Elmore Leonard (1925–2013)

Author of Get Shorty

155+ Works 36,723 Members 853 Reviews 121 Favorited

About the Author

Elmore John Leonard, Jr. 10/11/25 -- 8/20/13 Elmore John Leonard, Jr., popularly known as mystery and western writer Elmore Leonard, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 11, 1925. He served in the United States Naval Reserve from 1943 to 1946. He received a Ph.D. in English from the show more University of Detroit in 1950. After graduating, he wrote short stories and western novels as well as advertising and education film scripts. In 1967, he began to write full-time and received several awards including the 1977 Western Writers of America award and the 1984 Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe award. His other works include Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Hombre, Mr. Majestyk, 3:10 to Yuma, and Rum Punch. Many of his works were adapted into movies. Library of America recently announced plans to publish the first of a three-volume collection of his books beginning in the Fall of 2014. Leonard died on August 20, 2013 from complications of a stroke he had earlier. He was 87 years old. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the names: E. Leonard, Emore Leonard, Leonard Elmor, Leonard Elmore, Elmore Leanard, Elmore Leonard, Elmore Leonard, Elmore Leonard, Elmore Leonard, Léonard Elmore, Elmore Leonards, by Elmore Leonard, Leonard Elmore John, Элмор Леонард, Elmore; Elmore Leonard Leonard, Elmore Photoplay Editions Leonard, Frank Elmore; read by Muller Leonard

Image credit: photo copyright Steve Double

Series

Elmore Leonard's Jack Ryan

Ernest "Stick" Stickley, Jr.

Elmore Leonard's Dutch Treat

Elmore Leonard's Western Roundup

Works by Elmore Leonard

Popular Recent

Get Shorty (1990) 2,367 copies

Rum Punch (1992) 1,530 copies

Out of Sight (1996) 1,509 copies

Be Cool (1999) 1,406 copies

Tishomingo Blues (2002) 1,404 copies

Killshot (1989) 1,222 copies

Maximum Bob (1991) 1,180 copies

Pronto (1993) 1,173 copies

Cuba Libre (1998) 1,050 copies

Freaky Deaky (1988) 1,045 copies

Riding the Rap (1995) 1,030 copies

The Hot Kid (2005) 1,004 copies

Glitz (1985) 980 copies

Pagan Babies (2000) 973 copies

Mr. Paradise (2002) 964 copies

Bandits (1987) 905 copies

Raylan (2012) 894 copies

When the Women Come Out to Dance: Stories (2003) — Author — 795 copies

LaBrava (1984) 780 copies

Road Dogs (2009) 733 copies

Stick (1983) 684 copies

Naked Came the Manatee (1997) — Contributor — 675 copies

Up in Honey's Room: A Novel (2007) 671 copies

52 Pick-Up (1974) 652 copies

Djibouti (2010) 646 copies

City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit (1980) 621 copies

Touch (1987) 598 copies

Swag (1976) 578 copies

The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard (1975) 527 copies

Cat Chaser (1982) 511 copies

Unknown Man #89 (1977) 507 copies

The Switch (1978) 488 copies

Hombre (1961) 465 copies

The Big Bounce (1969) 464 copies

Split Images (1981) 444 copies

Valdez Is Coming (1970) 413 copies

Mr. Majestyk (1974) 391 copies

Gold Coast (1980) 369 copies

The Hunted (1977) 345 copies

Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing (2001) 296 copies

The Moonshine War (1969) 264 copies

Three-Ten to Yuma and Other Stories (1953) 262 copies

The Bounty Hunters (1953) 245 copies

A Coyote's in the House (2004) 203 copies

Forty Lashes Less One (1981) 187 copies

Gunsights (1979) 176 copies

Escape from Five Shadows (1956) 157 copies

Last Stand at Saber River (1980) 156 copies

The Law at Randado (1985) 153 copies

Four Novels of the 1970s: Fifty-Two Pickup / Swag / Unknown Man No. 89 / The Switch (2014) 144 copies

Charlie Martz and Other Stories: The Unpublished Stories (2015) 128 copies

Comfort to the Enemy and Other Carl Webster Stories (2009) 124 copies

Elmore Leonard: La Brava; Cat Chaser; Split Images (1992) 118 copies

The Tonto Woman and Other Western Stories (1998) 109 copies

Elmore Leonard: Four Novels of the 1980s: City Primeval / LaBrava / Glitz / Freaky Deaky (Library of America) (2015) 101 copies

Elmore Leonard: Four Later Novels: Get Shorty / Rum Punch / Out of Sight / Tishomingo Blues (The Library of America) (2016) 99 copies

