Civility, Life, and Politics in Florida
Guest Speaker: Carl Hiaasen
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
12 to 1:30 p.m.
The Chelsea Center
The London Observer has called Carl Hiaasen "America's finest satirical novelist," while Janet Maslin of The New York Times has compared him to Preston Sturges, Woody Allen, and S.J. Perelman.
A three-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, Hiaasen joined the staff of The Miami Herald as a general assignment reporter after graduating from the University of Florida. He went on to work for the newspaper's weekly magazine and prize-winning investigations team, and since 1985 has written a regular column for The Herald that today appears on most Sundays in the opinion-and-editorial section.
Hiaasen began writing novels in early 1980s with his good friend and distinguished journalist the late William Montalbano. Their three mystery thrillers borrowed heavily from their own reporting experiences. "Tourist Season," published in 1986, was Hiaasen's
first solo novel, called "one of the 10 best destination reads of all time" by GQ magazine. His numerous other novels include best-sellers "Sick Puppy," "Skinny Dip," and "Nature Girl." He also has authored two novels for young readers, "Flush" and "Hoot,"
which received a Newbery Honor. Both "Hoot" and an earlier novel, "Strip Tease," were made into films.
Hiaasen was born and raised in Florida, where he still lives with his family.
