{{Short description|American writer (1964–2024)}} {{Use American English|date=November 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox person | name = Evan Wright | image = File:American_writer_Evan_Wright.png | image_size = | alt = | caption = Wright in 2008 | birth_date = {{birth date|1964|12|12}} | birth_place = Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2024|7|12|1964|12|28}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | alma_mater = Vassar College | occupation = Writer | spouse = Shana "Kelli" Wright | children = 3 | years_active = | notable_works = ''Generation Kill'', ''Hella Nation'', ''American Desperado'' | style = | television = ''Generation Kill'' | awards = Two National Magazine Awards | website = <!-- {{URL|www.example.com}} --> }}
'''Evan Alan Wright''' (December 12, 1964 – July 12, 2024) was an American writer, known for his reporting on subcultures for ''Rolling Stone'' and ''Vanity Fair''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,108848,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325031226/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,108848,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 25, 2010|magazine=Time |title=Lucie Blackman: Death of a Hostess|author=Wright, Evan Alan |date=May 7, 2001|access-date=May 4, 2012}}</ref> He was best known for his book on the Iraq War, ''Generation Kill'' (2004). He also wrote an exposé about a top Central Intelligence Agency officer (Ric Prado) who allegedly worked as a Mafia hitman, ''How to Get Away with Murder in America'' (2012).<ref name="wired">{{cite news| magazine = Wired | url = https://www.wired.com/2012/06/cia/ | title = Top CIA Spy Accused of Being a Mafia Hitman | author = Robert Beckhusen | date = June 27, 2012 | access-date = December 18, 2012}}</ref>
Although some compare his writings to those of Hunter S. Thompson, Wright claimed his biggest literary influences were authors Mark Twain and Christopher Isherwood.<ref name="latimes-wright43">{{cite news| last = Timberg | first = Scott | title = Evan Wright: Going where the wild things are | newspaper = Los Angeles Times | date = April 5, 2009 | url = https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-ca-evan-wright5-2009apr05,0,3141348,full.story | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121104210129/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-ca-evan-wright5-2009apr05,0,3141348,full.story | url-status = dead | archive-date = November 4, 2012 | access-date = November 19, 2010}}</ref> ''The New York Times'' called his military writing "nuanced and grounded in details often overlooked in daily journalistic accounts" and noted his use of "gallows humor".<ref name="national paper">{{cite news| last = Waxman | first = Sharon | title = Sparring No One | newspaper = The New York Times | date = June 10, 2004 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/10/books/sparing-no-one-a-journalist-s-account-of-war.html}}</ref>
==Biography== Wright was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on December 12, 1964,<ref name="nytobit">{{cite news |last=Petri |first=Alexandra E. |date=July 16, 2024 |title=Evan Wright, Award-Winning Reporter and Author of 'Generation Kill,' Dies at 59 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/16/us/evan-wright-generation-kill-dead.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=July 16, 2024}}</ref> and grew up in Willoughby, Ohio. Both of his parents were lawyers and he had a sister, Nora.<ref name=sister>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/evan-wright-generation-kill-journalist-214113987.html|title=Evan Wright, 'Generation Kill' Journalist and TV Writer, Dies at 59|date=July 14, 2024|website=The Wrap via Yahoo News|first=Stephanie|last=Kaloi|quote=Wright’s death was confirmed by his sister, Nora Wright, who told TheWrap that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from his teenage years and said, 'People need to talk about what’s hurting them.'}}</ref> His father was a prosecutor, then the general counsel for a utility. Wright attended Hawken School,<ref name="daily paper"/> but was expelled for selling cannabis and sent to a home for juvenile delinquents called The Seed.<ref name="latimes-wright43"/> He returned to Hawken and made state debate finals in high school. Wright studied at Johns Hopkins University and at Vassar College; he graduated from Vassar with a degree in medieval history.<ref name="baltimore-city">{{cite news| last = Dechter | first = Gadi | title = Rogue Warriors: Rolling Stone Journalist Evan Wright Brings Back a Brutally Candid View of the War—and the Soldiers—in Iraq | newspaper = Baltimore City Paper | date = July 14, 2004 | url = http://www2.citypaper.com/arts/story.asp?id=8553 | access-date = November 17, 2011}}</ref> His first writing job was to interview South African political leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi, but it was for a small magazine that did not pay.<ref name="daily paper">{{cite news| last = Heaton | first = Michael | title = Author Evan Wright Talks About Rogues and Heroes | newspaper = The Plain Dealer | date = December 11, 2011 | url = http://www.cleveland.com/pdq/index.ssf/2011/12/ten_minutes_with_evan_wright_a.html}}</ref>
