John Steinbeck Salinas, Monterey and parts of the San Joaquin Valley were the setting for many of his stories. The area is now sometimes referred to as "Steinbeck Country". Most of his early work dealt with subjects familiar to him from his formative years. An exception was his first novel, "", which concerns the pirate Henry Morgan, whose adventures had captured Steinbeck's imagination as a child. In his subsequent novels, Steinbeck found a more authentic voice by drawing upon direct memories of his life in California. His childhood friend, Max Wagner, a brother of Jack Wagner and who later became a film
John Bowe (author) Media Award for reportage of hunger- and poverty-related issues. John Bowe (author) John Bowe (born 1964 in Minnesota) is an American author. He is a contributing writer for "The New York Times". He has also written for "The New Yorker", "The American Prospect", "GQ", "McSweeney's", and "This American Life". He co-wrote the screenplay for the film "Basquiat" with Julian Schnabel. He graduated from Minneapolis' Blake School in 1982, obtained an honors BA in English from the University of Minnesota in 1987 and earned an MFA in film from the Columbia University School of the Arts in 1996. "Us: Americans Talk