{{short description|American writer and lawyer (1942–2021)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}} {{Writer | name = Andrew Vachss | image = Andrew Vachss cropped.png | caption = Vachss in 2011 | birth_date = {{Birth date|1942|10|19}} | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|11|23|1942|10|19}} | language = English | website = {{URL|vachss.com}} | genre = Crime novel | notable_works = {{unbulleted list|The ''Burke'' series}} | occupation = {{hlist|Juvenile lawyer|crime writer}} | signature = Signature of Andrew Vachss.gif | death_place = Pacific Northwest, U.S. }}
'''Andrew Henry Vachss''' ({{IPAc-en|v|æ|k|s}} {{Respell|VAX}};<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/vachss/faq.html#Pronounced |title=Pronunciation of "Vachss" |publisher=Vachss.com |date=July 16, 1993 |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> October 19, 1942 – November 23, 2021) was an American crime fiction author, child protection consultant, and attorney exclusively representing children and youths.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/17/us/the-law-taking-on-children-as-clients.html?scp=8&sq=vachss&st=cse |title=The Law: Taking on Children as Clients |work=The New York Times |date=June 17, 1988 |access-date=2012-02-02 |first=Georgia |last=Dullea}}</ref>
== Early life and career == Vachss grew up in Manhattan on the Lower West Side.<ref name="SandyRovner">{{cite news |last1=Rovner |first1=Sandy |title=In Defense of the Children Lawyer Andrew Henry Vachss, Fighting Urban Evil With Fiction |url=http://www.vachss.com/av_articles/rtcl_wpst.html |access-date=March 5, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 27, 1987}}</ref> Before becoming a lawyer, Vachss held many front-line positions in child protection.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/vachss/credentials.html |title=Andrew Vachss, ''The Zero'' |publisher=Vachss.com |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> He was a federal investigator in sexually transmitted diseases, and a New York City social-services caseworker. He worked in Biafra,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/books/news/11/09/arts.vachss.reut |title=Andrew Vachss Does Not Paint Pretty Pictures |agency=Reuters |work=CNN |date=November 9, 2000 |access-date=2012-02-02 |archive-date=2012-09-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904225254/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/books/news/11/09/arts.vachss.reut |url-status=dead }}</ref> entering the war zone just before the fall of the country.<ref name="vachss.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/av_articles/gall2k.html |title=Andrew Vachss: Beating the Devil |work=Gallery Magazine |date=April 2000 |via=Vachss.com |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> There he worked to find a land route to bring donated food and medical supplies across the border<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/av_interviews/mumblage.html |title=Andrew Vachss: Hot Biafra Nights |work=Mumblage |date=September 2000 |via=Vachss.com |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> after the seaports were blocked and Red Cross airlifts banned by the Nigerian government;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/30/newsid_3733000/3733321.stm |title=Nigeria Bans Red Cross Aid to Biafra' |work=BBC News |date=June 30, 1985 |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> however, all attempts ultimately failed, resulting in rampant starvation.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,878714,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410145338/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,878714,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 10, 2009 |title=The Secession That Failed |magazine=Time |date=January 26, 1970 |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref>
After he returned and recovered from his injuries, including malaria and malnutrition,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/av_articles/lw_usa.html |title=One Sole Practitioner's Crusade: Best-Selling Novelist Has Declared War On Child Abusers |work=Lawyers Weekly USA |date=November 25, 2002 |via=Vachss.com |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> Vachss studied community organizing in 1970 under Saul Alinsky.<ref name="vachss.com" /> He worked as a labor organizer and ran a self-help center for urban migrants in Chicago.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/av_dispatches/testimony.html |title=Testimony of Andrew Vachss, U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science |date=November 10, 1998 |via=Vachss.com |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> He then managed a re-entry program for ex-convicts in Massachusetts, and finally directed a maximum-security prison for violent juvenile offenders.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/vachss/ca_2003_autobio.html |title=Andrew Vachss, ''Contemporary Authors'', 2003 |publisher=Vachss.com |date=March 4, 1983 |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref>
