Hiaasen, << HY uh suhn, >> Carl (1953-…), is an American novelist and journalist known for his satirical novels set in his home state of Florida. Hiaasen’s stories are wildly comic, but they also reflect his outrage at the corruption and hypocrisy he sees in Florida society. Many of Hiaasen’s novels attack the reckless destruction of the Florida environment by greedy corporations and politicians.
Hiaasen joined The Miami Herald as a general assignment reporter in 1976 and eventually became an investigative reporter. He was a columnist for the newspaper from 1985 to 2021. Hiaasen has drawn on his observations as a journalist for his fiction. Hiaasen’s first satirical novel was Tourist Season (1986). It was followed by Double Whammy (1987), Skin Tight (1989), Native Tongue (1991), Strip Tease (1993), Stormy Weather (1995), Lucky You (1997), Sick Puppy (2000), Basket Case (2002), Skinny Dip (2004), Nature Girl (2006), Star Island (2010), Bad Monkey (2013), and Razor Girl (2016). He also wrote the novels Hoot (2002), Flush (2005), Scat (2009), Chomp (2012), Skink—No Surrender (2014) and Squirm (2018) for young readers.
Hiaasen was born on March 12, 1953, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He graduated from the University of Florida with a B.S. degree in 1974. Hiaasen began his career as a novelist by acting as co-author with journalist William Montalbano on three mystery thrillers—Powder Burn (1981), Trap Line (1982), and A Death in China (1984). Hiaasen’s newspaper columns have been published in such collections as Paradise Screwed (2001) and Dance of the Reptiles (2014). He also wrote a nonfiction book critical of the Walt Disney Company called Team Rodent: How Disney Devours the World (1998), as well as a nonfiction account of his experiences as a clumsy amateur golfer in The Downhill Lie: A Hacker’s Return to a Ruinous Sport (2008).