Elmore Leonard: Westerns: Last Stand at Saber River / Hombre / Valdez is Coming / Forty Lashes Less One / Stories (The… (2018) 92 copies

Elmore Leonard's Dutch Treat: Three Novels: The Hunted, Swag, Mr. Majestyk (1977) 75 copies

Moment of Vengeance and Other Stories (2006) 57 copies

Blood Money and Other Stories (2006) 50 copies

Elmore Leonard's Double Dutch Treat: Three Novels: The Moonshine War, Gold Coast, City Primevil (1986) 49 copies

Trail of the Apache and Other Stories (2007) 48 copies

Elmore Leonard's Western Roundup #1: Bounty Hunters; Forty Lashes Less One; Gunsights (1998) 40 copies

Joe Kidd [1972 film] (1972) — Screenwriter — 38 copies

Elmore Leonard's Western Roundup #2: Escape from Five Shadows; Last Stand at Saber River; The Law at Randado (1998) 36 copies

Elmore Leonard Raylan Givens 3-Book Collection: Pronto, Riding the Rap, Fire in the Hole (2012) 34 copies

Get Shorty (Penguin Readers: Level 3 S.) (1997) — Author — 25 copies

Elmore Leonard's Western Roundup #3: Valdez Is Coming; Hombre (1998) 25 copies

Elmore Leonard: The Classic Crime Novels: A Library of America Boxed Set (2017) 22 copies

Killshot [2008 film] (2008) — Novel — 19 copies

Two Bagger [and] Chickasaw Charlie Hoke (2007) 17 copies

Elmore Leonard Classic 3-Book Collection: Get Shorty, Tishomingo Blues, Killshot (2012) 17 copies

Last Stand at Saber River and Law at Randado (2018) 9 copies

Hombre ; Que viene Valdez (1961) 8 copies

Intégrale des nouvelles western, tome 2 (2008) 8 copies

Three Novels: " Swag " , " Stick " , " Mr.Majestyk " (1994) 7 copies

The Trespassers (Kindle Single) (2013) 6 copies

Médecine apache (2008) 5 copies

Chantaje Mortal (1974) 5 copies

How Carlos Webster Changed His Name To Carl And Became A Famous Oklahoma Lawman 5 copies

Intégrale des nouvelles western, volume 3 (2009) 5 copies

The Elmore Leonard Value Collection: Pronto, Riding the Rap, and Get Shorty (2000) 5 copies

Karen Makes Out (2012) 5 copies

High Adventure #29 (1996) 4 copies

Rebelle en fuite et autres histoires (2018) 3 copies

Los cazarrecompensas (2022) 3 copies

Jugar duro (1987) 3 copies

Healthy Meal Plan Beginner: Live Long With Healthy Food, For Loose weight Change Your Meal Plan Today. Everyday Recipes… 3 copies

Los cautivos y otros relatos del Oeste (1955) 3 copies

Casino (1986) 3 copies

L'Évasion de Five Shadows (2003) 2 copies

Inconnu 89 (2019) 2 copies

Get Shorty: Season 1 2 copies

Mysterious Writers: The Many Facets of Mystery Writing (2010) 2 copies

Elmore Leonard Collection: Out of Sight, Freaky Deaky, Get Shorty (2011) 2 copies

Interview with Elmore Leonard (2005) 2 copies

Elmore Leonard Omnibus: Killshot / Get Shorty / Maximum Bob 2 copies

Louly and Pretty Boy 2 copies

Spel om annans liv 2 copies

UN Caso De Extorsion/52 Pickup (Spanish Edition) (1987) 1 copy

Jugar duro Fulgor de muerte (1987) 1 copy

Tómatelo con calma (2000) 1 copy

El Blues del Misisipí 1 copy

Justica de Crocodilo (1992) 1 copy

Último Posto no Rio Sabre 1 copy

Han kallades Hombre... 1 copy

Os Caçadores de Recompensas 1 copy

Gunfights; book two: Forty lashes less one 1 copy

שודדים 1 copy

Nepoznati br. 89 1 copy

Lei Em Randado (Em Portugues do Brasil) (2004) 1 copy

Unha Com Carne (Portuguese Edition) (2010) 1 copy

Fire in the Hole Novella (Raylan 2.5) 1 copy

kynigito stin karaiviki / κυνηγητό στην καραϊβική (2000) 1 copy

Maximum Bob-20.00 (1900) 1 copy

Um Bom Argumento 1 copy

The Hard Way 1 copy

Fuga de Cinco Sombras 1 copy

D'un coup, d'un seul : roman 1 copy

Valdez Vem Aí (2004) 1 copy

Duelo Final 1 copy

צייד החתולים 1 copy

Mobsters and Gangsters (2002) 1 copy

Hombre desconocido 89 (1977) 1 copy

Confession (2013) 1 copy

Notebooks 1 copy

Elmore Leonard, The Colonel's Lady and No Man's Gun : Unabridged Stories from The Tonto Woman and Other Western Stories (1999) 1 copy

