Elmore Leonard Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. His earliest novels, published in the 1950s, were Westerns, but he went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures. Among his best-known works are "Get Shorty", "Out of Sight", "Swag", "Hombre", "Mr. Majestyk", and "Rum Punch" (adapted as the movie "Jackie Brown"). Leonard's writings include short stories that became the films "3:10 to Yuma" and "The Tall T", as well as the FX television series "Justified". Leonard was born
Elmore Leonard great-grandchildren. Commended by critics for his gritty realism and strong dialogue, Leonard sometimes took liberties with grammar in the interest of speeding the story along. In his essay "Elmore Leonard's Ten Rules of Writing" he said: "My most important rule is one that sums up the 10: If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it." He also hinted: "I try to leave out the parts that readers tend to skip." Elmore Leonard has been called "the Dickens of Detroit" because of his intimate portraits of people from that city, though he said, "If I lived in Buffalo, I'd write about