Ben Schrank Popular Books

Ben Schrank Biography & Facts

John Stewart Wynne (a.k.a. John Wynne) is an American author of novels, short stories and poetry, as well as a Grammy-nominated producer of spoken word recordings. His writing often depicts characters in extremis, outsiders adrift in a conformist landscape, in plots that juxtapose the surreal and naturalistic. Career Novels Wynne's first novel Crime Wave details the unexpected love affair between a photojournalist (Jake Adams) and a woman (Renee Cloverman) living in a Manhattan brothel. Jake attempts to make Renee respectable by moving her into the country with his aunt's family where her presence turns out to be a risk not only for her but for them as well. It was praised by author Barbara Trapido in The Spectator as a "disturbing, well-written and impressive work whose genre is Manhattan lumpen Gothic...the book has a terrible and compelling beauty." Author Jenny Uglow in The Times Literary Supplement wrote "Crime Wave is about personal and social sado-masochism. The author's challenging aim is to show there is no such thing as 'mindless violence', whether directed towards the self or towards others. Each aggressive act is the result of a long cycle of action and reaction, continued through generations. Crime Wave is an ambitious first novel." Magnus Books published Wynne's second novel The Red Shoes in July 2013. "The Red Shoes, set in contemporary New York City, is a beautifully dark queer re-visioning of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same title. Wynne immediately engages the reader with finely detailed descriptions, nuanced character development, and an air of mystery that makes the 428-page text read like a novella,” wrote Jamie Jones in Lambda Literary. Kate Christensen, winner of the PEN/Faulkner Best American Work of Fiction Award for The Great Man, said: "I read this so fast I got blisters turning pages. The Red Shoes is so astonishingly good, original, beautiful and amazing...I love the Gothic feeling of impending doom and the counterbalancing elements of light. Wynne's writing is free of compromise, fear. He has the rare ability to write on a plane floating just above life, or below it. And his voice doesn't sound like anyone else's. I think The Red Shoes is a great work of art." Ben Schrank, president and publisher of Razorbill, a Penguin imprint, and author of the novel Love Is a Canoe, wrote that "The narrator is as fully realized and endearing a character as I've ever known." Stephen D. Adams, author of The Homosexual as Hero said, "I loved the mysteriousness of everything and everybody in The Red Shoes and the way its preoccupations with loss, danger and safety would loom in and out of view in the surreal fog of drugs, sex and dark humor. I found it quite haunting and didn't want it to end." In 2014 The Red Shoes was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award in the Gay Fiction category. In 2018, the author announced on his website that he has finished a new novel. Spoken word Wynne has also produced and directed over one hundred audio books, including The Phantom of the Opera performed by F. Murray Abraham, William Styron reading his Darkness Visible (memoir), Christopher Reeve performing F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and John F. Kennedy, Jr. reading his father's Pulitzer Prize-winning book Profiles in Courage. The latter was nominated for the 1991 Grammy Award as Best Spoken Word Album. Wynne himself was nominated for the Grammy Award in 1995 as producer of Best Spoken Word Album for Children for The Magic School Bus: Fun with Sound, featuring Lily Tomlin. In 1995 Wynne authored the first popular guide to spoken word recordings, The Listener's Guide to Audio Books. Short fiction Wynne's first published fiction was the 1978 short story The Sighting, where flying saucers and Bela Lugosi rub up against an archetypal 1950s drive-in while counterpointing the blossoming relationship of two teen-age boys. Gordon Montador in The Body Politic enthused: "There is nothing else quite like it, for no other writer has experimented with gay experience in the context of our adolescence in straight America in such a direct, sensual and imaginative manner." The Sighting was further praised by Hubert Selby Jr., 1980 Prix Goncourt winner Yves Navarre, Rita Mae Brown, James Purdy and Charles Palliser. The story was selected by Ian Young as one of the seminal works of gay literature in his The Male Homosexual in Literature: A Bibliography. Wynne's short story collection The Other World, peopled with circus performers, sociopaths, cross-dressing teenagers and God-fearing families, was described as "one of the best books of the decade" by The James White Review. Details magazine wrote, "Wynne's prose is chiseled and precise. And in pages that tremble with beauty, Wynne gracefully reveals the darker side of human possibilities." Booklist called it "startling, outrageous, frightening and sometimes even funny." National Book Award-winner Paul Monette wrote, "With so much tepid and sentimental fiction coming out, Wynne's stories are like a plunge in cold water. With a near-Brechtian intensity of focus and an infallible ear for dialogue, Wynne casts a laser eye on the things we say, so different from what we mean. A book to handle with asbestos gloves, but well worth the walk through fire." Lambda Award-winner Rebecca Brown called it "an incredibly powerful book." Wynne's other short fiction and poetry have appeared in The Paris Review, The American Poetry Review, Christopher Street and High Risk 2, among other publications. Bibliography Opera in Santa Fe (poem), Concept: An Anthology of Contemporary American Writing, New London Press, 1978 The Sighting (short story), Tree Line Books, 1978. ISBN 0-931476-00-3 Two Struggling Actresses (poem), The Paris Review, Issue 76, Fall 1979 Shoal (poem), The Nantucket Review, Issue 14, 1979 Moonlight (poem), The American Poetry Review, Vol. 8/No. 6, November/December 1979 The Sighting (short story) and Nameless Thing (short story), New Writing and Writers 17, John Calder, 1980 Crime Wave: A Novel (novel), John Calder/Riverrun Press, 1982 Afternoon (short story), Christopher Street, Issue 87, 1984 Haiku (poem), Bastard Review, Issue 5/6, 1992 The Other World: Stories (short story collection), City Lights, 1994. Contents: The Other World, Nameless Thing, Raphael, Lights of Broadway, Halloween Card and Vulture The Other World (short story), High Risk 2, Plume/Penguin Books, 1994 The Listener's Guide to Audio Books: Reviews, Recommendations, and Listings for More Than 2,000 Titles (non-fiction book), Fireside Books/Simon & Schuster, 1995 The Needles Highway (short story), Untreed Reads, 2012 A Night in the Pampas (short story), Year's End, Untreed Reads, 2012 The Other World: Stories (revised short story collection), Untreed Reads, 2013. Contents: The Other World, Nameless Thing, Raphael, Lights of Broadway, Halloween Card and Vulture The Red Shoes (novel), Magnus Books, 2.... Discover the Ben Schrank popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Ben Schrank books.