Wright died by suicide via firearm at his home in Los Angeles on July 12, 2024, at the age of 59, reportedly due to post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from childhood abuse.<ref name="nytobit" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://consequence.net/2024/07/evan-wright-generation-kill-author-dead/|title=Evan Wright, Author of Generation Kill, Dead at 59|date=July 14, 2024|work=Consequence}}</ref><ref name="LaCounty">{{cite web |date=July 12, 2024 |title=Case Detail — Medical Examiner — Evan Wright |url=https://me.lacounty.gov/case-detail/?caseNumber=2024-11120 |access-date=July 14, 2024 |website=County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner}}</ref><ref name=sister/>
==''Hustler'' magazine== In 1995, Wright became the entertainment editor and chief pornographic film reviewer for ''Hustler'' magazine. In 2000, he wrote about the experience and the issues surrounding the pornography industry in an article for ''Salon'', titled "Maxed Out",<ref>{{cite news | last = Wright | first = Evan | title = Maxed out | newspaper = Salon.com | date = January 18, 2000 | url = http://dir.salon.com/story/health/sex/urge/2000/01/18/hustler/ | access-date = November 19, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101125010243/http://dir.salon.com/story/health/sex/urge/2000/01/18/hustler | archive-date = November 25, 2010 | url-status = dead}}</ref> and for the ''LA Weekly'', in a cover story titled "Scenes from My Life in Porn".<ref>{{cite news |last=Wright |first=Evan |date=March 29, 2000 |title=Scenes from My Life in Porn |url=http://www.laweekly.com/2000-04-06/news/scenes-from-my-life-in-porn/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081104082250/http://www.laweekly.com/2000-04-06/news/scenes-from-my-life-in-porn/ |archive-date=November 4, 2008 |access-date=November 19, 2010 |newspaper=LA Weekly}}</ref>
==Immersion journalism== Starting in 1996 at ''Hustler'', then at ''Rolling Stone'', ''Time'', and ''Vanity Fair'', Wright wrote long features based on his immersion in subcultures ranging from radical environmentalists to neo-Nazis. Many of his essays focused on crimes or controversial figures, and were said by him to capture a "dark, untamed America" that resembled "the Wild West".<ref>{{cite news| last = Reggie | first = Aqui | title = Dark, Untamed America | publisher= CNN | date = April 2009 | url = http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/living/2009/04/15/dcl.intv.wright.hella.nation.cnn}}</ref> Several of his essays were collected in the book ''Hella Nation'', which Wright called a "sort of autobiography".<ref name="latimes-wright43"/> His essays in ''Hella Nation'' were compared to Joan Didion's writings on California.<ref>{{cite news| last = Carson | first = Tom | title = Hustle and Flow | newspaper = Los Angeles | date = April 2009 | url = http://www.lamag.com/laculturehome/2009/04/20/hustle-and-flow1 | access-date = November 18, 2012}}</ref> Another reviewer called ''Hella Nation'' a "comically macabre portrait of American life".<ref>{{cite web| last = Astor | first = Michael | title = Review: Hella Nation | agency = Associated Press | date = April 2009 | url = http://blogs.knoxnews.com/books/2009/04/review-evan-wrights-hella-nati.html | access-date = June 23, 2012 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130127144249/http://blogs.knoxnews.com/books/2009/04/review-evan-wrights-hella-nati.html | archive-date = January 27, 2013 | url-status = dead}}</ref>
==Military reporting== In 2002, Wright went to Afghanistan on assignment for ''Rolling Stone''.<ref name="baltimore-city" />
