G. T. Karber

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Karber at Waterstones, London in 2023 G. T. Karber 20231205.jpg
Karber at Waterstones, London in 2023

Greg T. Karber is an American writer, best known as author of the Murdle series of murder mystery puzzle books and its accompanying website.

Contents

Early life and education

Karber was raised in Arkansas, the son of a judge and a civil rights attorney. [1] [2] His maternal grandfather worked as an FBI agent in San Francisco in the 1960s. [3]

He earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and English literature from the University of Arkansas, and an MFA from the USC School of Cinematic Arts. [2]

Career

After graduating with his MFA, Karber remained in Los Angeles and worked adapting novels into screenplays. [4] (As of 2013, he had written five unpublished novels.) [4] He also began making comedic YouTube videos.

In 2013, he came across some 2006 comments by Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries: "In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids...A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely." [5] [6] Karber made a video excoriating Jeffries' comments titled "Fitch the Homeless," in which he handed out Abercrombie & Fitch clothing to homeless people on Los Angeles' Skid Row. The video became a viral hit, earning national media coverage. [4] [7] [8] [9] While many initially applauded the video, others saw it as "backwards-ass activism" and "as insensitive as the A&F chief he’s targeting." [4] [7] [8]

Karber is a computer programmer. [10] A mystery enthusiast, in 2022 he created Murdle, a web-based daily murder mystery game modeled on logic grid puzzles. [10] The first two paperback volumes of Murdle were published in 2023, with the third volume published in March 2024. [10] [11]

In December 2023, Karber undertook a U.K. bookshop tour, and appeared on BBC Radio 4's Start the Week . [12] For Christmas 2023, Murdle was the bestselling book in the U.K., [13] [14] making Karber only the third non-British person to achieve that distinction, following Dan Brown and Michelle Obama. [3] [15] In May of 2024, Murdle received the British Book Award for overall book of the year. [16]

In January 2025, Karber announced his next family of puzzles, Bordergrams, a "spy connection puzzle" set to debut in September 2025. [17] [18]

Personal life

Karber lives in Los Angeles. [13]

References

  1. ↑ Wogahn, Manon (19 September 2023). "Author Interview: G.T. Karber". Mystery Manon. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 "G.T Karber". profilebooks.com. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  3. 1 2 Clover, Jack (23 December 2023). "Murdle: meet the puzzle author who's Christmas 2023's bestseller". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Glazek, Christopher (19 June 2013). "The Story Behind "Fitch the Homeless"". The New Yorker. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  5. ↑ Denizet-Lewis, Benoit (24 January 2006). "The man behind Abercrombie & Fitch". Salon. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  6. ↑ Lutz, Ashley (May 3, 2013). "Abercrombie & Fitch Refuses To Make Clothes For Large Women". Business Insider. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  7. 1 2 ""Fitch the Homeless" Is Backwards-Ass Activism". VICE. 16 May 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  8. 1 2 Abad-Santos, Alexander (16 May 2013). "Which Is Worse: Tone-Deaf Abercrombie or the Viral 'Fitch the Homeless' Response?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  9. ↑ "This'll Show Abercrombie & Fitch". HuffPost. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 Cogdill, Oline H. (October 8, 2023). "A complicated plot begins on a train". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. ProQuest   2873878414 . Retrieved 2023-12-24– via ProQuest.
  11. ↑ "International: 30 bestselling books of the week for May 4". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  12. ↑ Spanoudi, Melina (15 December 2023). "Karber completes UK bookshop tour". The Bookseller. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  13. 1 2 Knight, Lucy (20 December 2023). "Murder mystery puzzle book Murdle tops UK Christmas bestseller chart". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  14. ↑ Sanderson, David (20 December 2023). "Murdle puzzle book tops Christmas bestsellers' chart". The Times. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  15. ↑ Tivnan, Tom (19 December 2023). "Murdle 'sleighs' the competition to grab the 2023 Christmas number one". The Bookseller. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  16. ↑ Rackham, Annabel (13 May 2024). "Children's author wins top British Book Award". BBC.com. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  17. ↑ Bordergrams. St. Martin's Griffin. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  18. ↑ Spanoudi, Melina (11 Dec 2024). "Souvenir Press scoops new puzzle series by Murdle creator G T Karber". The Bookseller. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
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