Michael Koryta (pronounced Ko-ree-ta) is the New York Times-bestselling author of suspense novels. His work has been praised by Stephen King, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Dean Koontz, James Patterson, Dennis Lehane, Daniel Woodrell, Ron Rash, and Megan Abbott among many others, and has been translated into more than 20 languages. His books have won or been nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Edgar® Award, Shamus Award, Barry Award, Quill Award, International Thriller Writers Award, and the Golden Dagger. They’ve been selected as “best books of the year” by publications as diverse as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Amazon, Oprah Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, People, Reader’s Digest, iBooks, and Kirkus Reviews.
His novel Those Who Wish Me Dead was adapted into a major motion picture starring Angelina Jolie, Jon Bernthal, Aidan Gillen, and Tyler Perry. It was directed by Taylor Sheridan, of Yellowstone fame. A feature film version of his ghost story So Cold the River was filmed in 2020, starring Bethany Joy Lenz and Andrew West.
Michael’s previous work includes a trio of supernatural novels—So Cold the River, The Cypress House, and The Ridge, which were all named New York Times notable books of the year and earned starred reviews from Publishers Weekly. He now writes his supernatural thrillers under the pen name Scott Carson, including such acclaimed titles as Lost Man's Lane (Amazon's "best thriller of the year so far" in 2024), The Chill, and Where They Wait. He began his career with a series of award-winning novels featuring private investigator Lincoln Perry—Tonight I Said Goodbye, Sorrow’s Anthem, A Welcome Grave, and The Silent Hour.
Before turning to writing full-time, Michael worked as a private investigator and as a newspaper reporter, and taught at the Indiana University School of Journalism. His first novel, the Edgar-nominated Tonight I Said Goodbye was accepted for publication when he was 20 years old. He wrote his first two published novels before graduating from college, and was published in nearly 10 languages before he fulfilled the “writing requirement” classes required for his diploma.
Michael was raised in Bloomington, Indiana, and currently divides his time between Bloomington and Camden, Maine.