Best Seller Ben Schrank Books of 2024

  • Caught Up with the Captain synopsis, comments

    Caught Up with the Captain

    Kait Nolan

    Can a retired naval commander and the love he left behind overcome a 34yearold secret to find their way to a second chance? Captain Mitchell Greyson is a man who believes in duty. ...

  • Holy Bible synopsis, comments

    Holy Bible

    The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

    The 2013 edition of the Holy Bible contains all of the study aids contained in the 1979 edition and includes revisions to the study aids, several new photos, updated maps, and adju...

  • Become A Better Version of Yourself synopsis, comments

    Become A Better Version of Yourself

    Ben Leighton

    This ebook contains golden nuggets on how to motivate, inspire and improve your current situation. It encompasses the holistic view of self improvement from mental& emotion...

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    The Next Girl

    Carla Kovach

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    Teach Me

    Cassandra Dean

    From awardwinning author Cassandra Dean comes a tale where lessons of pleasure between a curious, sunshine widow and a dissolute, grumpy earl leads to passion and allconsuming love...

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    Bewitching a Highlander

    Roma Cordon

    Defying all for the love of a bewitching lass. Breena MacRae, a healer from Skye with a touch of witchery in her blood, embarks on a dangerous search for her missing father. She ar...

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    The Honeymoon Homicide

    J. R. Mathis & Susan Mathis

    Enjoy this SmallTown Murder Mystery Featuring A Unique Sleuthing Couple I'm Father Tom Greer, a Catholic Priest in a smalltown parish who never expected this . . . When I came...

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    Peace on Earth

    Maia Ross

    Crime never takes a holiday. Why should Irma? Irma Abercrombie is an energetic retiree with a shadowy past, a mean right hook, and a profound love of Christmas. Surrounded by seaso...

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    Just Me

    Lexy Timms

    We all need somewhere where we feel safe… After leaving her abusive husband, Katherine Marshall is out on her own for the first time. She's hopped from city to city to avoid t...

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    Salvation

    Meghan O'Flynn

    If you like mouthy detectives, serial killers, and suspenseful mysteries that don't quit, this chilling and actionpacked hardboiled detective series has you covered! Try this ...

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    Masters of Restraint

    Ines Johnson

    My new boss is good at giving orders. But his latest demand is NSFW. Especially when his two business partners want in on our deal. My new boss My boss’s boss Their investor &#...

  • The Holy Bible - King James Version synopsis, comments

    The Holy Bible - King James Version

    King James

    Holy Bible King James Version Few Sample Paragraphs from The Holy Bible eBook, Genesis (OT) 1 Gen. 1 IN the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was with...