As an attorney, Vachss represented only children and adolescents.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/policy.html |title=Andrew Vachss: Guidelines for Acceptance of a Child's Case |publisher=Vachss.com |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> In addition to his private practice, he served as a law guardian in New York state. In every child abuse or neglect case,<ref>[http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/FCT/2/4 ''McKinney's Cons. Laws of NY, Book 29A, Family Ct. Act §§ 241–249.'']</ref> state law requires the appointment of a law guardian, a lawyer who represents the child's interests during the legal proceedings.<ref>Under New York law, a law guardian also must be appointed in delinquency cases. At the judge's discretion, a law guardian may be appointed for a child in a custody dispute.</ref>
== Writings == Andrew Vachss was the author of 33 novels and three collections of short stories, as well as poetry, plays, song lyrics, and graphic novels.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/trojan.html |title=Index of author's written works |publisher=Vachss.com |access-date=2014-09-16}}</ref> As a novelist, he was perhaps best known for his Burke series of hardboiled mysteries; ''Another Life''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/av_novels/index_theburkeseries.html |title=Finale of Burke series |publisher=Vachss.com |date=February 28, 2011 |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> constituted the finale to the series.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/anotherlife/index.html |title=US publication date of Another Life |publisher=Vachss.com |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref>
After completing the Burke novels, Vachss began two new series. Vachss released the first novel in the Dell & Dolly trilogy, entitled ''Aftershock'', in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://vachss.com/av_novels/aftershock.html|title = Aftershock by Andrew Vachss|access-date = September 16, 2014|website = THE ZERO|publisher = vachss.com}}</ref> The second novel, ''Shockwave'', was released in 2014,<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://vachss.com/av_novels/shockwave.html|title = Shockwave by Andrew Vachss|access-date = August 29, 2015|website = THE ZERO|publisher = vachss.com}}</ref> and ''Signwave'', the final book, was published in June 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://vachss.com/av_novels/signwave.html|title = Signwave by Andrew Vachss|access-date = August 29, 2015|website = THE ZERO|publisher = vachss.com}}</ref> Departing from Vachss' familiar urban settings, the trilogy focuses on Dell, a former soldier and assassin, and Dolly, a former nurse with Doctors Without Borders and the love of Dell's life. While living in the Pacific Northwest, Dell and Dolly use their war-honed skills to maintain a "heads on stakes" barrier against the predators who use their everyday positions in the community as camouflage to attack the vulnerable.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://sonsofspade.blogspot.com/2014/07/aftershock-dell-by-andrew-vachss.html|title = Aftershock by Andrew Vachss, reviewed by Sons of Spade|access-date = August 29, 2015|website = Sons of Spade|date = July 8, 2014}}</ref>
The Cross series uses distinctive supernatural aspects to further explore Vachss' argument that society's failure to protect its children is the greatest threat to the human species. In 2012, Vachss' published ''Blackjack: A Cross Novel'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vachss.com/av_novels/blackjack.html |title=Blackjack: A Cross Novel |publisher=Vachss.com |access-date=2012-07-10}}</ref> featuring the mercenary Cross Crew, introduced in earlier Vachss short stories as Chicago's most-feared criminal gang. ''Urban Renewal'', the second novel in the Cross series, came out in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vachss.com/av_novels/urbanrenewal.html |title=Urban Renewal: A Cross Novel |publisher=Vachss.com |access-date=2015-08-29}}</ref> The third in the series, ''Drawing Dead'', was released in 2016.
