John Sandford

John Sandford is a prominent American novelist, who is best known for his exceptional Prey series, as well as the popular Kidd and Virgil Flowers series. Under the pseudonym John Sandford, which he adopted at the request of his publisher in 1989, he has written numerous bestselling novels.

John Sandford, whose real name is John Roswell Camp, was born on February 23, 1944, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He attended the public schools in Cedar Rapids, graduating from Washington High School in 1962. He then went on to attend the University of Iowa, where he received a bachelor's degree in American Studies in 1966. In 1966, he married Susan Lee Jones of Cedar Rapids, and he served in the U.S. Army from 1966-68. After his military service, he worked as a reporter for the Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian from 1968-1970, and then returned to the University of Iowa from 1970-1971, where he received a master's degree in journalism.

From 1971-78, he was a reporter for The Miami Herald, and then a reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer-Press from 1978-1990. During his time as a journalist, he was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 1980, and he won the Pulitzer in 1986 for a series of stories about a midwestern farm crisis. In 1990, he began his career as a novelist, and he has since written numerous bestselling thriller novels, as well as two non-fiction books. He is also the principal financial backer of a major archaeological project in the Jordan Valley of Israel. Sandford has two children, Roswell and Emily, and one grandson, Benjamin. His wife, Susan, died of metastasized breast cancer in May, 2007.

In addition to his fiction and non-fiction books, Sandford has also co-authored six other books, including three YA novels with his wife Michele Cook. He is known for his exceptional storytelling and his ability to create compelling characters that resonate with readers. His works have been translated into over 20 languages and have sold over 30 million copies worldwide. Sandford continues to write and publish novels, and he remains a significant figure in the world of American literature.