Jaime Clarke is a graduate of the University of Arizona and holds an MFA from Bennington College. He is the author of the novels:
--We’re So Famous, (the first and worst review + actor Malcolm McDowell's hilarious reaction to review + praise for + original American cover + British cover + galley cover for 15th anniversary reissue)
--Vernon Downs, (praise for + book trailer narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Chris Cooper + alternate trailer + original cover),
--World Gone Water, (praise for + book trailer narrated by Thora Birch + original cover)
--Garden Lakes, (praise for + book trailer narrated by the author + original cover)
and the memoirs:
-- Poor Man’s Gatsby (praise for) published as Bookmarked: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, in IG Publishing’s Bookmarked series
--Typical of the Times: Growing Up in the Culture of Spectacle, which is the basis for his microcast, Typical (Anthony Michael Hall promo), available on Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and elsewhere.
His Charlie Martens trilogy–Vernon Downs, World Gone Water, and Garden Lakes–is published in an omnibus by Roundabout Press to celebrate the story collection Minor Characters, (ToC), featuring original stories about the minor characters in the trilogy by Mona Awad, Christopher Boucher, Kenneth Calhoun, Nina de Gramont, Ben Greenman, Annie Hartnett, Owen King, Neil LaBute, J. Robert Lennon, Lauren Mechling, Shelly Oria, Stacey Richter, Joseph Salvatore, Andrea Seigel, and Daniel Torday. The collection features a foreword by Jonathan Lethem, and an introduction by Laura van den Berg.
Clarke is also the editor of The Last Novel Ever Published, as well as the anthologies Don’t You Forget About Me: Contemporary Writers on the Films of John Hughes, and Talk Show: On the Couch with Contemporary Writers; and co-editor of the anthologies No Near Exit: Writers Select Their Favorite Work from Post Road Magazine (with Mary Cotton), (ToC) and Boston Noir 2: The Classics (with Dennis Lehane and Mary Cotton).His apprentice work is collected as The Last Lemonade Stand on the Block, and his unpublished novel is called Scavengers.
Under the pseudonym J.D. West, he is the author of the Golden Age detective novel, The Disappearance of Swenson’s Secretary: A Harold Ober Mystery. (Harold Ober with his wife and Scottie Fitzgerald)
He is a founding editor of the literary magazine Post Road, now published at Boston College, and co-owner, with his wife, of Newtonville Books, an independent bookstore in Boston. (Newtonville Books’s 20th anniversary video) (Anniversary video by Mona Awad and Kenneth Calhoun) (Newtonville Books video: “Where do you hold your events?”)
O the Places I've Lived!
Early Years
O the Places I've Lived!
O the Places I've Lived!
Kalispell, MT
Early Years
Kalispell, MT
Elrod Elementary – Kalispell, MT
Early Years
Kalispell, MT
Elrod Elementary – Kalispell, MT
Early Years
Kalispell, MT
Early Years
O the Places I've Lived!
O the Places I've Lived!
Article from Rapid City, S.D. newsmagazine re Miss Kephart’s 5th grade class trip to the courthouse; including photo (+)
Rapid City, SD
Knollwood Heights Elementary School – Rapid City, SD
Early Years
O the Places I've Lived!
Rapid City, SD
Knollwood Heights Elementary School – Rapid City, SD
Early Years
O the Places I've Lived!
Rapid City, SD
Knollwood Heights Elementary School – Rapid City, SD
Early Years
Rapid City, SD
North Junior High School - Rapid City, SD
Adolescence
Early Writing
U.S. Senator Larry Pressler’s newsletter dated December 1983 re article about visiting Mrs. Degner’s 6th grade class + Rapid City Journal article
Rapid City, SD
Knollwood Heights Elementary School – Rapid City, SD
Pressler, Larry
Early Years
Rapid City, SD
Knollwood Heights Elementary School – Rapid City, SD
Early Years
Early Writing
Rapid City, SD
North Junior High School - Rapid City, SD
Adolescence
Phoenix, AZ
Fowler Elementary School – Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Phoenix, AZ
Fowler Elementary School – Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Early Writing
Adolescence
Early Years
O the Places I've Lived!