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    My Paper Heart

    Magan Vernon

    One piece of paper can change everything After my parents received the letter I failed out of college, they didn't ask questions. They just sent me to work for my great aunt i...

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    Hard Love

    Peyton Banks

    He was football royalty. Legendary quarterback. A champion.  Reiner Strickland had led his team to three national championships and playing a knight in shining armor was a...

  • The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes synopsis, comments

    The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

    Arthur Conan Doyle

    An Apple Books Classic You get not one, not two, but 25 gripping mysteries in Arthur Conan Doyle’s first of five collections of Sherlock Holmes short stories. Follow the brilliant ...

  • Wuthering Heights synopsis, comments

    Wuthering Heights

    Emily Brontë

    An Apple Books Classic edition. If you’ve only ever seen Wuthering Heights on screen, you may have an image of Catherine and Heathcliff as the ultimate starcrossed lovers. But that...

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    Silenced Girls

    Roger Stelljes

    “ Wow wow wow!  Grips you in a choke hold and  does not let go … Oozes suspense and  bonechilling twists and turns .  Astonishing … One of those...

  • The Three Little Pigs synopsis, comments

    The Three Little Pigs

    Mark Lesky

    Classic fairy tales, legends and folk stories in short version without violence retold with lovely illustrations in simple language. Perfect for reading aloud to small chi...

  • The Odyssey synopsis, comments

    The Odyssey

    Homer

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Homer’s eighthcentury epic poem is a companion to The Iliad . It tells the story of Odysseus, who journeys by ship for 10 years after the Trojan War...

  • The Count of Monte Cristo synopsis, comments

    The Count of Monte Cristo

    Alexandre Dumas

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Alexandre Dumas’ classic paints a portrait of Edmond Dantès, a dark and calculating man who is willing to wait years to exact his perfect plan for r...

  • Alpha synopsis, comments

    Alpha

    Sybil Bartel

    Billionaire. Mercenary. Navy SEAL. The Teams trained me to be a killer. War taught me to be ruthless. Then an illfated mission proved I was human. Combat wounded, cut loose by the ...

  • School of Potential synopsis, comments

    School of Potential

    W.J. May

    USA Today Bestselling author, W.J. May brings you a continuation of the international bestselling series, The Chronicles of Kerrigan! Come back and enjoy the famous characters, or ...

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    Good Guy

    Kate Meader

    He's a Special Forces veteran making his pro hockey debut. She's a dogged sports reporter determined to get a scoop. She's also his best friend's widow . . . Fa...

  • A Christmas Carol synopsis, comments

    A Christmas Carol

    Charles Dickens

    An Apple Books Classic edition. It’s Christmas Eve in Victorian England. While some families don’t know where their next meal will come from, Ebenezer Scrooge sits in his large hom...

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    Man In The Water

    Jon Hill

    An attempted murder. A missing spouse. And an international conspiracy that could change the world. Jack Green has always been skeptical of socalled facts. Though he's forced ...

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    The Seduction Series Boxset

    Roxy Sloane

    “Sensual, thrilling and wild!”   Discover the bestselling series in one collection: THE SEDUCTION, THE BARGAIN, and THE INVITATION. Perfect for fans of Ana Huang, Sierra S...

  • The Scarlet Letter synopsis, comments

    The Scarlet Letter

    Nathaniel Hawthorne

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Hester Prynne lives in infamy. After committing adultery and bearing a child with a man whose name she refuses to divulge, the heroine of Nathaniel ...

  • You Are Kind synopsis, comments

    You Are Kind

    Michael Gordon

    A little kindness goes a long way. How can you help encourage your kids to be kind from a young age? Teach kindness to preschoolers Acts of kindness can be fun, easy, and make a ...

  • Dream Psychology synopsis, comments

    Dream Psychology

    Sigmund Freud

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Written by the founding father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud’s 1899 book is the definitive text on learning to interpret dreams. Freud’s groundbr...

  • Eternal synopsis, comments

    Eternal

    W.J. May

    She will fight for what is hers. When the king is murdered, Katerina, his only daughter, must flee for her life. She finds herself on a strange and dangerous path. Alone for the fi...

  • Little Women synopsis, comments

    Little Women

    Louisa May Alcott

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Meet the Marches! Louisa May Alcott’s classic introduces us to four unforgettable sisters: beautiful Meg, tomboyish Jo, delicate Beth, and Amy, the ...

