Interviews - John Katzenbach

On Interviews…

Over the decades that I have been a novelist following my introduction to the worlds of writing as a newspaper reporter, I’ve done many interviews, all around the world. Lots of well thought out questions from clever journalists. Sometimes pointed. Sometimes generous. Sometimes befuddling. My sad suspicion is I’ve been ridiculously inconsistent in all my replies. It is highly possible that what I said in 2010 has dramatically changed in 2024. It is also possible that my answers have changed from country to country…

In Germany:
“So, Johan, is it easy to be a thriller writer?”
“Why sure. No problem. Easy as pie. Just line up the words and have them march determinedly down the page…”

In Spain:
“So, Juan, is it easy to be a thriller writer?”
“Absolutely not. A constant battle to find the right phrase, hit the right tone. Most difficult career in the world other than a bunch of others that instantly jump to my mind…”

In France:
“So, Jean, is it easy to be a thriller writer?”
“How would we define ‘easy’ in this context? I, naturally, prefer the existential definition best characterized by Sartre and Camus. Or the absurdist definition exemplified by Ionesco or Beckett. After all, we’re all waiting for Godot, are we not? Please pass the croissants…”

In the U.S.A.:
“So, John, is it easy to be a thriller writer?”
“Well, you know, some days it is, some days it isn’t. Mondays are generally tough. Wednesdays significantly easier. Being a thriller writer is a little like being a centerfielder on a baseball team. A lot of time (innings, I suppose) spent waiting for something to happen, standing around, doing your job as best you can… then, suddenly, a crack of the bat and full speed semi-panicked determination to chase down that shot in the gap, where you need to rise to the occasion to prevent something bad from happening on the basepaths behind you…”

So, keeping all that contradiction and confusion in mind, here are some interviews I’ve done. I’m optimistic that maybe – just maybe – some response to some question will make some sense.

Additional Interviews…

CONTORNI di NOIR / April 2, 2015

John Katzenbach’s career as a novelist began in 1982, with the publication of In The Heat of the Summer, an edgy crime novel that examined the cult of celebrity, fame and media ethics. This novel was filmed as The Mean Season with Kurt Russell and Mariel Hemingway.

Since the publication of that first novel, John Katzenbach has written 12 other psychological thrillers and one acclaimed non-fiction book. Published in dozens of languages throughout the world, his novels have been on bestseller lists from Bonn to Buenos Aires. He has received awards in France, Germany and the United States. Three of his other novels have been filmed: Just Cause with Sean Connery and Laurence Fishburne in 1995; Hart’s War with Colin Farrell and Bruce Willis in 2002; and a French version of The Wrong Man — shown on France 2 Television as Faux Coupable. Two other novels — the international bestseller The Analyst and the award-winning bestseller The Madman’s Tale are currently in development with shooting dates in 2015.

His latest book — The Dead Student— is scheduled for publication by Grove/Atlantic/Mysterious Press in the fall of 2015, and simultaneously by Head of Zeus Publishing in Great Britain.

LOS ANGELES PUBLIC LIBRARY / January 30, 2019

Every year our library sends a team of Spanish speaking librarians to the Guadalajara International Book Fair in Guadalajara, Mexico to purchase Spanish books. The selected books are new material from Mexican and Latin American publishing houses, most of which are difficult to find in the U.S. and are of high interest to our community. This year our team of librarians in addition to doing the book purchases, had the opportunity to interview three best selling authors. We start this segment with the U.S. best selling author John Katzenbach who is known for his psychological thrillers. The Hollywood films Hart’s War, Just Cause, and The Mean Season are based on three of his books. Watch the interview with John Katzenbach to learn more about his work.

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY / March 15, 1999

When PW pulls into the driveway of John Katzenbach’s home on an Amherst, Mass., cul de sac, we’re surprised to hear another car’s engine rupture the suburban silence. We put the gearshift in park, step into the cold New England February and see that a Nissan Pathfinder has materialized behind us.

RINGSIDE REPORT / Unknown Date

John Katzenbach’s career as a novelist began in 1982, with the publication of “In the Heat of the Summer”, an edgy crime novel that examined the cult of celebrity, fame and media ethics. This novel was filmed as “The Mean Season” with Kurt Russell and Mariel Hemingway. Since the publication of that first novel, John Katzenbach has written 12 other psychological thrillers and one acclaimed non-fiction book. His new novel “Jack’s Boys” should be out in Spring this year. Go check out his work!

KRIMIcouch.de / December, 2010

Wie man beim Fliegenfischen entspannt, warum Bayern München eigentlich in einem seiner Bücher vorkommen sollte und was hinter seinem neuen Psychotriller Der Professor steckt – darüber sprach Andreas Kurth mit dem US-Amerikaner John Katzenbach.

KRIMINETZ.de / November 8, 2012

The internationally successful American thriller author John Katzenbach has written twelve novels to date, the first in 1982. Now, thirty years later, his latest thriller “The Wolf” has been published in German translation by Droemer. John Katzenbach was on a multi-day reading tour across Germany, at the penultimate stop he read at Thalia in Mannheim before continuing on to Munich, to the BMW World, which was sold out for the evening.
The Kriminetz editorial team met John Katzenbach in the foyer of his Mannheim hotel, where he was available for an interview. The hotel, built in the Renaissance style and located directly on Mannheim’s Art Nouveau complex around the water tower, welcomes guests with a German flair that guests from overseas probably expect. So we took a seat in the large champagne-colored leather armchairs and spoke to an author who approaches his counterpart openly and with great friendliness. John Katzenbach liked the fact that Kriminetz asked seven questions in the interview, as many people attribute a mystical meaning to this number.

John Katzenbach answered seven questions for Kriminetz