Strawberry Fields

Richard Zimler was born in New York in 1956. After earning a bachelor’s degree in comparative religion from Duke University (1977) and a master’s degree in journalism from Stanford University (1982), he worked as a journalist in the San Francisco Bay area for eight years. In 1990, he moved to Porto, Portugal, where he taught journalism for 16 years at the University of Porto.

Richard has published 11 novels and four children’s books over the last 21 years, and they have been translated into 23 languages. In chronological order, the novels are entitled, The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, Unholy Ghosts, The Angelic Darkness, Hunting Midnight, Guardian of the Dawn, The Search for Sana, The Seventh Gate, The Warsaw Anagrams, Strawberry Fields Forever, The Night Watchman and The Gospel According to Lazarus. These works have appeared on bestseller lists in 13 different countries, including the USA, Great Britain, Portugal, Brazil, Australia and Italy, and Richard has won literary prizes in the USA, England, France and Portugal.

The Warsaw Anagrams, Hunting Midnight, The Search for Sana, The Seventh Gate and The Night Watchman have all been nominated for the International IMPAC Literary Award, the richest prize in the English-speaking world. The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, Hunting Midnight, Guardian of the Dawn and The Seventh Gate form the “Sephardic Cycle,” a group of inter-connected – but fully independent – novels about different branches and generations of a Portuguese Jewish family.

A short film that he scripted and acted in – based on one of his stories – won the Best Drama award at the 2010 New York City Downtown Short Film Festival. It is entitled The Slow Mirror.

Richard has lectured at more than 500 schools, libraries, museums, synagogues and cultural centers over the last 20 years. He is most frequently asked to talk about his own writing and Sephardic history.

When he’s not working on a book, he enjoys gardening at his weekend house in the north of the country.

His website is: www.zimler.com