In 2003, he was embedded with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the United States Marine Corps during the early stages of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.<ref name="NPR-4123158-J.Ludden">{{cite news|url= https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4123158 |title=Evan Wright: Reporting on 'The Killer Elite' |work= National Public Radio |author= Ludden, Jennifer |date=October 23, 2004| access-date=November 19, 2010}}</ref> Wright spent his entire time embedded in a recon team led by then-Sergeant Brad Colbert. He was under fire with the Marines for several weeks, and accompanied them "on point" (i.e., in the lead vehicle). One of the Marines in the unit told ''The New York Times'', "He was in the worst possible place to have a reporter. During the first firefight, he took 10 rounds in his door."<ref name="national paper"/> Wright expressed admiration for the Marines, but warned them that a reporter's motto is "charm and betray." He published a series of articles for ''Rolling Stone'' magazine titled "The Killer Elite" which, in 2004, received the National Magazine Award for Reporting, the top prize in magazine writing. He then wrote ''Generation Kill''.<ref name="npr">{{cite news|url= https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3213017 |title='Generation Kill': Elite Marines Battle in Iraq |author=Brand, Madeleine |author-link=Madeleine Brand |work= National Public Radio |date=July 8, 2004 |access-date=November 19, 2010}}</ref>
In 2007, he returned to Iraq when the surge in U.S. forces was beginning. Wright interviewed General David Petraeus and spent several weeks embedded with U.S. troops in Baghdad, Ramadi, and Diwania. He later criticized American television media for promoting misperceptions of the war. He also criticized some U.S. political leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, for calling the surge a failure before it had been fully implemented.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://bigthink.com/ideas/284 |title=Evan Wright on Misconceptions and Missing the Mark | Evan Wright | Big Think |access-date=November 21, 2010 |archive-date=February 4, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204202552/http://bigthink.com/ideas/284 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Television and film== HBO adapted ''Generation Kill'' into an eponymous television miniseries first aired in 2008; Wright is portrayed by Lee Tergesen. Wright himself served as a writer and consulting producer on the project, collaborating closely with Emmy-winning producer David Simon.<ref>{{cite news| last = Smith | first = Lynn | title = Ensuring a series is combat ready | newspaper = Los Angeles Times | date = July 15, 2008 | url = https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-scriptland15-2008jul15,0,438243.story | access-date = November 19, 2010}}</ref>
Wright was hired by Paramount to write a script about Miami's "Cocaine Cowboys" Jon Roberts and Mickey Munday for Peter Berg to direct. The screenplay was based on a book Wright wrote about Roberts, published by Crown Books.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://in.reuters.com/article/idINN2442078720080724 | archive-url= https://archive.today/20120718145948/http://in.reuters.com/article/idINN2442078720080724 | url-status= dead | archive-date= July 18, 2012 | work=Reuters | title=Wright takes on "Cowboys" starring Wahlberg | date=July 24, 2008}}</ref> Actor Mark Wahlberg was producing the film with plans to star in it, but the film did not make it out of preproduction.<ref name="deadline">{{cite news|url= https://deadline.com/2010/11/oscar-qa-mark-wahlberg-on-the-fighter-83339/ |title=OSCAR Q&A: Mark Wahlberg On 'The Fighter' |work= Deadline |access-date=November 19, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Finke |first1=Nikki |title=Mark Wahlberg And Peter Berg Sign On To Paramount's 'American Desperado' Adapted By William Monahan For Start Early 2014 |url=https://deadline.com/2013/06/mark-wahlberg-and-peter-berg-sign-on-to-paramounts-american-desperado-adapted-by-william-monahan-531198 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140823003539/http://deadline.com/2013/06/mark-wahlberg-and-peter-berg-sign-on-to-paramounts-american-desperado-adapted-by-william-monahan-531198/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 23, 2014 |website=Deadline |date=June 27, 2013}}</ref>
In 2010, it was announced that director Ole Bornedal was filming a movie<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://twitchfilm.com/news/2010/03/ole-bornedal-to-helm-thriller-death-of-a-hostess.php |title=News: Ole Bornedal to helm thriller 'Death of a Hostess' |access-date=November 21, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721194307/http://twitchfilm.com/news/2010/03/ole-bornedal-to-helm-thriller-death-of-a-hostess.php |archive-date=July 21, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> inspired by an article Wright wrote for ''Time'' magazine called "Death of a Hostess".<ref>{{cite news | url= https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/462143/Death-of-a-Hostess/credits | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110927145301/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/462143/Death-of-a-Hostess/credits | url-status= dead | archive-date= September 27, 2011 | department= Movies & TV Dept. | work= The New York Times | date= 2011 | title= Death of a Hostess}}</ref> Wright's article was a profile of Japanese serial-rapist and killer Joji Obara he wrote in Tokyo for ''Time'' magazine.<ref>{{cite magazine| url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,108848,00.html | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100325031226/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,108848,00.html | url-status= dead | archive-date= March 25, 2010 | magazine=Time| author=Wright, Evan Alan |title= Lucie Blackman: Death of a Hostess | date=May 14, 2001}}</ref>
