The Author
Roger Hobbs
1988 — 2016 · A life lived in fast-forward.
Roger Hobbs was an American novelist whose debut, Ghostman, made him an international bestseller at twenty-four and the youngest-ever recipient of the Crime Writers' Association's Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award at twenty-five.
He was born in 1988 and raised in Portland, Oregon. He wrote his first professionally produced play at nineteen, published in The New York Times at twenty, and optioned a Hollywood film at twenty-one. He graduated from Reed College in 2010 with a degree in literary studies.
His second novel, Vanishing Games, was published by Knopf in 2015 and was longlisted for the Wilbur and Niso Smith Prize. He died in November 2016, aged twenty-eight.
His work has been translated into more than a dozen languages.
Roger Hobbs · Portland, Oregon
Milestones
A life in seven moments.
19
First play professionally produced
Age · 2007
20
First piece published in The New York Times
Age · 2008
21
Optioned a Hollywood film deal
Age · 2009
22
Graduated from Reed College
Age · 2010
23
Signed a book deal with Knopf
Age · 2011
24
International bestseller with Ghostman
Age · 2013
25
Youngest-ever winner of the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger
Age · 2014
In Roger's Memory
Honor his legacy.
You are invited to make a donation in honor of Roger Hobbs to support the educational programs of the Philadelphia Young Playwrights, a non-profit arts organization that helps young writers discover their voices. Roger's first play "Not Another Divine Comedy" won 1st place from this organization in 2007.