Fowler Elementary School – Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Pete’s Fish and Chips menu + JDC food handler’s card (+)
Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Phoenix, AZ
Fowler Elementary School – Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Phoenix, AZ
Fowler Elementary School – Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Phoenix, AZ
Fowler Elementary School – Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Misc. re: Fowler 8th grade trip to Disneyland, including order sheet for Tom Wat products sold to earn money for trip. (+)
Phoenix, AZ
Fowler Elementary School – Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Phoenix, AZ
Fowler Elementary School – Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Phoenix, AZ
Fowler Elementary School – Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Tolleson Union High School – Tolleson, AZ
Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Phoenix, AZ
Fowler Elementary School – Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Phantasm lyrics for original songs: ‘Too Hot to Handle”; “(You Shoot ‘Em) One by One”; “Close Your Eyes”; “I Can’t Get Over You”; “Touch Me”; “Will You Think of Me?”; “You Want It…You Got It”; “Fade Away”; “When She Says No”; “Painless” (+)
Fowler Elementary School – Phoenix, AZ
Phantasm (air band)
Adolescence
Early Writing
Fowler Elementary School – Phoenix, AZ
Phantasm (air band)
Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Early Writing
Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
O the Places I've Lived!
Fowler Elementary School – Phoenix, AZ
Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Phoenix, AZ
Tolleson Union High School – Tolleson, AZ
Adolescence
Phoenix, AZ
Tolleson Union High School – Tolleson, AZ
Adolescence
Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Adolescence
Early Writing
Early Writing
Phoenix, AZ
Tolleson Union High School – Tolleson, AZ
Adolescence
Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Misc re: Eric Hamelin concert at Tolleson Union High School organized as a sophomore class fundraiser by JDC: program + Hamelin press + JDC admin
Phoenix, AZ
Tolleson Union High School – Tolleson, AZ
Hamelin, Eric (Liberace’s protégé)
Adolescence
Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Concert ticket: U2 at Sun Devil Stadium, Sat, Dec 19 & Sun, Dec 20, filming for Rattle and Hum documentary (+)
Phoenix, AZ
U2
Adolescence
Misc re: Bret Easton Ellis incl cover for Less Than Zero; New York Magazine article on by Elizabeth Wurtzel; Vanity Fair profile of Judd Nelson by; Newsweek review of The Rules of Attraction by David Lehman.
Ellis, Bret Easton
Program for Sunday Service at North Phoenix Baptist Church re: Alice Cooper’s daughter’s baptism (+)
Phoenix, AZ
Cooper, Alice
Adolescence
Ellis, Bret Easton
Phoenix, AZ
Tolleson Union High School – Tolleson, AZ
Adolescence
O the Places I've Lived!
Tolleson Union High School – Tolleson, AZ
Adolescence
Mormon dance guest pass for Jaime Clarke
Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Phoenix, AZ
Brophy College Preparatory – Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Correspondence re volunteering at Children’s Crisis Nursery to fulfill Christian Service requirement at Brophy College Preparatory
Phoenix, AZ
Brophy College Preparatory – Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
O the Places I've Lived!
Phoenix, AZ
Brophy College Preparatory – Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Phoenix, AZ
Brophy College Preparatory – Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Phoenix, AZ
Brophy College Preparatory – Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Early Writing
Manuscript – “Winners Circle.” Short Story. Typed, pgs 1-13.
Early Writing
Early Writing
Phoenix, AZ
Brophy College Preparatory – Phoenix, AZ
Adolescence
Manuscript – “Runaround.” Short Story. Typed, pgs 1-4.
Early Writing
Manuscript – “A Girl and Her Dog.” Short Story. Typed, pgs 1-6.
