Famous American Novelist, Peter Straub, dies at 79

Peter Straub was an American novelist and poet. He wrote numerous horror and supernatural fiction novels, including Julia and Ghost Story, as well as The Talisman, which he co-wrote with Stephen King. Straub received such literary honors as the Bram Stoker Award, World Fantasy Award, and International Horror Guild Award.

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American novelist Peter Straub passed away at 79

Peter Straub, author of horror, mystery, and supernatural books and short tales has died at age 79. His daughter, novelist Emma Straub, announced his death on Instagram: “Peter Francis Straub, the sharpest and most fun person in any room he was ever in, 3/2/43 – 9/4/22. How lucky we were. There aren’t enough words in the world.”

In a career spanning more than 40 years, Straub’s books include Ghost Story, The Hellfire Club, Black House, and, in cooperation with Stephen King, The Talisman. Straub earned various prizes including multiple World Fantasy and Bram Stoker Awards. “It’s a terrible day because my wonderful friend and amazingly talented colleague and partner, Peter Straub, has passed away,” stated Stephen King on Twitter, “Working with him was one of the major delights of my artistic life.” Straub was born in Milwaukee. His father was a salesman and his mother was a nurse. The bio on his website offers a hint of Straub’s caustic humor.

“When kindergarten turned out to be a stupefyingly banal disappointment devoted to cutting animal shapes out of heavy colored paper, he took matters into his own hands and taught himself to read by memorizing his comic books and reciting them over and over to other neighborhood children on the front steps until he could recognize the words.”

Modern-Day Henry James

“Peter Straub is a modern-day Henry James, but with sharper teeth and a long black tongue,” observed Benjamin Percy in his review of Ghost Story for NPR, “He writes literary horror, in which the sentences are finely formed, the people wholly believable and the surroundings terrifying.”

In 2009, Straub told NPR, that horror stories can do more than just give people the shivers. “In America, we don’t like darkness, really,” he added, “but there is a great quantity to be learned there, and we all experience it in our lives.”

Emma Straub this year published This Time Tomorrow, a novel in which a lady fights with the decline of her father’s health. She stated it was inspired in part by Peter Straub’s lighthearted proposal that she write about a woman visiting her father in the hospital and he asked, “What page do I die on?”

Peter Straub Age, Family, Early Life

Peter Straub was born on March 2, 1943 (79 years old) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the U.S. He holds an American Nationality and he belongs to white ethnicity. His Zodiac sign is Pisces.

peter straub family

Peter Straub was the son of Gordon Anthony Straub and Elvena (Nilsestuen) Straub. 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.

Peter Straub Wife, What about his Children?

In 1966, Straub married Susan Bitker. They had two children; their daughter, Emma Straub, is also an author.

The family lived in Dublin from 1969 to 1972, in London from 1972 to 1979, and in the New York City region from 1979 onwards.

Peter Straub Career, What was his profession?

After mixed success with two attempts at literary mainstream novels in the mid-1970s (Marriages and Under Venus), Straub ventured into the supernatural for the first time with Julia (1975). He subsequently authored If You Could See Me Now (1977), and came to widespread public prominence with his fifth novel, Ghost Story (1979), which was a critical hit and was later loosely made into a 1981 film starring Fred Astaire.

Several horror novels followed, with increased success, notably The Talisman and Black House, two fantasy-horror collaborations with Straub’s long-time friend and fellow novelist Stephen King. After a fallow spell, Straub re-emerged in 1988 with Koko, a nonsupernatural (albeit awful) Vietnam novel. Koko was followed in the early 1990s by the linked novels Mystery and The Throat, which combined with Koko make up the “Blue Rose Trilogy”.

These intricate and interwoven novels extended Straub’s research into metafiction and unreliable narrators. The ambitious mainstream thriller The Hellfire Club was published in 1996; the novel used the principles learned in the Blue Rose period to a more explicitly gothic plot. Mr. X followed in 1999 with a doppelgänger motif.

Black House

In 2001, Straub and King reteamed on Black House, a vague sequel to The Talisman tying that book in with King’s Dark Tower Series. 2003 saw the publishing of a new Straub novel Lost Boy, Lost Girl followed by the related In the Night Room (2004). (2004). Both of these novels earned Stoker prizes. Straub also edited the Library of America book H. P. Lovecraft: Tales (2005). (2005).

His work Mr. X had paid tribute to Lovecraft since the eponymous Mr. X wrote in a similar vein. Straub published many books of poetry. 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.

Turret Books

In 1972 the more extensive chapbook Ishmael was published by Turret Books in London. Straub’s third book of poetry, Open Air, arrived that same year from Irish University Press. The anthology Leeson Park and Belsize Square: Poems 1970 – 1975 was published by Underwood-Miller in October 1983. This collection reprints most of Ishmael along with previously uncollected poetry, but none of the poems from Open Air.

New Wave Fabulism

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. In 2007, Straub’s personal papers were acquired by the Fales Library at New York University.

February 2010 saw the release of his latest thriller, A Dark Matter. In 2016, co-author Stephen King indicated that he and Straub had plans to write a third Talisman book in the future. King believes that the cooperation for the series was “natural,” and that the two were delighted to work together.

Contribution

On Straub’s contribution to horror fiction, King says, “he introduced a poet’s sensibility to the area, producing a synthesis of horror and beauty” and “he writes a beautiful prose line that features narrative clarity, excellent characterization, and surprise bursts of humor.” In mid-2021, in a podcast with Dead Headspace, Straub stated as doubtful that he would be able to keep up with Stephen King anymore, so it is highly unlikely that he would co-write a third Talisman with Stephen King.

How much is Peter Straub Net Worth?

Peter Straub has not disclosed his financial details. Thus it is hard to estimate his net worth.

Also Read: American Doctor And Author, Ronald Glasser, passed away at 83

Which school and college did he go to?

Peter Straub attended Milwaukee Country Day School on a scholarship, and, during his time there, began writing. Straub earned an honors B.A. 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 Ph.D. and to start writing professionally.

Is he available on any kind of social media platform?

Peter Straub is active on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. He has 27K+ followers on Facebook, 1,653+ followers on Instagram, and 23.3K+ followers on Twitter.

Physical Appearance of Peter Straub’s Height, Weight

HeightNot Available
Hair ColorBlack and White
Eye colorBlack
WeightNot Available
Body typeFit
Sexual orientationStraight

Interesting facts about Peter Straub’s should be knows

NationalityAmerican
EthnicityWhite
Zodiac signPisces
Relationship StatusMarried

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