Straub was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Gordon Anthony Straub and Elvena (Nilsestuen) Straub.[2][3] At the age of seven, Straub was struck by a car, sustaining serious injuries. He was hospitalized for several months and used a wheelchair until he had re-learned how to walk. Straub has said that the accident made him prematurely aware of his own mortality.[4]
Straub read voraciously from an early age, but his literary interests did not please his parents; his father hoped that he would grow up to be a professional athlete, while his mother wanted him to be a Lutheran minister.[5] He attended Milwaukee Country Day School on a scholarship, and, during his time there, began writing.[5]
Straub earned an honors BA in English at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1965, and an MA at Columbia University a year later. He briefly taught English at Milwaukee Country Day, then moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 1969 to work on a PhD and start writing professionally.[6]
Career
After mixed success with two attempts at literary mainstream novels in the mid-1970s (Marriages and Under Venus), Straub dabbled in the supernatural for the first time with Julia (1975).[7] He then wrote If You Could See Me Now (1977),[8] and came to widespread public attention with his fifth novel, Ghost Story (1979),[9] which was a critical success and was later loosely adapted into a 1981 film starring Fred Astaire.[10][11] Several horror novels followed, with growing success, including The Talisman and Black House, two fantasy-horror collaborations with Straub's long-time friend and fellow author Stephen King.[12]
Straub at the 2010 Brooklyn Book Festival for a panel on how far a writer can go between reality and fantasy.
After a fallow period, Straub re-emerged in 1988 with Koko, a non-supernatural (though horrific) Vietnam novel.[13]Koko was followed in the early 1990s by the related novels Mystery and The Throat, which together with Koko make up the "Blue Rose Trilogy".[14][15] These complex and intertwined novels extended Straub's explorations into metafiction and unreliable narrators.[15]
The ambitious mainstream thriller The Hellfire Club was published in 1996.[16]Mr. X followed in 1999 with a doppelgänger theme. In 2001, Straub and King reteamed for Black House, a loose sequel to The Talisman tying that book in with King's Dark Tower Series. 2003 saw the publication of a new Straub novel Lost Boy, Lost Girl followed by the related In the Night Room (2004). Both of these novels won Stoker awards.[17]
Straub also edited the Library of America volume H. P. Lovecraft: Tales (2005).[18] His novel Mr. X had paid tribute to Lovecraft, as the eponymous Mr. X wrote in a similar style.[19][20]
Straub published several books of poetry.[21]My Life in Pictures appeared in 1971 as part of a series of six poetry pamphlets Straub published with his friend Thomas Tessier under the Seafront Press imprint while living in Dublin.[21][22] In 1972 the more substantial chapbook Ishmael was published by Turret Books in London.[21][23] Straub's third book of poetry, Open Air, appeared later that same year from Irish University Press.[21][24] The collection Leeson Park and Belsize Square: Poems 1970 – 1975 was published by Underwood-Miller in October 1983. It reprinted much of Ishmael along with previously uncollected poems, but none of the poems from Open Air.[21][25]
A critical essay on Straub's horror work can be found in S. T. Joshi's book The Modern Weird Tale (2001).[26]At the Foot of the Story Tree by Bill Sheehan discusses Straub's work before 2000.[27][28]
Straub also sat on the contributing editorial board of the literary journal Conjunctions, and he guest-edited Conjunctions: 39, an issue on New Wave Fabulism.[29]
In 2007, Straub's personal papers were acquired by the Fales Library at New York University.[30]
Straub's final novel, A Dark Matter, was released in February 2010.[31]
In 2016, co-author Stephen King said that he and Straub had plans to write a third Talisman book in the future. King says that the collaboration for the series was "natural," and that the two were excited to work together. On Straub's contribution to horror fiction, King says, "he brought a poet's sensibility to the field, creating a synthesis of horror and beauty" and "he writes a beautiful prose line that features narrative clarity, sterling characterization, and surprising bursts of humor."[32] In a 2021 appearance on the Dead Headspace podcast, Straub said that due to his health, it was unlikely that he would co-write a third Talisman with King.[33]
Personal life and death
In 1966, Straub married Susan Bitker.[34][35] They had two children, Benjamin, and Emma Straub, who is also a novelist. The family lived in Dublin from 1969 to 1972, in London from 1972 to 1979, and in the New York City area from 1979 onwards.[36]
Straub died on September 4, 2022, aged 79, from complications of a broken hip.[36][12] At the time of his death, he and his wife lived in Brooklyn.[36]
The Bram Stoker Award for Novel is an award presented by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in horror writing for novels.
The Bram Stoker Award for First Novel is an award presented by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in horror writing for an author's first horror novel.
The Bram Stoker Award for Best Screenplay is an award presented by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in horror writing for best screenplay.
The Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction is an award presented by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in horror writing for non-fiction.
Ellen Datlow is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror editor and anthologist. She is a winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award.
The Bram Stoker Award for Poetry Collection is an award presented by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in horror writing for a poetry collection.
Gary A. Braunbeck is an American science fiction, fantasy, mystery and horror author.
Nancy Holder is an American writer and the author of several novels, including numerous tie-in books based on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She's also written fiction related to several other science fiction and fantasy shows, including Angel and Smallville.
Cemetery Dance Publications is an American specialty press publisher of horror and dark suspense. Cemetery Dance was founded by Richard Chizmar, a horror author, while he was in college. It is associated with Cemetery Dance magazine, which was founded in 1988. They began to publish books in 1992. They later expanded to encompass a magazine and website featuring news, interviews, and reviews related to horror literature.
Douglas Clegg is an American horror and dark fantasy author, and a pioneer in the field of e-publishing. He maintains a strong Internet presence through his website.
John Connolly is an Irish writer who is best known for his series of novels starring private detective Charlie Parker.
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Dallas William Mayr, better known by his pen name Jack Ketchum, was an American horror fiction author. He was the recipient of four Bram Stoker Awards and three further nominations. His novels included Off Season, Offspring, and Red, the latter two of which were adapted to film. In 2011, Ketchum received the World Horror Convention Grand Master Award for outstanding contribution to the horror genre.
Jonathan Maberry is an American suspense author, anthology editor, comic book writer, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. He was named one of the Today's Top Ten Horror Writers.
Joseph Hillström King, better known by the pen name Joe Hill, is an American writer. His work includes the novels Heart-Shaped Box (2007), Horns (2010), NOS4A2 (2013), and The Fireman (2016); the short story collections 20th Century Ghosts (2005) and Strange Weather (2017); and the comic book series Locke & Key (2008–2013). He has won awards including Bram Stoker Awards, British Fantasy Awards, and an Eisner Award.
Owl Goingback is the pen name of an American author of horror fiction.
Paul Gaetan Tremblay is an American author and editor of horror, dark fantasy, and science fiction. He is also a juror for the Shirley Jackson Awards.
The Bram Stoker Award for Best Young Adult Novel is an award presented by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in horror writing for young adult novels.
The Bram Stoker Award for Best Graphic Novel is an award presented by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in horror writing for graphic novels.
Jeff Gelb is an American writer and editor. He won the 2005 Bram Stoker Award for Best Anthology with Del Howison for the book Dark Delicacies: Original Tales of Terror and the Macabre.
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