JAKE LAMAR was born in 1961 and grew up in the Bronx, New York. After graduating from Harvard University, he spent six years writing for Time magazine. He has lived in Paris since 1993 and teaches creative writing at one of France's top universities, Sciences Po.
He is the author of a memoir, seven novels, numerous essays, reviews and short stories, and a play. His most recent work, Viper's Dream, is both a crime novel and an audio drama, set in the jazz world of Harlem between 1936 and 1961.
He is a recipient of the Lyndhurst Prize (for his first book, Bourgeois Blues), a prestigious Centre National du Livre grant (for his novel Postérité), France’s Grand Prize for best foreign thriller (for his novel The Last Integrationist), a Beaumarchais fellowship for his play Brothers in Exile and the CWA Historical Dagger Award 2024 for his novel Viper's Dream.
He is currently working on a memoir about his life in Paris.
Agenda
9 - 11 August 2024
St. Hilda's College, Oxford University
Lecture by Jake Lamar:
"Once Upon a Time in Harlem"
26 June 2024, 7:30pm
Improvisations: Adam Shatz and
Jake Lamar on Jazz
17 October 2023
at Outsider Paris
Jake Lamar reads poems by the artist
30 Septembre 2023
Book signing, Lille
23 September 2023
Conversation with Jake Lamar
8 June 2023, 7pm
Talk : A Career in Creative Writing
3 June 2023, 4pm
Book presentation, Boulogne
31 May 2023, 7pm
Discussion with Robert G. O'Meally
16 May 2023, 6:30pm
Book Launch UK
12 - 14 May 2023
Crime Fiction Convention, UK
3 May 2023, 7:30pm
Conversation with Marcus Bruce
24 April 2023, 7pm
Book Launch Paris
22 - 25 September 2022
Vincennes, Paris
4 - 6 June 2022
International Book Festival
Saint-Malo, France
1 - 3 April 2022
International Book Festival in Lyon
24 - 27 February 2022
Book Festival in Nantes
6 February 2022 at 8 pm
Brothers in Exile, Frères d'exil
Rebroadcast on France Culture
1 February 2022
Conversation with Pap Ndiaye
UK version published by
Reviews of Viper's Dream
"[A] moody noir . . . Lamar’s primary strength is his sense of place."
Sarah Weinman, New York Times
"This sympathetic portrait of a violent antihero is hard not to wolf down in a single sitting."
Publishers Weekly
"Pick up Viper’s Dream by Jake Lamar so that you can be part of the conversation moving forward. You will not be sorry."
Kristopher, The BOLO Books Review
"Laced with a stiff shot of politics, romance and jazz, Viper's Dream is moody, poetic and immersing."
Deborah Levy
"A pure, true Jazz Noir Classic."
David Peace
“Fun, fast-moving and full of unforgettable characters."
Mateo Askaripour, New York TImes bestselling author of Black Buck
"Dark poetics, magical prose and meticulous storytelling - Viper's Dream is way more than a crime novel. It is an intriguing seduction.
A revelation."
Stephen Mack Jones, author of the August Snow series
The Guardian's Best Thrillers of 2023
New York Times Top 4 Thriller of the Month
The Telegraph - ★★★★★ - Jake Kerridge
US version published by
Viper's Dream wins the CWA Historical Dagger Award 2024
Photo by Dr. Michael Cheers