Charles Ardai

Last updated
Charles Ardai
Born1969 (age 53–54)[ citation needed ]
United States
Alma mater Columbia University
Occupations
  • Entrepreneur
  • writer
  • editor
  • television producer
Employer D. E. Shaw & Co.
Notable workJuno Online Services, Hard Case Crime

Charles Ardai (born 1969[ citation needed ]) is an American businessman, and writer of crime fiction and mysteries. He is founder and editor of Hard Case Crime, a line of pulp-style paperback crime novels. He is also an early employee of D. E. Shaw & Co. and remains a managing director of the firm. [1] [2] He was the former chairman of Schrödinger, Inc. [2]

Contents

Early life

A New York native and the son of two Holocaust survivors, Ardai told NPR in a May 2008 interview that the stories his parents told him as a child "were the most grim and frightening that you can imagine" and gave him the impression "there was a darker circle around a very small bit of light," something that enabled him to relate to his own characters' sufferings. [3]

While in high school, Ardai enjoyed reading pulp fiction and worked as an intern at Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. [4]

After graduating from Hunter College High School in 1987, he attended Columbia University, where he graduated summa cum laude in 1991. [5]

Career

Right out of college, Ardai was hired by hedge fund D. E. Shaw. [4] His first job at the firm was to set up its recruiting department, with a goal of hiring "people who really excel in one field or another." [6]

Sometime in the early 1990s, Shaw tasked Ardai and Jeff Bezos with coming up with potential online business ideas. [7] While Ardai founded Juno, an internet company, in 1996 with D. E. Shaw as an investor, [4] [8] [9] Bezos went on to found Amazon.com on his own. [7] After Juno was sold in 2001, Ardai and Max Phillips decided to start a publishing company to publish crime fiction in the pulp magazine style they grew up enjoying. That proposed company became Hard Case Crime, which published its first books in 2004. [10]

Ardai's writing has appeared in mystery magazines such as Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, gaming magazines such as Computer Gaming World and Electronic Games , and anthologies such as Best Mysteries of the Year and The Year's Best Horror Stories . Ardai has also edited numerous short story collections such as The Return of the Black Widowers , Great Tales of Madness and the Macabre, and Futurecrime. [11]

In 1994, Ardai's short story "Nobody Wins," published in 1993 by Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, received a Shamus nomination for Best P.I. Short Story. [12]

His first novel, Little Girl Lost (2004) was nominated for both the Edgar Allan Poe Award by the Mystery Writers of America and the Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America. [13] His second novel, Songs of Innocence, was called "an instant classic" by The Washington Post , [14] selected as one of the best books of the year by Publishers Weekly , [15] and won the 2008 Shamus Award. [16] Both books were written under the alias Richard Aleas and were optioned for the movies by Universal Pictures. [17]

He received the Edgar Award in 2007 for the short story "The Home Front". [18] Ardai's third novel, Fifty-to-One, was published in November 2008. [19] It was the fiftieth book in the Hard Case Crime series and the first to be published under Ardai's real name.

His fourth novel, Hunt Through the Cradle of Fear, is part of a pulp adventure series he created in 2009, describing the globetrotting exploits of a modern-day explorer named Gabriel Hunt. Authorship of all the books in this series were originally credited to Gabriel Hunt himself. [20]

In 2010, he began working as a writer and producer on the SyFy television series Haven, [21] inspired by the Hard Case Crime novel The Colorado Kid by Stephen King. [22] The first episode of Haven aired on July 9, 2010 [23] and the last aired on December 17, 2015. [24]

In 2015, he received the Ellery Queen Award for his work on Hard Case Crime. [25]

In 2016, he wrote a novel based on the Shane Black movie The Nice Guys . [26]

In addition to his writing and publishing activities, Ardai serves as a managing director of the D. E. Shaw group. [27]

Awards and nominations

† Written under pseudonym "Richard Aleas."

Personal life

Ardai is married to writer Naomi Novik. [28] They live in Manhattan with their daughter, Evidence Novik Ardai, born in 2010.

Related Research Articles

Pulp magazines were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazines printed on higher-quality paper were called "glossies" or "slicks". The typical pulp magazine had 128 pages; it was 7 inches (18 cm) wide by 10 inches (25 cm) high, and 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) thick, with ragged, untrimmed edges. Pulps were the successors to the penny dreadfuls, dime novels, and short-fiction magazines of the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellery Queen</span> Detective fiction writer (joint pseudonym)

Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1928 by the American detective fiction writers Frederic Dannay (1905–1982) and Manfred Bennington Lee (1905–1971). It is also the name of their main fictional detective, a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve baffling murder mysteries. Dannay and Lee wrote most of the novels and short story collections in which Ellery Queen appears as a character, and these books were among the most popular American mysteries published between 1929 and 1971. Under the pseudonym Ellery Queen, they also edited more than thirty anthologies of crime fiction and true crime. Dannay founded, and for many years edited, the crime fiction magazine Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, which has been published continuously from 1941 to the present. From 1961 onwards, Dannay and Lee commissioned other authors to write thrillers using the pseudonym Ellery Queen, but not featuring Ellery Queen as a character; some such novels were juvenile and were credited to Ellery Queen Jr. They also wrote four mysteries under the pseudonym Barnaby Ross, which featured the detective Drury Lane. Several movies, radio shows, and television shows were based on their works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Locked-room mystery</span> Subgenre of detective fiction

The "locked-room" or "impossible crime" mystery is a type of crime seen in crime and detective fiction. The crime in question, typically murder, is committed in circumstances under which it appeared impossible for the perpetrator to enter the crime scene, commit the crime, and leave undetected. The crime in question typically involves a situation whereby an intruder could not have left; for example the original literal "locked room": a murder victim found in a windowless room locked from the inside at the time of discovery. Following other conventions of classic detective fiction, the reader is normally presented with the puzzle and all of the clues, and is encouraged to solve the mystery before the solution is revealed in a dramatic climax.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mystery fiction</span> Genre of fiction usually involving a mysterious murder

Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a reasonable opportunity for committing the crime. The central character is often a detective, who eventually solves the mystery by logical deduction from facts presented to the reader. Some mystery books are non-fiction. Mystery fiction can be detective stories in which the emphasis is on the puzzle or suspense element and its logical solution such as a whodunit. Mystery fiction can be contrasted with hardboiled detective stories, which focus on action and gritty realism.

<i>Black Mask</i> (magazine) Pulp magazine

Black Mask was a pulp magazine first published in April 1920 by the journalist H. L. Mencken and the drama critic George Jean Nathan. It is most well-known today for launching the hardboiled crime subgenre of mystery fiction, publishing now-classic works by Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Erle Stanley Gardner, Cornell Woolrich, Paul Cain, Carroll John Daly, and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Boucher</span> American author, critic, and editor (1911–1968)

William Anthony Parker White, better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher, was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio dramas. Between 1942 and 1947, he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle. In addition to "Anthony Boucher", White also employed the pseudonym "H. H. Holmes", which was the pseudonym of a late-19th-century American serial killer; Boucher would also write light verse and sign it "Herman W. Mudgett".

<i>Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine</i> American crime fiction magazine

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine is a bi-monthly American digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction, and mystery fiction. Launched in fall 1941 by Mercury Press, EQMM is named after the fictitious author Ellery Queen, who wrote novels and short stories about a fictional detective named Ellery Queen. From 1993, EQMM changed its cover title to be Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, but the table of contents still retains the full name.

William Campbell Gault (1910–1995) was an American writer. He wrote under his own name, and as Roney Scott and Will Duke, among other pseudonyms.

Hard Case Crime is an American imprint of hardboiled crime novels founded in 2004 by Charles Ardai and Max Phillips. The series recreates, in editorial form and content, the flavor of the paperback crime novels of the 1940s and '50s. The covers feature original illustrations done in a style that was common for paperbacks of that era, credited to artists such as Robert McGinnis and Glen Orbik.

Otto Penzler is an American editor of mystery fiction, and proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City.

Ken Bruen is an Irish writer of hard-boiled and noir crime fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Goldberg</span> American writer

Lee Goldberg is an American author, screenwriter, publisher and producer known for his bestselling novels Lost Hills and True Fiction and his work on a wide variety of TV crime series, including Diagnosis: Murder, A Nero Wolfe Mystery, Hunter, Spenser: For Hire, Martial Law, She-Wolf of London, SeaQuest, 1-800-Missing, The Glades and Monk.

Bill Pronzini is an American writer of detective fiction. He is also an active anthologist, having compiled more than 100 collections, most of which focus on mystery, western, and science fiction short stories. Pronzini is known as the creator of the San Francisco-based Nameless Detective, who starred in over 40 books from the early 1970s into the 2000s.

Dana Cameron is an American archaeologist, and author of award-winning crime fiction and urban fantasy.

Michael Wiley writes the Shamus Award-nominated Franky Dast mysteries, the Shamus Award-nominated Sam Kelson Chicago PI mystery series, the Daniel Turner thrillers, and the Shamus Award-winning Joe Kozmarski hard-boiled detective mystery series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S. J. Rozan</span> American crime fiction writer (born 1950)

S. J. Rozan is an American architect and writer of detective fiction and thrillers, based in New York City. She also co-writes a paranormal thriller series under the pseudonym Sam Cabot with Carlos Dews.

