years he started writing for Screen magazine, covering the local Chicago film industry. After graduating Grothaus took an internship with 20th Century Fox at the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.{{cite web|last1=Grothaus|first1=Michael|title=The Cannes Film Festival Can Be a Pretty Miserable Place|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-cannes-film-festival-can-be-a-pretty-miserable-place/|website=Vice|date=15 May 2014 }} He would later use this experience as a basis for his first novel{{cite web|last1=Grothaus|first1=Michael|title=How Google Is Fighting Sex Trafficking With Big Data|url=http://www.fastcolabs.com/3009686/how-google-is-fighting-sex-trafficking-with-big-data|website=Fast Company}}

During his early 20s Grothaus worked for the Art Institute of Chicago, eventually writing and directing a children's film for them.{{cite web|title=Novel set in multiple locations, plus we chat to author Michael Grothaus|url=http://www.tripfiction.com/novel-set-in-multiple-locations/|website=Trip Fiction|date=7 June 2016 }} Grothaus then left the creative fields to pursue a career with Apple.{{Cite web|url=http://www.cultofmac.com/276183/apples-cafeteria-inspired-kickstarter-smart-food-scale/|title=How Apple's cafeteria inspired this Kickstarter smart food scale|last=Dormehl|first=Luke|website=Cult of Mac|date=26 April 2014 }} In 2007 he moved to London to study creative writing at the University of London, where he earned his MA in creative writing with Distinction.{{Cite web|url=https://www.city.ac.uk/arts-social-sciences/journalism/centre-for-english/student-successes|title=Student Successes–Literary Novels|website=City University London}} Shortly after graduating he returned to journalism. His writing has appeared in Fast Company, The Irish Times, Litro Magazine, Vice, The Guardian, Engadget, Know Your Mobile,{{Cite web |last=richkym |title=About Know Your Mobile: Mobile Phone Review Site |url=https://www.knowyourmobile.com/about-us/ |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=www.knowyourmobile.com |language=en-GB}} among others.

Journalism

Grothaus began his journalism career covering the Chicago film industry for Screen magazine. He then moved into technology journalism, writing for popular websites including TUAW, Engadget, and nationals including The Guardian. However, Grothaus is best known for his regular writings about creativity and subcultures in the digital age for Vice and Fast Company.{{cite web|url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3014713/this-google-glass-porno-flick-foreshadows-your-future-sex-life|title=This Google Glass Porno Flick Foreshadows Your Future Sex Life|website=Fast Company|last1=Grothaus|first1=Michael}}{{cite web|url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3036599/the-story-behind-the-webs-weirdest-hardest-riddle|title=The Story Behind The Web's Weirdest, Hardest Riddle|website=Fast Company|last1=Grothaus|first1=Michael}} Specifically he has written extensively on the enigmatic online organization Cicada 3301.{{cite web|url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3038719/what-its-like-to-be-on-the-inside-of-cicada-3301-the-internets-most-enigmatic-mystery|title=Inside The Cicada 3301 Cabal|website=Fast Company|last1=Grothaus|first1=Michael}}{{cite web|url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3025785/meet-the-man-who-solved-the-mysterious-cicada-3301-puzzle|title=Meet The Man Who Solved The Mysterious Cicada 3301 Puzzle|website=Fast Company|last1=Grothaus|first1=Michael}} He also writes frequently about the convergence of sex,{{cite web|last1=Grothaus|first1=Michael|title=Meet the UK's 'Most Expensive' Male Escort|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/an-interview-with-britains-most-expensive-male-escort-873/|website=Vice|date=13 August 2014 }} pornography, and technology, including the subculture of fake celebrity pornography.{{cite web|last1=Grothaus|first1=Michael|title=The Poignant Tale of Two Fake Celebrity Porn Addicts|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/celebrity-pornalikes-michael-grothaus/|website=Vice|date=8 May 2014 }}