  • Nothing to Hide synopsis, comments

    Nothing to Hide

    Scarlett Finn

    Prize of a lifetime: travel the world with a celebrity billionaire. Come to LA with us, Roxie… It will be so much fun! We have tickets for a latenight talk show! What could possibl...

  • Hot Off the Press synopsis, comments

    Hot Off the Press

    Lexy Timms

    "This is what really happened… reported by a free press, for a free people…" Wes Shaw leads a secret double life. As the secret owner of a billion dollar newspap...

  • Pride and Prejudice synopsis, comments

    Pride and Prejudice

    Jane Austen

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Jane Austen’s beloved classic opens with this witty and very memorable line: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possessio...

  • The Target synopsis, comments

    The Target

    Lexy Timms

    When you seek revenge be sure to dig two graves… Revenge was the only thing I had going for me. It kept me awake at night and drove me into desperate situations in dive bars across...

  • Coffee Girl synopsis, comments

    Coffee Girl

    Sophie Sinclair

    Mackenzie "Kiki" Forbes finds herself in a pickle. Either become her snarky sister's nanny, or move halfway across the country to work as assistanttothestylist of a ...

  • Becoming Lady Dalton synopsis, comments

    Becoming Lady Dalton

    Carrie Lomax

    A dance of desire and deceit... In the glittering world of London's ton, Mrs. Viola Cartwright revels in her newfound freedom as a lady of leisureuntil a series of jewel theft...

  • Christmas in Sweetbriar Cove synopsis, comments

    Christmas in Sweetbriar Cove

    Melody Grace

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  • Escape, A New Life synopsis, comments

    Escape, A New Life

    David J Antocci

    To save herself, she had to lose everything. Trapped in a tropical paradise with no memory of how she got there, Abby is thrust into a fight for her life. Hunted by a madman, and c...

  • A Bookshop to Die For synopsis, comments

    A Bookshop to Die For

    M.P. Black

    Ditching her fiancé at the altar, Alice Hartford bolts to her childhood hometown to reconnect with the last, happy remnant of her past: her mom's old bookstore. But the bookst...

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    Think and Grow Rich

    Greg Habstritt & Napoleon Hill

    Think and Grow Rich is one of the most popular success book of alltime, having sold more than 60 million copies since it was first published more than 70...

  • Rogue Alpha synopsis, comments

    Rogue Alpha

    Kimber White

    One touch made her crave him. But the pull of fate could be the path to ruin. College student Laura Prince lands a plum internship deep in the Michigan wilderness. When she discove...

  • Whiskey Girl synopsis, comments

    Whiskey Girl

    Melissa Belle

    They'll do anything for each other…except commit. Logan Wild isn’t just the hottest broncriding cowboy in Texas. He’s also my best friendwith benefits. And that’s all we’ll ev...

  • Dracula synopsis, comments

    Dracula

    Bram Stoker

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Few characters have seized readers’ imaginations quite like Count Dracula of Transylvania, the hero of Bram Stoker’s classic. The 1897 novel put vam...

  • Inception of Gold synopsis, comments

    Inception of Gold

    Lexy Timms

    Things are not as bad as they seem. They are worse. Being the personal assistant to a narcissistic actress who just happens to own the key to my family's undoing isn't ex...

  • Pretty Little Lies synopsis, comments

    Pretty Little Lies

    Ivy Thorn

    Four years ago, Nicolo Marchetti took my innocence. But he left me with something else Nicolo almost took everything from me. My virginity, my reputation, and very nearly my future...

  • The Great Gatsby synopsis, comments

    The Great Gatsby

    F. Scott Fitzgerald

    An Apple Books Classics edition. The Roaring Twenties are in full effect in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s riveting classic. Manabouttown Jay Gatsby seems to have it all, including loads of...

  • The Cupcake Cottage synopsis, comments

    The Cupcake Cottage

    Jean Oram

    NHL player Maverick Blades could fall in love with anyone... But he had to fall for a woman who falls under the Bro Code as untouchablehis best friend’s beautiful ex, DaisyMae Ray....

  • Once Upon A One-Night Stand synopsis, comments

    Once Upon A One-Night Stand

    Zoey Locke

    At first sight, there was electrifying chemistry.  So why not go for it? After all, Lynx Grove, the city's most eligible bachelor, wants to claim her, at least for th...

  • Silver Santa synopsis, comments

    Silver Santa

    Lacey Silks

    Trapped together on Christmas, their unintended onenight stand becomes a lifechanging encounter amidst the snow. Laura Young's professional role as a security guard at the Sil...