Photo: David Shankbone / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Jay McInerney is one of those writers I associate with a specific moment -- Bright Lights, Big City practically bottled 1980s New York nightlife, and that second-person voice still feels daring to me. What I find compelling is that he didn't burn out as a one-book sensation; Ransom, Story of My Life, Brightness Falls, and The Last of the Savages show a novelist who kept working the seam between glamour and disillusionment. The Williams College grad turned columnist and wine critic strikes me as a genuine man of letters. Winning the Lucien Barrière prize in 2007 says his reputation traveled well beyond the early hype.
Overview
John Barrett "Jay" McInerney Jr. (; born January 13, 1955) is an American novelist, screenwriter, editor, and columnist. His novels include Bright Lights, Big City, Ransom, Story of My Life, Brightness Falls, and The Last of the Savages.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Jay McInerney
- Name (Japanese)
- ジェイ・マキナニー
- Reading
- じぇい・まきなにー
- Born
- January 13, 1955 (age 71)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Goat
- Origin
- Hartford, Connecticut, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- writer / novelist / screenwriter / opinion journalist
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Williams College
Awards & achievements
- 2007 Lucien Barrière Literary Award
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Writer — see all → · Novelist — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.