Dave Zeltserman is an American novelist, born in Boston, Massachusetts on 23 May 1959. He has published noir, mystery, thriller, and horror novels, including Small Crimes and Pariah. He won both the Shamus and Derringer awards for his novelette Julius Katz in 2010. He also writes Morris Brick serial killer thrillers under the pseudonym Jacob Stone. His novel Small Crimes was made into a Netflix Original film starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Housewright</span> American novelist

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Bouchercon is an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher; also the inspiration for the Anthony Awards, which have been issued at the convention since 1986. This page details Bouchercon XLIV and the 2013 Anthony Awards ceremony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul D. Marks</span> American novelist and short story writer

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References

  1. ↑ Celarier, Michelle (January 18, 2018). "How a Group of Computer Geeks and English Majors Transformed Wall Street". Intelligencer. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Hong, Euny (October 2012). ""No idea, no matter how good, is unique." Entrepreneur Charles Ardai on what not to assume in business". Quartz. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Charles Ardai: Hard Case Shows a Soft Spot for Pulp". National Public Radio . May 5, 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 Hamilton, Denise (July 2, 2006). "A crime line of passion". LA Times. Retrieved September 6, 2021. after college Ardai landed a coveted job as an investment banker at the D.E. Shaw group. In 1994, Ardai dreamed up what became the Internet provider Juno. When Juno was sold in 2001, Ardai and Phillips, the company's art director...discovered their shared passion for midcentury pulp
  5. ↑ "A Hardboiled Passion". Columbia College Today . November 2004. Archived from the original on December 13, 2009. Retrieved June 13, 2009.
  6. ↑ Celarier, Michelle (2018). "How a Misfit Group of Computer Geeks and English Majors Transformed Wall Street". NY Magazine. Retrieved September 6, 2021. Soon after the 22-year-old joined, he was tasked with setting up Shaw's recruiting department. "We've filled the company with everything from a chess master, to published writers, to stand-up comedians — people who really excel in one field or another
  7. 1 2 Celarier, Michelle (August 1, 2018). "How a Misfit Group of Computer Geeks and English Majors Transformed Wall Street". NyMag. Archived from the original on January 31, 2020.
  8. ↑ Grossman, Lev; Stoller, Terry (September 26, 2008). "Single Malts and Double Crosses: Hard-Boiled Books". Time . Archived from the original on January 16, 2007.
  9. ↑ The Science of Growth: How Facebook Beat Friendster--and How Nine Other Startups Left the Rest in the Dust(Sean Ammirati, 2016, page 10)
  10. ↑ Rausch, Andrew J (2019). Perspectives on Stephen King: Conversations with Authors, Experts and Collaborators. USA: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 24. ISBN   9781476674179. Max Phillips and I came up with the idea of Hard Case Crime in the winter of 2001. We had worked together on an Internet company called Juno and it had just sold that fall.
  11. ↑ "Amazon.com: Charles Ardai". Amazon.
  12. ↑ Stop You're Killing Me, "Shamus Awards"
  13. ↑ "Hard Case Crime: Little Girl Lost".
  14. ↑ Anderson, Patrick (July 16, 2007). "Neo-Noir That Hits Its Target". The Washington Post .
  15. ↑ "PW's Best Books of the Year". Publishers Weekly . November 5, 2007.
  16. ↑ "The Shamus Awards". March 28, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Crime Novel 'Little Girl Lost' to be feature film for Universal Pictures". Entertainment Weekly . September 28, 2010. Archived from the original on October 1, 2010.
  18. ↑ "The Edgar Awards". Archived from the original on September 27, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2009.
  19. ↑ Carl Rosen (January 11, 2009). "Criminally Retro: A One-Man Pulp Spree". New York .
  20. ↑ "The Adventures of Gabriel Hunt".
  21. ↑ "Exclusive: Editor Charles Ardai Discusses Joyland, Working With Stephen King and Producing the TV Show Haven". Archived from the original on June 13, 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-16. "BioGamerGirl.com Interviews Charles Ardai"
  22. ↑ "6 ways the new show Haven gives you Stephen King goodness". Sci Fi Wire. July 8, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  23. ↑ "Haven – Syfy's New TV Show – Premiere July 9, 2010". Men's Lifestyle & News Spot. July 10, 2010. Archived from the original on July 13, 2010. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
  24. ↑ "Haven Series Finale". TV Insider. December 18, 2015. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Edgar Award winners announced; Stephen King takes top prize". Los Angeles Times. April 30, 2015. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Read an Excerpt From the Nice Guys novelization". Birth. Movies. Death. May 3, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  27. ↑ "The D. E. Shaw Group". Bloomberg News . June 9, 2023.
  28. ↑ Bosman, Julie (October 11, 2006). "A New Writer Is Soaring on the Wings of a Dragon" . The New York Times . Retrieved April 28, 2010.
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