Early Writing
Manuscript – “Full Circle.” Novel. Typed, pgs 1-17.
Early Writing
Early Writing
O the Places I've Lived!
(Fall): 1230 E. Spence Ave., Tempe, AZ
O the Places I've Lived!
Phoenix, AZ
Keating, Jr., Charles H.
Manuscript – “Pied Piper of Hate.” Television spec script for 21 Jump Street. First draft dated March 8, 1990. Typed, pgs 1-22.
Early Writing
Correspondence – Stuart M. Kaminsky re JDC spec script for 21 Jump Street
Kaminsky, Stuart M.
Early Writing
Misc. re: Bret Easton Ellis incl Publishers Weekly editorial titled “Publisher Responsibility and Bret Easton Ellis” + Publishers Weekly coverage + Newsweek article titled “The Killing of a Gory Novel” + Time Magazine article titled “A Revolting Development” + article by Carol Iannone titled “PC & the Ellis Affair” + Time Magazine short titled, “Sherman McCoy, Where Are You?” + New York Magazine article titled “Psycho Drama” + author bio from Contemporary Authors + Rolling Stone article by BEE re Bennington.
Ellis, Bret Easton
Publishers Weekly
Phoenix, AZ
Keating, Jr., Charles H.
Spring: 830 W. 5th Ave., Tempe, AZ
O the Places I've Lived!
June: 4236 N. 103rd Ave, #7, Phoenix, AZ
O the Places I've Lived!
Summer + Fall: 4236 N. 103rd Ave., #67, Phoenix, AZ
O the Places I've Lived!
Keating, Jr., Charles H.
Arizona State University
Misc re: Bret Easton Ellis including color copy of American Psycho cover + Rolling Stone article about American Psycho + Newsweek article titled “Confessions of a Serial Killer” + Vanity Fair article titled “Children of the Pied Piper” by Norman Mailer + Publishers Weekly article re Vintage edition of American Psycho + New York Times Book Review review of American Psycho by Roger Rosenblatt titled “Snuff This Book! Will Bret Easton Ellis Get Away With Murder?”
Ellis, Bret Easton
Correspondence – The Last Novel Ever Published
The Last Novel Ever Published
Manuscript – The Melissa Process (Published in 2015 as World Gone Water.)
World Gone Water: A Novel
Manuscript – Garden Lakes
Garden Lakes: A Novel
Correspondence – Vernon Downs/US edition (Roundabout Press)
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Correspondence – New American Canon project
Influenced By
Correspondence – Vernon Downs/UK edition (Bloomsbury)
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Manuscript – The Last Novel Ever Published
The Last Novel Ever Published
Correspondence — re proposed Hitchcock anthology titled Fixing Hitchcock, edited by JDC and Jonathan Lethem
Lethem, Jonathan
Contract dated Sept 30 with PFP Publishing re Talk Show: On the Couch with Contemporary Writers; incl copy of agreement with Danny Jock re the illustrations.
Talk Show: On the Couch with Contemporary Writers
Maazel, Fiona
Baum's Bazaar
Furst, Joshua
Baum's Bazaar
Finished copy of Talk Show: On the Couch with Contemporary Writers
Bergin, Josephine
Talk Show: On the Couch with Contemporary Writers
Contract dated March 23 with Roundabout Press re Vernon Downs, incl Nov 28 email from Dan Pope granting Canada to Bloomsbury UK.