In 2012, he released the book ''American Desperado'',<ref name="wired" /><ref>{{citation | title = American Desperado | date = November 2011 | publisher = Crown | url = https://www.amazon.com/American-Desperado-Life-Government-ebook/dp/B004N636AS/}}</ref> co-written with Jon Roberts, who was featured in the documentary ''Cocaine Cowboys''.<ref name="C4WDefault-5576395">{{cite web|url=http://www.us.penguingroup.com/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,1000061958,00.html |title=Evan Wright – About Evan Wright|website= Penguin Group (USA) |date=April 7, 2014 |quote=The Seed, a reported memoir of brainwashing to be published in the Summer of 2010. |access-date=April 7, 2014 |others=Image credit:Zari |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408040236/http://www.us.penguingroup.com/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,1000061958,00.html |archive-date=April 8, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2024, he appeared in the documentary ''Teen Torture, Inc,'' during which he discussed his time at The Seed, an early troubled teen industry program.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cain |first=Sian |date=July 16, 2024 |title=Generation Kill author Evan Wright dies aged 59 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/jul/16/evan-wright-death-cause-generation-kill-author-los-angeles |access-date=July 16, 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
==Controversies== At least six of the Marines Wright wrote about in ''Generation Kill'' have claimed they were punished for the remarks he published. Spokesman Lieutenant Nathan Braden denied that any Marines were punished as a result of Wright's work.<ref name="baltimore-city" />
In 2004, Wright wrote an op-ed in ''The New York Times'' criticizing the U.S. military for allowing insurgents in Iraq to obtain weapons.<ref>{{cite news| last = Wright | first = Evan | title = How Much Is That Uzi In the Window? | newspaper = The New York Times | date = June 17, 2004 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/17/opinion/how-much-is-that-uzi-in-the-window.html | access-date = November 19, 2010}}</ref>
Wright criticized college creative writing programs, saying such programs produce bad writers.<ref name="latimes-wright43"/>
==Personal life== Wright was married to Shana "Kelli" Wright and they had two sons, Carter and Evan Jr. and a daughter, Kennedy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.altaonline.com/dispatches/a61754178/funeral-for-a-friend/|title=Funeral for a Friend|date=August 2, 2024|website=Alta Online|first=Karl Taro|last=Greenfeld|quote=Eventually, he began seeing Kelli, whom he would marry. He once sent me this message: 'I can actually tell you I love this woman. And got closer to her than I have to anyone in 20 years.… She’s kind of a joyous person in her way.' He also told me that for the first time in his life, he wanted to have children. 'I don’t give a fuck about my own ambitions anymore,' he wrote. 'My distaste of children was the idea that they detracted from the zero sum game of what I want for myself.' Within three years, he and Kelli would have two sons and a daughter, and Evan would settle into domesticity. They remodeled their house. He kept his office in Santa Monica. It looked like a version of happiness.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://giveahand.com/fundraiser/evan-wright-memorial-fund|title=Evan Wright Memorial Fund|first=Shana “Kelli”|last=Wright|date=July 28, 2024|website=Give A Hand}}</ref>
==Published works== * "Mad Dogs & Lawyers", for ''Rolling Stone'', republished in ''The Best American Crime Writing: 2003 Edition: The Year's Best True Crime Reporting''<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.thewrap.com/evan-wright-dies-generation-kill/| title=Evan Wright, 'Generation Kill' Journalist and TV Writer, Dies at 59| work=TheWrap | access-date=July 20, 2024| last=Kaloi| first=Stephanie| date=July 14, 2024}}</ref> * "The Killer Elite", for ''Rolling Stone'', republished in ''The Best American Magazine Writing: 2004'' (Best Reporting)<ref name="NPR-4123158-J.Ludden" /> * ''Generation Kill'' (2004)<ref name="LA Times">{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-ca-evan-wright5-2009apr05,0,3141348,full.story|title=Evan Wright: Going