John Searles is the author of two best-selling novels, Strange But True and Boy Still Missing (both published by William Morrow), and his essays have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, and other national newspapers and magazines. Time magazine named him a “Person to Watch,” and The New York Daily News dubbed him a “New Yorker to Watch” when his first novel Boy Still Missing was published. Strange But True, his second novel, was praised as “sinister and complex” by Janet Maslin of the New York Times and “extraordinary” by Publishers Weekly. Both novels have been optioned for film.
Searles appears regularly on NBC’s Today Show, where he discusses his favorite book selections. As the deputy editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, he oversees all book excerpts and reviews, has taught writing at Marymount Manhatttan College, and has been awarded two fellowships to the Vermont Studio Center. He has given talks on a variety of topics at universities, libraries, and literary events.
The road to best-selling novelist and magazine editor was not a direct a route for Searles. He was born and raised in Monroe, Connecticut, the son of a truck-driver father and stay-at-home mom. After his high school graduation, his parents used their connections to get him a job at the nearby Dupont factory, where he gathered parts for various job orders. It didn’t take him long to realize the place wasn’t for him – three hours into the first day, he pretended to be sick and left. When his parents found out, they sent him right back.
After that, Searles set his sights on becoming the first person in his family to attend college. To save money for tuition, he stayed on at the factory and worked a night-job as a telemarketer, keeping people on the phone for hours asking important questions like, “On a scale of one to ten, how do you rate Bubble Yum in terms of its chewability?”
When he finally saved enough money, Searles quit the factory and began commuting to Southern Connecticut State University. He majored in business, because he thought it was practical, but minored in creative writing, because it was something he loved. Although he barely got by in economics and calculus, he was fortunate to win a number of writing awards from the university. Encouraged by this recognition, he moved to New York City to pursue a master’s degree in creative writing at New York University. While there, he was twice awarded a major fiction prize for his short stories and also began writing a novel entitled Stone in the Airfield.
Following his time at NYU, Searles waited tables and attempted to publish his novel. His most memorable rejection came when an editor mistakenly left this note inserted in the manuscript: “I could barely make it to page 60 and I feel really sorry for anyone who has to read the whole thing.” Soon afterward, Searles attended a writer’s conference in South Carolina, where he met the fiction editor of Redbook. She liked his writing and offered him a freelance job reading short story submissions for 50 cents a story. It wasn’t much, but he preferred reading to serving Caesar salads and nachos, so he took that job for over a year until he was offered a part-time position in the books department at Cosmopolitan. Searles planned to give Cosmo a try for a few weeks then quit if it got in the way of his fiction writing. Many years later, he is still at the magazine, now as the deputy editor, overseeing all book excerpts and reviews, the magazine’s best-selling book series, website, radio station, and mobile program.
Praise for John Searles
“John Searles gave a fabulous keynote address at the 2008 Backspace Writers Conference. Not only did he charm the audience with his enthusiasm and humor, he worked very closely with me and my business partner prior to the conference in order to tailor his talk to the exact needs of our audience. Many said John's keynote was the highlight of the conference, and worth the cost of the registration fee alone. We couldn't be more pleased, and would happily work with John and the HarperCollins Speakers Bureau again.”
— Karen Dionne, Administrator, Backspace LLC
Praise for Strange But True
“John Searles is my new favorite writer, and Strange But True is the absolute best novel I’ve read in a long, long time. Part psychological suspense, part character study, and all beautifully written, this is a page-turner with characters you can never forget.”
—Lisa Scottoline, bestselling author of Killer Smile
“The emotions ring true on every page. These are living, breathing characters and John Searles’ novel illuminates the intricate dynamics of families with humor, heart, and truth.”
—Augusten Burroughs, bestselling author of Running With Scissors and Dry
“A fine, unsettling novel with richly etched characters and a delicious sense of menace.”
—Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River
“This tale has a light, eccentric aspect... You’ll race right through it.”
—New York Times
“[Searles] shows how mundane events and discoveries can jump-start the spirit and bring us to terms with what and who we are... remarkably true to life.”
—USA Today
“Wonderfully entertaining.”
—Esquire
“You know what’s coming next, but you don’t know all of it. This is the reason we keep reading.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“Part thriller, part mystery, part coming-of-age fable, this story of a high-school quarterback’s tragic death – and a most unlikely pregnancy – will hold you transfixed.”
—Salon.com
“[Searles] wisely doesn’t make promises he can’t keep, and they may not be for everyone. That they one day, may, though, shimmers in the stalthy beauty of this novel.”
—New York Daily News
Praise for Boy Still Missing
“I meant to get so much done on the day I picked up Boy Still Missing. Instead, my ‘things to do’ list blew away, the clock face blurred, and I read – hungrily, compulsively, worried sick for a troubled young character about whom I cared deeply.”
—Wally Lamb, author of I Know This Much Is True
“Once you get into this novel, you’ll forget the world – the book is that seductive, that suspenseful.”
—Frank McCourt, author of Angela’s Ashes and ‘Tis
“An impressively assured new voice.”
—People
“Riveting.”
—New York Times Book Review
“Hypnotic.”
—Entertainment Weekly
“A lively thriller with a big heart.”
—Esquire
“A sensual debut novel... Builds up roller-coaster speed, careening to a dramatic, poignant finale.”
—Glamour
“Boy Still Missing takes us to a small, hardscrabble town like the one where Searles grew up, and by bringing to life the primal emotions of a character shattered by a needless death, it conveys a message of hope” People can find peace by standing up for what they deeply believe in.”
—New York Daily News
“A gritty, sometimes heartbreaking coming-of-age novel… Proof that a child of tragic parents can indeed break the cycle of misfortune.”
—Redbook Magazine
“[A] vivid first novel… You’ll root for Dominick as he weather tough times and finds solace in love.”
—Seventeen