Pope, Dan
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Barthelme, Frederick
The Mississippi Review
We're So Famous: A Novel
Manuscript – Vernon Downs (penultimate version)
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Lennon, J. Robert
Baum's Bazaar
Manuscript – Vernon Downs (draft)
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Hoffman, Richard
Baum's Bazaar
Dahlie, Michael
Baum's Bazaar
Albert, Elisa
Baum's Bazaar
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Cotton, Mary
Misc Adventures
Burr, Ty
Castellani, Christopher
Eggers, Dave
Gawande, Atul
Hood, Ann
Lehane, Dennis
Lethem, Jonathan
Newtonville Books
Post Road Magazine
Tickets to Boston Book Festival keynote featuring Salman Rushdie
Boston Book Festival
Misc Adventures
Newtonville Books
Publishers Weekly
Newtonville Books
Heim, Scott
New Order
Literary Journey
Boston Book Festival 2013 Program Guide (+)
Boston Book Festival
Newtonville Books
Porter Square Books Events Program featuring October 7 event Roundtable with Post Road Magazine, featuring Laura van den Berg and Dan Chelotti
van den Berg, Laura
Post Road Magazine
Literary Journey
Publishers Weekly
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Amazon.com
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Livreshebdo.fr article re JDC and Amazon
Amazon.com
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Alex Beam column in the Boston Globe entitled “Amazon hate-fest isn’t for me” re JDC website www.pleasedontbuymybookonamazon.com
Amazon.com
Beam, Alex
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Le Figaro article re JDC and Amazon
Amazon.com
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Amazon.com
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Bauer, Douglas
Shacochis, Bob
Newtonville Books
Amazon.com
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Amazon.com
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Amazon.com
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Article re JDC and Amazon in Spanish language newspaper El Confidential
Amazon.com
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Amazon.com
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Article re JDC and Amazon in Spanish language newspaper Contra el promedio Mexicano
Amazon.com
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Danish web article (bearbooks.se) re JDC and Amazon
Amazon.com
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Amazon.com
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Danish news article (SehaBooks) on JDC and Amazon
Amazon.com
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Israel Herald article on JDC and Amazon
Amazon.com
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Amazon.com
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Center for Fiction
Cotton, Mary
Newtonville Books
Digital Reader piece entitled “How Not to Succeed as an Author: Tell Readers Please Don’t Buy My Book on Amazon”
Amazon.com
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Hebrew article re JDC and Amazon
Amazon.com
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Notes From the Engine Room re JDC and Amazon
Amazon.com
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Marketing Daily piece re JDC and Amazon
Amazon.com
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Brookline Booksmith screenshot of Nov 2 event for Boston Noir 2
Barnes, Linda
Boston Noir 2: The Classics
Literary Journey
Correspondence – re proposed Hitchcock anthology titled Fixing Hitchcock, edited by JDC and Jonathan Lethem
Lethem, Jonathan
Bennington College
Correspondence – New American Canon material edited for Believer column
The Believer
Influenced By
Tom Perrotta blurb for Vernon Downs: “Vernon Downs is a gripping, hypnotically written and unnerving look at the dark side of literary adulation. Jaime Clarke’s tautly suspenseful novel is a cautionary tale for writers and readers alike–after finishing it, you may start to think that J.D. Salinger had the right idea after all.”
Perrotta, Tom
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Gary Shteynbart blurb for Vernon Downs: “Moving and edgy in just the right way. Love (or lack of) and Family (or lack of) is at the heart of this wonderfully obsessive novel.”
Shteyngart, Gary
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Correspondence – Bloomsbury UK re Vernon Downs
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Correspondence – Post Road Magazine
Post Road Magazine
Dana Spiotta blurb for Vernon Downs: “Vernon Downs is a fascinating and sly tribute to a certain fascinating and sly writer, but this novel also perfectly captures the lonely distortions of a true obsession.”
Spiotta, Dana
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Charles Yu blurb for Vernon Downs: “An engrossing novel about longing and impersonation, which is to say, a story about the distance between persons, distances within ourselves. Clarke’s prose is infused with music and intelligence and deep feeling.”
Yu, Charles
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Correspondence – Vernon Downs
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Matthew Specktor blurb for Vernon Downs: “All strong literature stems from obsession. Vernon Downs belongs to a tradition that includes Nicholson Baker’s U and I, Geoff Dyer’s Out of Sheer Rage, and—for that matter—Pale Fire. What makes Clarke’s excellent novel stand out isn’t just its rueful intelligence, or its playful semi-veiling of certain notorious literary figures, but its startling sadness. Vernon Downs is first rate.”
