Armistead Maupin

Armistead Maupin is an American writer best known for Tales of the City, the novel series he started in 1974 as a serial in the Marin County paper the Pacific Sun before it was picked up by the San Francisco Chronicle. Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Raleigh, he wrote for The Daily Tar Heel as a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The first Tales novel appeared in 1978, five more followed during the 1980s, and later volumes included Michael Tolliver Lives, Mary Ann in Autumn and The Days of Anna Madrigal. Translations of the series exist in ten languages, and more than six million copies have been printed; the stories have been adapted into television miniseries, radio broadcasts and a stage musical. He also wrote the novels Maybe the Moon and The Night Listener, the latter turned into a 2006 film. His honors include a 1997 Bill Whitehead Award for lifetime achievement.