Bryan Gruley is the author of the thriller BITTERFROST, which tells the story of Jimmy Baker, the Zamboni driver in the fictional northern Michigan town of Bitterfrost, who is accused of a brutal double murder. Gruley is a lifelong journalist who shared in The Wall Street Journal’s Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He has written six award-winning novels, including the Starvation Lake trilogy set in northern lower Michigan and of course, you can find his books at Bay Books in Suttons Bay! He lives in Traverse City with his wife, Pam, and loves ice hockey and golf. We’re so pleased to welcome him to the National Writers Series on September 5th, at the Alluvion. Get your tickets for this amazing event.
Author Interview
On your nightstand now:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, by Mark Haddon
Dunes Review, winter 2025 (including a short story I wrote, “The Gators of Northern Michigan.”
Where All Things Flatten, short stories by fellow northern Michigan writer John Mauk.
Favorite book when you were a child:
Just about any Hardy Boys mystery.
Your top five authors:
Tough question, as I tend to bounce among many authors. But what the heck:
Flannery O’Connor.
J.D. Salinger.
Dennis Lehane.
Jonathan Eig.
Book you’ve faked reading:
A few books I’ve agreed to write blurbs for.
Book you’re an evangelist for:
The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach.
Can’t and Won’t, by Lydia Davis.
Small Town Sins, by Ken Jawarowski.
Book you’ve bought for the cover:
Any Green Lantern comic book, when I was a kid.
Book you hid from your parents:
Can’t think of any, although I did sneak to see The Exorcist after my mother forbade me.
Book that changed your life:
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Next, by Ken Kesey.
Favorite line from a book:
“For poise, I picked up a stone and threw it at a tree.” From “The Laughing Man” in Salinger’s short story collection, Niine Stories.
Five books you’ll never part with:
Nine Stories, by Salinger.
Luckiest Man, by Jonathan Eig.
My last copy of Paper Losses, a non-fiction book by yours truly.
Book you most want to read again for the first time:
A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole.
Do you have any bookstore rituals?
I always check the mystery-thriller aisle to see if the store carries any of my books.
