Lorenzo Carcaterra has made a career out of writing gritty, powerful novels that become best-sellers. He will discuss his compellingly human stories of crime and violence for the Assembly Series at 11 a.m. Sept. 21 in Graham Chapel.
Carcaterra is an adjunct instructor in Film and Media Studies in Arts & Sciences. This fall, he is teaching a course called “Writing for Episodic Television.”
He also is a board member of the Center for the Humanities in Arts & Sciences. Other WUSTL ties include daughter Katherine Carcaterra, a 2004 Arts & Sciences graduate.
Carcaterra’s writing career is a story in itself, a journey from journalist to screenwriter and New York Times best-selling author.
He has written several feature film scripts and teleplays, including a stint as writer and producer for the NBC series Law & Order from 2003-04.
Among his most well-known works are his first two books, A Safe Place: The True Story of a Father, a Son, a Murder and Sleepers.
A Safe Place contains Carcaterra’s trademark pitiless portrayal of violence and drama, describing his relationship with his abusive yet affectionate father.
In his memoir Sleepers, he relives the tough life of an adolescent in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen and the harrowing, brutal experience of being sent to a juvenile detention center. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution called it “A gut-wrenching piece of work … Carcaterra’s graphic narrative grips like gunfire in a dark alley.”
One of his recent novels, Street Boys, is a unique narrative set during the German takeover of Italy in 1943, inspired by the true story of a World War II battle. It tells the tale of children, orphaned and alone in Naples, Italy, who take on the advancing German army in one last desperate attempt to save their city.
In 1996, Carcaterra produced the feature-film adaptation of Sleepers. He has since worked on other screenplays with director Barry Levinson, including Dreamer, a profile on the singer Bobby Darin. Carcaterra has also worked on a number of TV pilots for various networks.
Carcaterra began writing as a journalist. After working his way up to become an entertainment reporter at The New York Daily News, he wrote for publications such as People Magazine, Entertainment Tonight Magazine and The New York Times Sunday Magazine.
He then switched over to television, working as a managing editor for the CBS weekly series Top Cops for four years.
He has written several other novels, including Apaches, Gangster and Paradise City. He also contributes articles to The National Geographic Traveler magazine.
His new book, Chasers, is scheduled for publication in December.
Assembly Series lectures are free and open to the public. For more information, go online to assemblyseries.wustl.edu or call 935-4620.