Specktor, Matthew
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Laura van den Berg blurb for Vernon Downs: “Vernon Downs is a brilliant meditation on obsession, art, and celebrity. Charlie Marten’s mounting fixation with the titular Vernon is not only driven by the burn of heartbreak and the lure of fame, but also a lost young man’s struggle to locate his place in the world. Vernon Downs is an intoxicating novel, and Clarke is a dazzling literary talent.”
van den Berg, Laura
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Bound mock-up of The Melissa Process (Published in 2015 as World Gone Water.)
World Gone Water: A Novel
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Manuscript – World Gone Water, edited by Mary Cotton
Cotton, Mary
World Gone Water: A Novel
Correspondence – Bloomsbury UK re World Gone Water
World Gone Water: A Novel
Correspondence – Bloomsbury UK re We’re So Famous ebook
We're So Famous: A Novel
World Gone Water: A Novel
Contract dated September 24 with Roundabout Press re World Gone Water
World Gone Water: A Novel
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Book trailer for Vernon Downs, narrated by Academy award-winning actor Chris Cooper featuring Aimee Bender, Elisa Albert, Atul Gawande, Ramona Ausubel, Alison Bechdel, Ben Marcus, Charles Bock, Christopher Boucher, Mark Conway, T Cooper, Elizabeth Crane, Michael Dahlie, Tanya Donelly, Jennifer duBois, James Fuerst, Julia Glass, Lev Grossman, Holly LeCraw, James Scott, Leslie Jamison, Joanna Hershon, Jonathan Wilson, Owen King, Allison Lynn, Amy MacKinnon, Gregory Maguire, Rebecca Makkai, Margot Livesey, Jill McCorkle, Paul Harding, Marianne Leone, Paul Yoon, Ivy Pochoda, Henriette Power, Jamie Quatro, Nelly Reifler, Ben Schrank, Elizabeth Searle, Jim Shepard, Karen Shepard, Amy Sohn, Anna Solomon, Jessica Treadway, Dawn Tripp, Laura van den Berg, Wesley Stace, Joan Wickersham, Mary-Beth Hughes, Mary Sullivan, Myla Goldberg, Amy Hempel, Adam Wilson, Binnie Kirshenbaum, Jonathan Ames, Sam Lipsyte, David James Poissant, Tom Perrotta, and Charles Yu
Cooper, Chris
Bender, Aimee
Albert, Elisa
Gawande, Atul
Ausubel, Ramona
Bechdel, Alison
Marcus, Ben
Bock, Charles
Boucher, Christopher
Conway, Mark
Cooper, T
Crane, Elizabeth
Dahlie, Michael
Donnelly, Tanya
duBois, Jennifer
Fuerst, James
Glass, Julia
Grossman, Lev
LeCraw, Holly
Scott, James
Jamison, Leslie
Hershon, Joanna
Wilson, Jonathan
King, Owen
Lynn, Allison
MacKinnon, Amy
Maguire, Gregory
Makkai, Rebecca
Livesey, Margot
McCorkle, Jill
Harding, Paul
Leone, Marianne
Yoon, Paul
Pochoda, Ivy
Lazaridis, Henriette
Quatro, Jamie
Reifler, Nelly
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Laprade, John
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Manuscript – World Gone Water, edited by Dan Pope
Pope, Dan
World Gone Water: A Novel
Correspondence – World Gone Water
World Gone Water: A Novel
Cutter, Weston
Brooklyn Rail
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Ellis, Bret Easton
Arizona State University
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Roundabout Press galley letter re World Gone Water
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Publishers Weekly
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Vernon Downs: A Novel
Receipt from Soho House (West Hollywood) dinner with Bret Easton Ellis
Ellis, Bret Easton