Hot Shot 1 copy

Leonard Elmore 1 copy

Maximum Leonard (1993) 1 copy

Three-ten To Yuma [short story] 1 copy

Thriller. Florida- Fieber / Im Schutz des hellichten Tages / Lone Star. Drei ungekürzte Romane. (1997) — Contributor — 1 copy

NCTM: "The Odyssey" (in Naked Came the Manatee) 1 copy

The Kid 1 copy

3 Volume Elmore Leonard Collection (The Hot Kid; Touch; Get Shorty; Mr. Pardise) (2004) 1 copy

Quando le donne escono per andare a ballare (in Gli occhi della paura) 1 copy

Karen Sisco (Season 1) 1 copy

Line of Sight 1 copy

Glanc (2008) 1 copy

Quarenta Chibatadas Menos Uma (2004) 1 copy

No title 1 copy

Le storie di Carl Webster (2015) 1 copy

Djibouti, The Hot Kid, Be Cool, Touch 1 copy

For Something to Do 1 copy

סחיטה 1 copy

Le Don Quichotte du Sinaï (2005) 1 copy

D'UN COUP, D'UN SEUL (1990) 1 copy

Retour à Saber river (2005) 1 copy

CrianÃ§as pagÃ£s 1 copy

Rukojmí (1994) 1 copy

Four Novels of the 80s 1 copy

La loi de la cite (1986) 1 copy

El Juez (Spanish Edition) (1993) 1 copy

part didn't care for it Killshot 1 copy

"Romovyi punsh". "Pronto"/ - Detektivnye romaNY 1 copy

Work Explorer

Associated Works

McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales (2002) — Contributor — 1,475 copies

For the Love of Books: 115 Celebrated Writers on the Books They Love Most (1999) — Contributor — 453 copies

The Best American Noir of the Century (2010) — Contributor — 369 copies

The Best American Mystery Stories 2003 (2003) — Contributor — 205 copies

Writers on Writing, 2: More Collected Essays from the New York Times (2003) — Contributor — 187 copies

Hard-Boiled: An Anthology of American Crime Stories (1995) — Contributor — 184 copies

The Best American Mystery Stories 2006 (2006) — Contributor — 152 copies

Dangerous Women (1998) — Contributor — 134 copies

The Best American Mystery Stories 1997 (1997) — Contributor — 119 copies

The Arbor House Treasury of Great Western Stories (1982) — Contributor — 103 copies

A New Omnibus of Crime (1771) — Contributor — 97 copies

Murder for Love (1996) — Contributor — 92 copies

McSweeney's Issue 39 (McSweeney's Quarterly Concern) (2011) — Contributor — 85 copies

The Best American Mystery Stories 2016 (2016) — Contributor — 84 copies

Who's Writing This? Notations on the Authorial I, with Self-Portraits {not Antæus} (1995) — Contributor — 72 copies

Pulp Fictions: Hardboiled Stories (1996) — Contributor — 70 copies

Hombre [1967 film] (1967) — Original Story — 48 copies

Murderers' Row (2001) — Contributor — 37 copies

The Vintage Book of Classic Crime (1993) — Contributor — 34 copies

Time-Life Book Digest: Get Shorty | Four Past Midnight | Wings of the Morning | The Langoliers (1990) — Contributor — 30 copies

Rediscoveries II: Important Writers Select Their Favorite Works of Neglected Fiction (1988) — Contributor — 30 copies

Last Stand at Saber River [1997 TV Movie] (1997) — Original book — 30 copies

Great Tales of the West (1982) — Contributor — 30 copies

Miami Noir: The Classics (2020) — Contributor — 24 copies

The Best of the Best American Mystery Stories: The First Ten Years (2014) — Contributor — 21 copies

The New Great American Writers' Cookbook (2003) — Contributor — 21 copies

New Trails: Twenty-Three Original Stories (1994) — Contributor — 17 copies

Mr. Majestyk [1974 film] (1974) — Screenplay — 12 copies

Best of the West: Stories That Inspired Classic Western Films (1988) — Contributor — 11 copies