Fiction

Grothaus' debut novel is Epiphany Jones.{{Cite book|title=Epiphany Jones Paperback|via=Amazon|id= {{ASIN|191063333X|country=uk}}}} It was acquired by Orenda Books in 2015 and was published in June 2016.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thebookseller.com/news/pictures-week-341381|title=Pictures of the week {{!}} The Bookseller|last=Carpenter|first=Caroline|date=30 June 2016|website=thebookseller.com|publisher=The Bookseller|access-date=2016-08-21}}{{cite web|last1=Sullivan|first1=Karen|title=Debut author Michael Grothaus joins Orenda!|url=http://orendabooks.co.uk/debut-author-michael-grothaus-joins-orenda/|website=Orenda Books}} The Bookseller described the novel as "an energetic, inventive, gritty and deeply moving thriller cum dark comedy, Epiphany Jones addresses the challenging subject of sex trafficking in a powerful narrative driven by exceptionally well-drawn, unforgettable protagonists."{{cite web|last1=Campbell|first1=Lisa|title=Orenda Books signs dark comedy thriller|url=http://www.thebookseller.com/news/orenda-books-signs-dark-comedy-thriller-305370|website=The Bookseller}} The Sunday Express named Epiphany Jones as one of the 'Best Reads for the Summer', calling it "gloriously funny but dark as hell."{{cite web|url=http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/books/686792/Holiday-book-selection-July-2016|title=Your holiday's booked: Our pick of the best reads for summer|website=The Sunday Express|last1=Kerridge|first1=Jake|date=10 July 2016 }} The Guardian named it one of the best recent novels, saying Epiphany Jones is "complex, inventive and a genuine shocker, this is the very opposite of a 'comfort' read."{{cite news|last1=Wilson|first1=Laura|title=The best recent crime novels – review roundup|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jul/31/the-best-recent-crime-novels-review-roundup|website=The Guardian|date=31 July 2016 }} Literary critic Maxim Jakubowski called Epiphany Jones "a truly impressive debut" and "a twisting tale at the same time realistically gripping and sardonic" and praised Grothaus' writing for having "a delicate fluency which contrasts with the depravity of his subject matter." The New York Daily News said Epiphany Jones "is a captivating story that manages to be funny, sinister and surprising" and praised Grothaus' main characters as "complex and well-rounded—equal parts sympathetic, mad and maddening."{{Cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/theater-arts/epiphany-jones-sex-crimes-psychosis-dark-thriller-article-1.2764346|title='Epiphany Jones' book review: Sex crimes and psychosis in darkly funny thriller|last=Chopin|first=Allison|date=24 August 2016|website=The New York Daily News}}

The novel is a social satire and dark comedy about America's obsession with sex, celebrity, and the internet, which explores a pornography addict's unwilling relationship with a woman who thinks she can speak to God and their entanglement with sex traffickers that cater to the Hollywood elite.{{cite web|title=Michael Grothaus – The Hanbury Agency|url=http://www.hanburyagency.com/authors/michael-grothaus.asp|website=The Hanbury Agency}} Grothaus has stated that his personal experiences at the Cannes Film Festival and his disillusionment with the Hollywood film industry were strong inspiration for the novel.{{cite news|last1=Morgan|first1=Robin|title=Audible Interview With Michael Grothaus: Audible Sessions|url=http://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Arts-Entertainment/FREE-Audible-Interview-With-Michael-Grothaus-Audiobook/B01K4TTVKG|publisher=Audible}} Before penning the novel, Grothaus spent six years researching sex trafficking.{{Cite web|url=http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/newcastle-noir-set-bring-masters-11101798|title=Newcastle Noir set to bring masters and mistresses of crime to the city|last=Whetstone|first=David|date=3 April 2016|website=ChronicleLive|publisher=Trinity Mirror North East}}

Grothaus' second novel is Beautiful Shining People. The novel was published in 2023 and is a speculative fiction coming-of-age story about a 17-year-old quantum coding prodigy from American who befriends an ex-sumo wrestler and a Japanese waitress in a Tokyo cafe and helps the pair track down the waitress's long-lost father amidst digital Cold War tensions between superpowers China and America.{{Cite web |last=Brooks |first=Robin |date=2023-04-01 |title='Beautiful Shining People' by Michael Grothaus: A Book Review |url=https://geekdad.com/2023/04/beautiful-shining-people-by-michael-grothaus-a-book-review/ |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=GeekDad |language=en-US}} The novel was chosen as a Book of the Month by both SFX Magazine and SciFiNow.{{Cite web |date=2023-03-01 |title=Best SFF Books March 2023 |url=https://www.scifinow.co.uk/blog/top-sff-books-march-2023/ |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=SciFiNow |language=en-GB}} The Sun praised the novel as “poetically written, every word of this adventure leaps off the page with passion.”{{Cite news |last=W |first=J |date=17 March 2023 |title=Books |pages=45 |work=The Sun |editor-last=Harding |editor-first=Natasha}} Grothaus has said his personal experiences in Hiroshima, Japan deeply influenced the writing of the novel.{{Citation |title=Bloody Good Reads - Chapter 88 - Michael Grothaus - Bloody Good Reads |url=https://www.buzzsprout.com/1154732/12866313-bloody-good-reads-chapter-88-michael-grothaus |access-date=2023-07-02 |language=en}}

Grothaus has also spoken frequently about his dissatisfaction with things being the reasons he writes about what he does. He also maintains that dissatisfaction is the most important tool a writer has.{{Cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/the-importance-of-dissatisfaction-to-writing-1.2733782|title=The importance of dissatisfaction to writing|last=Grothaus|first=Michael|newspaper=The Irish Times}}

Novels

Epiphany Jones (2016) ({{ISBN|978-1910633335}})

Beautiful Shining People (2023) ({{ISBN|978-1914585647}})

Honors and awards

Michael Grothaus was longlisted for the 2017 CWA New Blood Dagger Award for his debut novel Epiphany Jones.{{Cite web|url=https://thecwa.co.uk/the-daggers/categories/john-creasey/|title=CWA Dagger Longlists|website=thecwa.co.uk|access-date=2017-05-20}}

In 2018, Entertainment Weekly named Epiphany Jones one of the 25 "Most Irresistible Hollywood Novels."{{Cite magazine|url=http://ew.com/books/25-irresistible-hollywood-novels/#epiphany-jones-by-michael-grothaus|title=The most irresistible Hollywood novels|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=2018-07-24|language=en}}