In addition to the ''Aftershock'', ''Burke'', and ''Cross'' series, Vachss wrote several stand-alone works. The first novel he published outside the Burke series was ''Shella.'' Released in 1993, ''Shella'' was the most polarizing of his works in terms of critical response.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vachss.com/av_novels/shella.html |title=Shella |publisher=Vachss.com |access-date=2015-08-30}}</ref> Vachss often referred to ''Shella'' as his "beloved orphan"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/av_interviews/case_2004.html |title=The World As They See It: Andrew Vachss |publisher=Vachss.com |access-date=2015-08-30}}</ref> until the 2004 release of ''The Getaway Man'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vachss.com/getaway_man/index.html |title=The Getaway Man |publisher=Vachss.com |access-date=2015-08-30}}</ref> a tribute to the Gold Medal paperback originals of the 1960s. In 2005, Vachss released the epic ''Two Trains Running'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.twotrainsrunning.com |title=Two Trains Running |access-date=2015-08-30}}</ref> a novel which takes place entirely during a two-week span in 1959, a critical period in American history. In form, ''Two Trains Running'' presents as a work composed entirely of transcribed surveillance tapes,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/av_interviews/cobrapost.html |title=Reinventing Vachss, by Adam Dunn |access-date=2015-08-30}}</ref> akin to a collage film constructed only of footage from a single source. His 2009 novel, ''Haiku'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vachss.com/haiku |title=Haiku |publisher=Vachss.com |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> focuses on the troubled lives of a band of homeless men in New York City, struggling to connect with and protect each other. In 2010, Vachss published two books: his novel ''The Weight'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vachss.com/av_novels/weight.html |title=The Weight |publisher=Vachss.com |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> is a noir romance involving a professional thief and a young widow in hiding. ''Heart Transplant'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vachss.com/av_novels/heart.html |title=Heart Transplant |publisher=Vachss.com |date=October 19, 2010 |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> an illustrated novel in an experimental design, tells the story of an abused and bullied young boy who finds his inner strength with the help of an unexpected mentor. ''That's How I Roll'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vachss.com/av_novels/roll.html |title=That's How I Roll |publisher=Vachss.com |access-date=2012-03-06}}</ref> released in 2012, chronicles the death-row narrative of a hired killer as he reveals the secrets of his past, both horrifying and tender.
Vachss collaborated on works with authors Jim Colbert (''Cross'', 1995)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vachss.com/av_books/comics/cross.html |title=Cross (graphic series) |publisher=Vachss.com |date=May 18, 2012 |access-date=2012-05-18}}</ref> and Joe R. Lansdale (''Veil's Visit'', 1999).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vachss.com/av_books/short_stories/veils_visit.html |title=Veil's Visit |publisher=Vachss.com |date=May 18, 2012 |access-date=2012-05-18}}</ref> He also created illustrated works with artists Frank Caruso (''Heart Transplant'', 2010)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vachss.com/av_novels/heart.html |title=Heart Transplant |publisher=Vachss.com |date=May 18, 2012 |access-date=2012-05-18}}</ref> and Geof Darrow (''Another Chance to Get It Right'', 1993;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vachss.com/av_books/list_special.html |title=Another Chance to Get It Right |publisher=Vachss.com |date=May 18, 2012 |access-date=2012-05-18}}</ref> ''The Shaolin Cowboy Adventure Magazine'', 2014).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vachss.com/av_novels/noway.html |title=The Shaolin Cowboy Adventure Magazine|publisher=vachss.com |access-date=2015-08-30}}</ref> Vachss' graphic novel, ''Underground'', was released in November 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/10/27/preview-dark-horses-new-genre-visual-cinema-in-andrew-vachss-underground/ |title=Underground|publisher=bleedingcool.com |date=October 27, 2014 |access-date=2014-11-10}}</ref>
Vachss also wrote non-fiction, including numerous articles and essays on child protection<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/av_dispatches.html |title=Articles and essays on child protection |publisher=Vachss.com |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> and a book on juvenile criminology.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/y2bwrr3dW8I Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20151218223925/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2bwrr3dW8I Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2bwrr3dW8I |title=On designing prisons for violent youth, Andrew Vachss interview, 2009 |date=February 17, 2009 |publisher=Youtube.com |access-date=2012-02-02}}{{cbignore}}</ref> His books have been translated into 20 languages, and his shorter works have appeared in many publications, including ''Parade'', ''Antaeus'', ''Esquire'', ''Playboy'', and ''The New York Times''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.twotrainsrunning.com/about-vachss.html |title=Magazines |publisher=Twotrainsrunning.com |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> Vachss' literary awards include the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière for ''Strega'' [as ''La Sorcière de Brooklyn'']; the Falcon Award, Maltese Falcon Society of Japan, for ''Strega''; the Deutscher Krimi Preis for ''Flood'' [as ''Kata'']; and the Raymond Chandler Award for his body of work.
