For Fatherâs Day, 9 famous writer dads and their awesome authorial offspring
While some dads were busy tossing the ball around with their kids, these literary fathers instilled a love of literature into their children â a love so deep, in fact, that they followed in their fatherâs footsteps to become writers themselves. For Fatherâs Day, a sampler of literary lineage:
Writer kid: Martin Amis
- Twice shortlisted for the Booker Prize, in 2008 he took 19th place on the Times list of 50 greatest British writers since 1945. (His dad came in 9th.)
- Amis is a real love-him or hate-him writer known for his controversial, eyebrow-raising commentary and sharp tongue. From his first novel, the comedic âThe Rachel Papers:â âSurely, nice things are dull, and nasty things are funny. The nastier a thing is, the funnier it gets.â
- Start with: âMoney: A Suicide Note.â
John Cheever (born 1912, died 1982) was a 20th century literary giant. His daughter Susan Cheever became a prolific and formidable author in her own right.
Writer kid: Susan Cheever
- Cheever has written both fiction and nonfiction, including a book about her dad, âHome Before Dark: A Biographical Memoir of John Cheever.â
- Sheâs also written prolifically about addiction; titles include "Note Found in a Bottle: My Life As a Drinker," "My Name Is Bill. Bill Wilson: His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous" and "Drinking in America: Our Secret History."
- Start with: This Vanity Fair essay in which Cheever remembers how E.E.Cummings, of whom she wrote a biography, ârocked her teenage world.â
William F. Buckley (born 1925, died 2008) was a conservative icon and founder of the magazine the National Review. His son Christopher (born 1952) became a writer with a keen eye for political satire.
Writer kid: Christopher Buckley
- Considering his lineage, it may come as a surprise (or none at all) that Buckley grew up to write humor and satire, including the book âLittle Green Men,â which sends up a Beltway talk-show host.
- His book âThank You For Smoking,â about Beltway lobbyists, was made into a film directed by
Jason Reitman . - Start with: his presidential endorsement in the Daily Beast titled âSorry, Dad, Iâm Voting for Obama,â which proves youâre never too old to rebel.
Literary critic Anatole Broyard (born 1920, died 1990) kept his black heritage secret. His daughter Bliss wrote a book about finding out.
Writer kid: Bliss Broyard
- In âOne Drop: My Fatherâs Hidden Life â a Story of Race and Family Secrets,â Broyard writes about reckoning with her fatherâs choice and uncovering her family history.
- The shadow of a writer-father can loom long, or perhaps serve as inspiration. Broyardâs first book, âMy Father, Dancing,â is a collection of stories about fathers and daughters.
- Start with: The memoir âOne Drop: My Fatherâs Hidden Life â a Story of Race and Family Secrets.â
Joseph Heller (born 1923, died 1999) is best known for his war satire âCatch-22,â which sold 10 million copies in his lifetime. His daughter Ericaâs memoir dishes about what it was like growing up with a literary lion.
Writer kid: Erica Heller
- Hellerâs memoir follows the real-life ripples of her fatherâs first novelâs success; an L.A. times review hailed it as "all a reader needs to get the feel for the man who wrote, and lived with having written, âCatch-22â."
- After reading the manuscript for her fatherâs second novel, âSomething Happened,â Heller wrote that she felt stung by a character she assumed was based on her. Her fatherâs reply, âWhat makes you think youâre interesting enough to write about?â
- Start with: âYossarian Slept Here: When Joseph Heller Was Dad, the Apthorp Was Home, and Life Was a Catch-22.â
In his plays, Arthur Miller (born 1915, died 2005) dramatized the anxieties of the American middle class. His daughter Rebecca has penned both novels and screenplays that range in tone and genre.
Writer kid: Rebecca Miller
- Miller has written two novels, "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee" and "Jacob's Folly," and the short story collection âPersonal Velocity.â She has also written and directed five feature films.
- Married to
Daniel Day-Lewis , Miller directed her husband in âThe Ballad of Jack and Rose,â for which she also wrote the script. Her latest film is 2015âs âMaggieâs Planâ starringGreta Gerwig and Ethan Hawke. - Start with: the novel âJacobâs Folly,â which is narrated by a French ladiesâ man reincarnated as a fly.
James Wright (born 1927, died 1980) was a celebrated postmodern American poet. His son Franz (born 1953, died 2015) matched his father in both talent and reputation â they are the only father and son to have each won the
Writer kid: Franz Wright
- Wright won the Pulitzer Prize in poetry for his 2003 collection "Walking to Martha's Vineyard."
- When he sent some of his early poems to his father, the elder Wright replied, âYou're a poet. Welcome to hell."
- Start with: âThe Before Life,â a Pulitzer finalist in 2002.
Andre Dubus II (born 1936, died 1999) is best known for his emotionally complex short fiction. His son, Andre Dubus III (born in 1959), for his engrossing novels, including âHouse of Sand and Fog.â
Writer kid: Andre Dubus III
- Dubusâ novel âHouse of Sand and Fogâ was both a bestseller and a finalist for the National Book Award.
- âHouse of Sand and Fogâ was also made into a film starring Ben Kingsley and Shohreh Aghdashloo, both nominated for Academy Awards for their performances.
- Start with: âTownie: A Memoir,â about his childhood in Massachusetts, his mother and father, and becoming a writer himself.
Writer kid(s): Joe Hill and Owen King
- Both sons have written fiction in short form and long form. Owen King has penned a graphic novel; Joe Hill earned an Eisner Award for his comic-book series "Locke & Key."
- Like his father, Joe has had his work adapted for the screen: âHornsâ was made into a film starring
Daniel Radcliffe . - Owen collaborated with his father on the novel âSleeping Beauties,â coming in September 2017.
- Start with: Joe Hillâs recent novel, âThe Fireman.â
- Start with: Owen Kingâs first novel, âDouble Feature.â
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