Mark Lindquist was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. He attended the University of Washington, then transferred to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. After graduating, he worked as a copy writer for a movie studio. His first novel, "Sad Movies," was based on this experience. Newsday called it, "Perceptive and hilarious ... one of the best sketches about a young man's attempt to find himself since 'The Graduate.'" It became a bestseller for Atlantic Monthly Press and was published in six languages.
The press began referring to him, along with other young novelists of the time, as part of the "Literary Brat Pack." He wrote screenplays for several studios. He also wrote book reviews for the Los Angeles Times Book Review, New York Times Book Review, and the Seattle Times, as well as articles for Details, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Movieline, and other publications.
Mark Lindquist's second novel, "Carnival Desires," also published by AMP, chronicled his Hollywood experience. Details magazine called it, "Great postmodern literature. Romantic and cynical, true and original, full of modern ideas and seductive moments ... as of its time as such classics as 'Day of the Locust' and 'The Last Tycoon.'" Vanity Fair called it a "witty minimalist epic" with "the smart, spare prose only an outsider on the Hollywood inside can afford." Shortly thereafter, he moved back to the Northwest and went to law school. In 1995 he became a prosecuting attorney.
In July of 2000 People magazine named Mark Lindquist as one of the "100 Most Eligible Bachelors" in the country. That same year his third novel, "Never Mind Nirvana," was published by Random House/Villard, and has been subsequently published in five other languages. Bret Easton Ellis wrote, "One of my favorite writers is back with a beautifully paced, original novel which moves so fast that once you start reading it becomes impossible to stop.... I totally welcome his return." Peter Buck of R.E.M. wrote, "Hip deep in music, 'Never Mind Nirvana' is a telling inside view that perfectly captures the rhythms and sights of late-nineties Seattle." NMN was well reviewed everywhere from the New York Times Book Review to the Washington Post to the Detroit News.
In 2004 Mark Lindquist became the trial team chief of the drug unit for the Prosecuting Attorney in Pierce County and focused on aggressively prosecuting methamphetamine labs. Since that time meth labs have been reduced by approximately 80% in Pierce County. Mark was also one of the attorneys who successfully prosecuted the Tacoma mall shooter, Dominick Maldonado. Here is a link to a "Washington Law & Politics" article about how his writing and trial work merge.
Mark lives in Tacoma. His fourth novel, "The King of Methlehem," was published by Simon & Schuster in May of 2007, and the trade paperback will be published in May of 2008. Mark's first reading is in Tacoma at King's Books, May 29th, at 7:00 pm. Please continue to check this site for updates.