Andrew Vachss was a member of PEN and the Writers Guild of America. His autobiographical essay was added by invitation to ''Contemporary Authors'' in 2003.
=== Child protection === Many of Vachss' novels feature the shadowy, unlicensed investigator Burke, an ex-con, career criminal, and deeply conflicted character. About his protagonist, Vachss said:
{{blockquote|If you look at Burke closely, you'll see the prototypical abused child: hypervigilant, distrustful. He's so committed to his family of choice—not his DNA-biological family, which tortured him, or the state which raised him, but the family that he chose—that homicide is a natural consequence of injuring any of that family. He's not a hit man. But he shares the same religion I do, which is revenge.|Andrew Vachss, ''Horror Online'', May 1999.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.darkecho.com/darkecho/horroronline/vachss.html |title="Andrew Vachss: A Man Who Will Die Trying", by Paula Guran, ''Horror Online,'' May 1999 |publisher=Darkecho.com |access-date=2012-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213151250/http://www.darkecho.com/darkecho/horroronline/vachss.html |archive-date=2012-02-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref>}}
Vachss coined the phrase "''Children of the Secret''", which refers to abused children, of whatever age, who were victimized without ever experiencing justice, much less love and protection.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/av_interviews/buffalo_news_95.html |title=Children of the Secret |publisher=Vachss.com |date=November 13, 1995 |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> In the Burke novels, some of these Children of the Secret have banded together as adults into what Vachss called a "family of choice".<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/nop7SeuqzP0 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20160414023447/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nop7SeuqzP0 Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nop7SeuqzP0 |title=Andrew Vachss discusses his use of "family of choice", Family of Choice webcast, January 14, 2009 |date=February 17, 2009 |publisher=Youtube.com |access-date=2012-02-02}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Their connection is not biological, and they form very loyal bonds. Most are career criminals; none allows the law to come before the duty to family.
Vachss originated the term "''Circle of Trust.''"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/av_dispatches/circle.html |title=Abuse within the Circle of Trust |publisher=Vachss.com |date=2011 |access-date=2015-08-30}}</ref> which has since entered general circulation. Vachss coined the term to combat the mistaken over-emphasis on "stranger danger,"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/av_interviews/c_moore.html |title=Andrew Vachss Doesn't Fight Fair: A Conversation with Clayton Moore |publisher=Vachss.com |date=February 24, 2003 |access-date=2015-08-30}}</ref> a bias that prevents society from focusing on the most common way children are accessed for victimization:
{{blockquote|The biggest threat to children is always inside their houses. The predator with the ski-mask who grabs the kid out of a van, while a real thing, is a tiny percentage of those who prey upon children. Most victimization of children is within the ''Circle of Trust''—not necessarily a parent, but somebody who was let into that circle, who can be a counselor, or a coach, or someone at a day-care center. The biggest danger to children is that they're perceived as property, not human beings. | An Interview with Andrew Vachss, ''The AV Club'', November 1996.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/av_interviews/int_onion.html |title="An Interview with Andrew Vachss," by John Krewson |access-date=2015-08-30}}</ref>}}
Another term Vachss originated is "''Transcenders.''"
