Jim Thompson

James Myers Thompson was an American author and screenwriter, best known for his hardboiled crime fiction. He was born in Anadarko, Oklahoma in 1906 and began writing at a young age, with some of his short story pieces being published in his mid-teens. Thompson had little regard for formal education and worked as a ballboy during the nights in Texas while attending school in the day. He began his writing career in earnest in the late 1940s and wrote more than 30 novels, the majority of which were original paperback publications by pulp fiction houses.

Despite gaining some positive critical notice, Thompson was little-recognized in his lifetime. However, his literary stature grew posthumously when several of his novels were re-published in the Black Lizard series of re-discovered crime fiction in the late 1980s. Critics have since hailed Thompson as one of the greatest crime writers of all time, with his writing being described as raw, harrowing, and over the top. Thompson's work often featured unreliable narrators, odd structure, and surrealism, elevating the derided pulp genre to literature and art.

Thompson was influenced by writers such as Fyodor Dostoevsky and was nicknamed "Dimestore Dostoevsky" by writer Geoffrey O'Brien. Film directors have also adapted several of his novels into classic noir films, including "The Killer Inside Me," "After Dark, My Sweet," and "The Grifters." Thompson's writing has been praised for its Greek tragedy themes, and his work continues to be celebrated for its boldness and originality.