2: Novelist ELMORE LEONARD. He's 70 years old and has been called "the greatest living writer of crime fiction" (New York Times). Though he'd been writing for decades, critics didn't take notice of him until the 1980s. Now his work is known for it tight prose, "ear-perfect" dialogue and depiction of lower class life. LEONARD's written thirty-two novels, including the bestsellers Pronto, Maximum Bob, and Get Shorty which has been made into a film, starring John Travolta and Gene Hackman.

Copyright 1995 Fresh Air