{{blockquote|I believe that many people who were abused as children do themselves—and the entire struggle—a disservice when they refer to themselves as "survivors." A long time ago, I found myself in the middle of a war zone. I was not killed. Hence, I "survived." That was happenstance ... just plain luck, not due to any greatness of character or heroism on my part. But what about those raised in a POW camp called "childhood?" Some of those children not only lived through it, not only refused to imitate the oppressor (evil is a decision, not a destiny), but actually maintained sufficient empathy to care about the protection of other children once they themselves became adults and were "out of danger." To me, such people are our greatest heroes. They represent the hope of our species, living proof that there is nothing bio–genetic about child abuse. I call them transcenders, because "surviving" (i.e., not dying from) child abuse is not the significant thing. It is when chance becomes choice that people distinguish themselves. Two little children are abused. Neither dies. One grows up and becomes a child abuser. The other becomes a child protector. One "passes it on." One "breaks the cycle." Should we call them both by the same name? Not in my book. (And not in my books, either.)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vachss.com/transcender.html |title=Survivors and Transcenders}}</ref>}}
=== Dogs === Another important theme that pervades Vachss' work is his love of dogs, particularly breeds considered "dangerous," such as Doberman pinschers, rottweilers, and especially pit bulls.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/av_interviews/int_blur.html |title="A Conversation with Andrew Vachss," ''Blur Magazine,'' March 1997 |publisher=Vachss.com |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> Throughout his writings,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/dogs/dog_stories/index.html |title=Dog stories |publisher=Vachss.com |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> Vachss asserted that with dogs, just as with humans, "you get what you raise."<ref>{{cite news|author =Ski apps |url=http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/ian-odoherty/goodbye-burke-hello-andrew-1606436.html |title="Goodbye Burke, Hello Andrew," ''The Independent,'' January 19, 2009 |publisher=Independent.ie |date= January 19, 2009|access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref>
{{blockquote|"There's a very specific formula for creating a monster," Vachss says. "It starts with chronic, unrelenting abuse. There's got to be societal notification and then passing on. The child eventually believes that what's being done is societally sanctioned. And after a while, empathy—which we have to learn, we're not born with it—cracks and dies. He feels only his own pain. There's your predatory sociopath." That's why Vachss posed for a recent publicity photo cradling his pit bull puppy. "You know what pit bulls are capable of, right?" he asks, referring to the animal's notorious killer reputation. "But they're also capable of being the most wonderful, sweet pets in the world, depending on how you raise them. That's all our children."|"Unleashing the Criminal Mind," ''San Francisco Examiner'', July 12, 1990.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/av_articles/rtcl_sfex.html |title="Unleashing the Criminal Mind," ''San Francisco Examiner,'' July 12, 1990 |publisher=Vachss.com |date=1990-07-12 |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref>}}
He was a passionate advocate against animal abuse such as dog-fighting,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vachss.com/dogs/dog_stories/dead_game.html |title="Dead Game," by Andrew Vachss |publisher=Vachss.com |access-date=2015-08-29}}</ref> and against breed-specific legislative bans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/media/righteous/ascione.html |title=Breed-specific legislation |publisher=Vachss.com |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> With fellow crime writer James Colbert, Vachss trained dogs to serve as therapy dogs for abused children. The dogs have a calming effect on traumatized children. Vachss noted that using these particular breeds further increases the victims' feelings of security; their "dangerous" appearance, in combination with the extensive therapy training, makes them excellent protection against human threats.