The Western Hall of Fame Anthology (1997) — Contributor — 10 copies

Unbridled Spirits: Short Fiction about Women in the Old West (1994) — Contributor — 10 copies

The Tall T [1957 film] (1957) — Original story — 10 copies

Mysterious Writers: The Many Facets of Mystery Writing (2010) — Contributor — 9 copies

Best of the West 2: Stories That Inspired Classic Western Films (1990) — Contributor — 4 copies

Tagged

20th century (122) American (175) American literature (167) anthology (367) audio (88) crime (1,840) crime and mystery (80) crime fiction (890) detective (160) Detroit (152) ebook (365) Elmore Leonard (180) fiction (4,205) first edition (192) Florida (192) goodreads (77) historical fiction (76) humor (293) Kindle (207) Leonard (94) library (99) Library of America (82) literature (155) mystery (2,036) noir (116) novel (512) own (158) owned (75) paperback (127) Raylan Givens (82) read (443) short stories (632) signed (96) suspense (206) thriller (736) to-read (1,448) unread (235) USA (150) western (607) writing (94)

Common Knowledge

Canonical name: Leonard, Elmore
Legal name: Leonard Jr., Elmore John
Other names: Leonard, Elmore John, Jr. (birth name)
Birthdate: 1925-10-11
Date of death: 2013-08-20
Gender: male
Nationality: USA
Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Place of death: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA
Cause of death: stroke complications
Places of residence: Birmingham, Michigan, USA
Bloomfield Village, Michigan, USA
Education: University of Detroit (BA|1950)
Occupations: copywriter
short-story writer
novelist
screenwriter
Relationships: Leonard, Peter A. (son)
Organizations: Chevrolet
Campbell-Ewald Advertising Agency
United States Navy (WWII)
Awards and honors: MWA Grand Master (1992)
Cartier Diamond Dagger (2006)
Louisiana Writer Award (2006)
Owen Wister Award (2009)
Michigan Author Award (1996)
F. Scott Fitzgerald Award for Outstanding Achievement in American Fiction (2008) (show all 7)
National Book Award (2012)
Agent: Andrew Wylie (The Wylie Agency)
Short biography: Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925 – August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. Leonard was born in New Orleans, Louisiana; the family moved frequently for several years. In 1934, the family settled in Detroit.

He graduated from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School in 1943 and joined the Navy. He graduated from the University of Detroit in 1950 with a bachelor's degree in English and philosophy. A year before he graduated, he got a job as a copy writer with Campbell-Ewald Advertising Agency, a position he kept for several years, writing on the side.

Members

Reviews

Raylan: A Novel by Elmore Leonard

I enjoyed the main character and the setting. I found some parts disjointed and wondered how they fit together. I wasn't amused with the treatment of black characters and instead was repulsed by it. An entertaining book, not a heavy hitter. Sorry but not interested in other works of this author. Just not my thing. Still a good storyteller.

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ShawnEllsworth | 58 other reviews | May 29, 2024 |

Freaky Deaky by Elmore Leonard

You know, there was a point there where I was reading a ton of Elmore Leonard. I was picking up his back catalogue at the same time he was still releasing new work.

And I loved it all.

Then, I pretty much finished everything I had by Leonard and he passed away. And the world lost a brilliant writer. I was so bummed, I don't think I've read any of his books since he passed, almost 11 (!) years ago.

So, it was high time to read some more. This was one I'd somehow missed from his catalogue and, while it's not his absolute best, man, it was refreshing to dive into Leonard's characters, his incredible dialogue, and his "everyone's out to screw everyone else" plots.

His books are simply fun. Filled with people you immediately recognize and either love or loathe.

I've gotta read some more Leonard.… (more)

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TobinElliott | 10 other reviews | May 6, 2024 |

Rum Punch (Ordell Robbie & Louis Gara #2) by Elmore Leonard

The best way to describe this book is "movie-ish". And yes! It was made into the movie "Jackie Brown." (which is on my 'to watch' list.
Getting back to the book, it is more plot-driven than character-driven. The plot seems like it would translate better to the screen than to the page. It has a lot of action, with twists, turns, double-crosses, and some events that seem random. Some of the writing was awkward.
Overall, a quick, fun read. Not too deep. *Three stars...I liked it but didn't love it.… (more)

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Chrissylou62 | 17 other reviews | Apr 11, 2024 |

Raylan: A Novel by Elmore Leonard

Love Leonard.

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ben_r47 | 58 other reviews | Feb 22, 2024 |

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