Steve Berry’s: A historical thriller writer
Steve Berry (born Sept 2, 1955) is an American author and former attorney who’s currently living in St. Augustine, Florida. He is a graduate of Mercer University's Walter F. George School of Law and was a trial lawyer for 30 years. He also held elective office for 14 of those years.
Berry was also a founding member of International Thriller Writers - a group of more than 4,200 thriller writers from around the world - where he served three years as its co-president.
Berry first appeared in print with his historical thrillers The Amber Room and The Romanov Prophecy in 2003 and 2004. A practising attorney at the time, Berry had been writing fiction since 1990, and it took him 12 years and 85 rejections before selling a manuscript to Ballantine Books.
Berry credits the nuns who taught him in Catholic school with instilling the discipline needed both to craft a novel and to find a publisher.
His novels have been listed on The New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and BookSense bestseller lists.
As the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of some 20 other novels, he has more than 25 million books in print. These have been translated into 40 languages and sold in 52 countries, including The Kaiser’s Web, The Warsaw Protocol, The Malta Exchange, The Bishop’s Pawn, The Lost Order, The 14th Colony, The Patriot Threat, The Lincoln Myth, The King’s Deception, The Columbus Affair, The Jefferson Key, The Emperor’s Tomb, The Paris Vendetta, The Charlemagne Pursuit, The Venetian Betrayal, The Alexandria Link, The Templar Legacy, The Third Secret, The Romanov Prophecy, and, of course, The Amber Room.
History lies at the heart of every Steve Berry novel. It’s his passion, one he shares with his wife, Elizabeth, which led them to create History Matters, a foundation dedicated to historic preservation.
Since 2009 Steve and Elizabeth have crossed the country to save endangered historic treasures, raising money via lectures, receptions, galas, luncheons, dinners, and their popular writers’ workshops. To date, 3,500 students have attended those workshops with over US$1.5 million raised.
Steve’s devotion to historic preservation was recognised by the American Library Association, which named Steve its spokesperson for National Preservation Week in 2012 and 2013. Among his other honours are the Royden B. Davis Distinguished Author Award; the Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award given by Poets & Writers; the Anne Frank Human Rights Award; and the Silver Bullet, bestowed by International Thriller Writers for his philanthropic work. He has been chosen both the Florida and Georgia Writer of the Year. He’s also an emeritus member of the Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board. In 2010, a NPR survey named The Templar Legacy one of the top 100 thrillers ever written.