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/dogs/vachss_dog.html |title=Training assistance dogs for child protection proceedings |publisher=Vachss.com |date=November 4, 1994 |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> During her time as chief prosecutor, Alice Vachss regularly brought one such trained dog, Sheba, to work with abused children being interviewed at the Special Victims Bureau.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/dogs/av_dogs/sheba.html |title=Sheba, child protection assistance dog |publisher=Vachss.com |date=November 12, 1989 |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref>
==Personal life== When Vachss was 7 years old, an older boy swung a chain at his right eye. The resulting injuries damaged the eye muscles and resulted in his wearing an eyepatch.<ref>Rahner, Mark [http://www.vachss.com/av_articles/seattle_times_2.html "Vachss' Work Emanates From His Own Cold Rage"] ''Seattle Times'' (October 15, 2000). Retrieved on 3-09-14.</ref> According to Vachss, his injured eye did not perceive light normally which led to a sensation like a strobe light flashing in his face when the eyepatch was removed; he attempted several surgeries to resolve the eye problem but none was successful.<ref>https://www.vachss.com/av_interviews/int_mean.html</ref>
Vachss had a small blue heart tattooed on his right hand.<ref>Dundas, Zach [http://www.vachss.com/av_articles/willametteweek.html "The Haunted World of Andrew Vachss"] ''Willamette Week'' (November 17, 1999). Retrieved on 2-09-13.</ref>
Vachss' wife, Alice, was a sex crimes prosecutor, and she later became Chief of the Special Victims Bureau in Queens, New York. She is the author of the nonfiction book ''Sex Crimes: Ten Years on the Front Lines Prosecuting Rapists and Confronting Their Collaborators'', a ''New York Times'' Notable Book of the Year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alicevachss.com |title=Alice Vachss website |publisher=Alicevachss.com |access-date=2012-02-02}}</ref> She has continued her work as Special Prosecutor for Sex Crimes in rural Oregon.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.alicevachss.com/sex-crimes.html|title=Sex Crimes: Then and Now|publisher=alicevachss.com |date=May 1, 2016|access-date=2017-07-06}}</ref>
He died of coronary artery disease on November 23, 2021, at the age of 79 at his residence in Pacific Northwest.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Genzlinger|first=Neil|date=January 16, 2022|title=Andrew Vachss, Children's Champion in Court and Novels, Dies at 79|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/16/obituaries/andrew-vachss-dead.html|access-date=2022-01-17|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://vachss.com/index.php|title=Vachss.com|accessdate=December 28, 2021}}</ref>
== Honors and awards ==
=== Professional honors and awards ===
*A/V Peer Review (highest rating) by Martindale-Hubbell<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/vachss/m-h.html|title=A/V Martindale-Hubbell rating}}</ref> *2004, LL.D. (Hon.) Case Western Reserve University<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vachss.com/vachss/cwru_degree.html|title=LL.D (honoris causa) Case Western University, 2004}}</ref> *2003, First Annual Harvey R. Houck Award (Justice for Children) *2003, First Annual Illuminations Award (St. Vincent's Center National Child Abuse Prevention Program) *1994, Childhelp Congressional Award<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vachss.com/support/childhelp.html|title=Childhelp Congressional Award, 1994}}</ref> *1976, John Hay Whitney Foundation Fellow *1970, Industrial Areas Foundation Training Institute Fellow
=== Literary honors and awards ===
*2000, Raymond Chandler Award, Giurìa a Noir in Festival, Courmayeur, Italy, for body of writing<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.noirfest.com/2014/chandlerhawards.asp|title=Raymond Chandler Award, 2000}}</ref> *1989, Deutscher Krimi Preis, Die Jury des Bochumer Krimi Archivs, Germany, for ''Flood'' (as ''Kata'') *1989, Maltese Falcon Award, Japan, for ''Strega'' *1988, Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, France, for ''Strega'' (as ''La Sorciere de Brooklyn'')
== Bibliography ==