where the wild things are|date=April 5, 2009|access-date=July 17, 2024|newspaper=LA Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104210129/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-ca-evan-wright5-2009apr05,0,3141348,full.story |archive-date=November 4, 2012}}</ref> * ''Hella Nation'' (2009)<ref name = "LA Times" /> * ''American Desperado'' (with Jon Roberts) (2011)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/07/16/metro/evan-wright-unflinching-author-generation-kill-dies-59/|title=Evan Wright, unflinching author of 'Generation Kill,' dies at 59|date=July 16, 2024|access-date=July 17, 2024|work=The Boston Globe}}</ref> * ''The Best American Magazine Writing: 2008'' (Best Profile Writing)<ref>{{cite book| url=https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-best-american-magazine-writing-2008/9780231147149| publisher=Columbia University Press| title=The Best American Magazine Writing 2008| date=November 2008| isbn=978-0-231-14714-9| access-date=July 20, 2024}}</ref> * ''How to Get Away with Murder in America'' (2012)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thecinemaholic.com/evan-wright/|title=Evan Wright: Where is The Seed Survivor Now?|date=July 11, 2024|access-date=July 17, 2024|website=thecinemaholic.com}}</ref>
==Awards== * 2004: ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize for ''Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America and the New Face of American War''<ref>{{cite web |title=Los Angeles Times Names Book Prize Winners |url=https://www.latimes.com/la-mediacenter-2005-0423-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |date=April 23, 2005}}</ref> * 2004: National Magazine Award for Reporting, the top prize in magazine writing<ref name="NPR-4123158-J.Ludden" /> * 2005: J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize from the Columbia University School of Journalism and the Nieman Foundation<ref name=Lukas>{{cite web|title=J. Anthony Lukas Prize Project winners|url=http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/NiemanFoundation/Awards/AwardsAtAGlance/JAnthonyLukasPrizeProject/Winners.aspx|publisher=Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard|access-date=March 16, 2011}}</ref> * 2005: PEN USA Literary Award in research nonfiction for ''Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America and the New Face of American War''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Snead |first1=Elizabeth |title='Mind' wins over weighty matters |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-nov-11-et-envelope11-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |date=November 11, 2005}}</ref> * 2005: General Wallace M. Greene, Jr., Award from the U.S. Marine Corps Heritage Society for writing the Best History of the Marine Corps<ref>{{citation | last = Wright | first = Evan | title = Life With the Anarchists | newspaper = The Daily Beast | date = April 6, 2009 | url = http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-04-06/life-with-the-anarchists/ | access-date = November 19, 2010}}</ref> * 2008: National Magazine Award for Profile Writing for his ''Vanity Fair'' profile titled "Pat Dollard's War on Hollywood"<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Vanity Fair Lands Six ASME Nominations |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/03/vanity-fair-sco |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=March 19, 2008}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{wikiquote}} * {{cite web|url=https://www.cjr.org/page_views/high_and_outside.php/ |title=Evan Wright's interview |website= Columbia Journalism Review}} * An [https://web.archive.org/web/20100622223344/http://www.cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-14714-9/the-best-american-magazine-writing-2008/excerpt Excerpt of "Pat Dollard's War on Hollywood"] from [http://cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-14714-9/the-best-american-magazine-writing-2008 The Best American Magazine Writing 2008] * {{IMDb name|2631476|Evan Wright}} * {{cite web|url=http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/89283.Evan_Wright/|title= Evan Wright|publisher= Goodreads}} * {{C-SPAN|1014442}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Evan}} Category:1964 births Category:2024 deaths Category:2024 suicides Category:Suicides by firearm in California Category:21st-century American male writers Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers Category:American male journalists Category:American war correspondents Category:Hawken School alumni Category:Johns Hopkins University alumni Category:Vassar College alumni Category:People from Willoughby, Ohio Category:Writers from Ohio Category:Writers from Cleveland Category:Male suicides Category:Writers who died by suicide