"I had never written anything before I attempted to write my first novel. I had the naïve notion that I would write a novel and it would be published. Oddly enough, that's exactly what happened."
Washington, D.C native George Pelecanos began his career in the food service and retail industries, but has gained notoriety for his crime novels based in and around the District and for his involvement in television and film.
First published in 1992, Pelecanos began writing crime novels at the suggestion of a teacher at the University of Maryland.
"The crime/noir elements provided the engine for the narrative, but I was most interested in the everyday people who populated those kinds of novels," Pelecanos said. "The best of the writing achieved the level of populist literature, and that's really what turned me on."
Known for his infusion of popular culture and his realistic portrayal of D.C.'s law enforcement and its citizens in his work, Pelecanos was deemed by Esquire magazine as "the poet laureate of the D.C crime world."
Through his focus on the criminal and violent aspects of D.C, Pelecanos attempts to depict the reality of violence in his writing.
"I've tried to figure out the fascination with graphic death in primetime TV," Pelecanos said. "All these autopsy shows that are top-rated ... I just don't get the attraction. Who gets off on seeing corpses being dissected on morgue slabs? How did serial killers become the new anti-hero? I've pretty much stopped watching local news programs, which are all about the exploitation of murder and the filming of grieving relatives. Are my books violent? Yes, but not as violent as they used to be. The more I see out there, for real, the less I feel it should be trivialized. I know, I sound like an old dude. On this issue, I'm definitely swimming against the cultural tide."
Fourteen novels later, Pelecanos continues to incorporate his personal experience growing up in the city with the prevalent views on hot political and social topics circulating through D.C.
"There is a part of me and my life in all of the novels, but the books are also the product of extensive research," Pelecanos said. "Because of my background and the background of my family, I was naturally drawn to the working side of the city, rather than the Federal City. I know nothing about politicians or power brokers, and honestly, I have no interest in writing about them. When I started writing, D.C. was in the throes of the crack epidemic and had the highest murder rate in the country. The conditions are much better now, and my books reflect that change."
The reality of Pelecanos' writing allowed him to explore other creative outlets, including his involvement as a writer and story editor for HBO's Peabody and AFI award-winning show The Wire.
"Working on The Wire was good for me, too, because it got me out of D.C. for the first time in my life," Pelecanos said. "It dropped me in another world. Baltimore is 40 miles from Washington, but it might as well be a thousand miles away. The more you know, the more information you bring in, the more people you can relate to and listen to, the better you will become as a writer."
With an Emmy nomination as a writer and continued success with the show, Pelecanos gains credit as one of the show's producers.
"It's a show we're all proud to be working on," Pelecanos said. "It does get intense sometimes in that writer's room. We often disagree. But I have respect for all of the writers, from David Simon on down. Collaboration is not easy for novelists, who are used to being in control. But it does work."
He has also recently begun work on a World War II miniseries for HBO produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.
George Pelecanos is a participant in Virginia Festival of the Book, March 21-25, and can be seen speaking about crime and mystery novels Friday, March 23 at 8 p.m. He will be discussing The Wire Saturday, March 24 at 2 p.m.
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