=== ''The Burke series'' === #''Flood'' (1985) #''Strega'' (1987) #''Blue Belle'' (1988) #''Hard Candy'' (1989) #''Blossom'' (1990) #''Sacrifice'' (1991) #''Down in the Zero'' (1994) #''Footsteps of the Hawk'' (1995) #''False Allegations'' (1996) #''Safe House'' (1998) #''Choice of Evil'' (1999) #''Dead and Gone'' (2000) #''Pain Management'' (2001) #''Only Child'' (2002) #''Down Here'' (2004) #''Mask Market'' (2006) #''Terminal'' (2007) #''Another Life'' (2008)
=== ''The Cross series'' ===
#''Blackjack: A Cross Novel'' (2012) #''Urban Renewal: A Cross Novel'' (2014) #''Drawing Dead: A Cross Novel'' (2016)
=== ''The Aftershock trilogy'' ===
#''Aftershock'' (2013) #''Shockwave'' (2014) #''Signwave'' (2015)
=== Other novels ===
*''Shella'' (1993) *''Batman: The Ultimate Evil'' (1995) *''The Getaway Man'' (2003) *''Two Trains Running'' (2005) *''Haiku'' (2009) *''The Weight'' (2010) *''A Bomb Built in Hell'' (Written 1973 and set in the Burke universe, but refused by publishers as too violent; first published as a German translation, ''Eisgott,'' in 2003, and an English publication in 2012) *''That's How I Roll'' (2012) *''Carbon'' (2019) *''Blood Line'' (2022)
=== Novelettes ===
*''The Questioner'' (2018)
=== Short story collections ===
*''Born Bad'' (1994) *''Everybody Pays'' (1999) *''Proving It'' (2001) audiobook collection. *''Dog Stories'' – online collection. *''Mortal Lock'' (2013)
=== Comic books and graphic novels ===
*''Hard Looks'' (1992–93) – ten-issue series. *''Andrew Vachss' Underground'' (1993–1994) – four-issue series of illustrated and non-illustrated short stories. Contains Vachss' "Underground" stories (that are also featured in ''Born Bad''), as well as stories by other authors that exist within Vachss' "Underground" world. *''Batman: The Ultimate Evil'' (1995) – two-issue adaptation of the novel. *''Cross'' (1995) – seven-issue series with James Colbert. *''Predator: Race War'' (1993) – five-issue series; (1995) collected edition. *''Alamaailma'' (1997) – Finnish graphic novel, illustrating two of the "Underground" short stories from ''Born Bad''. *''Hard Looks'' (1996, 2002) – trade paperback. *''Another Chance To Get It Right: A Children's Book for Adults'' (1993, 1995) (reprinted with additional material and new cover, 2003, 2016) *''Heart Transplant'' (2010) *''Underground'' (2014)
=== Plays === *''Placebo'' (in ''Antaeus'', 1991) *''Warlord'' (in ''Born Bad'', 1994) *''Replay'' (in ''Born Bad'', 1994)
=== Non-fiction === *''The Life-Style Violent Juvenile: The Secure Treatment Approach'' (Lexington, 1979) *''The Child Abuse-Delinquency Connection — A Lawyer's View'' (Lexington, 1989) *''Parade Magazine'' articles (1985–2006)
{{portal|Novels}}
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == <!-- Per WP:ELMINOFFICIAL, choose one official website only --> {{Wikiquote}} * {{official website|http://www.vachss.com/}}, The Zero * [http://www.kboo.fm/node/5360 KBOO Portland radio interview] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20101218204930/http://chuckpalahniuk.net/interviews/authors/andrew-vachss ''The Cult'' interview by Rob W. Hart] * [http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/ian-odoherty/goodbye-burke-hello-andrew-1606436.html ''The Independent (Ireland)'' interview by Ian O'Doherty] *[http://www.vachss.com/av_interviews/au.pdf Interview of Andrew Vachss on his final Burke novel] {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vachss, Andrew}} Category:1942 births Category:2021 deaths Category:20th-century American novelists Category:21st-century American novelists Category:American crime fiction writers Category:American graphic novelists Category:American legal writers Category:American male novelists Category:Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award winners Category:Case Western Reserve University alumni Category:Child abuse Category:Lawyers from New York City Category:Maltese Falcon Award winners Category:People with visual impairments Category:Writers from Manhattan Category:American male essayists Category:People of the Nigerian Civil War Category:American expatriates in Nigeria Category:American male short story writers Category:20th-century American short story writers Category:21st-century American short story writers Category:21st-century American essayists Category:20th-century American male writers Category:21st-century American male writers Category:Novelists from New York (state) Category:20th-century American essayists Category:American writers with disabilities