Thomas Harris

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Lore & Background

Thomas Harris was born in Jackson, Tennessee, but moved as a child with his family to Rich, Mississippi. He was introverted and bookish in grade school and then blossomed in high school. He attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he majored in English and graduated in 1964. While in college, he worked as a reporter for the local newspaper, the Waco Tribune-Herald, covering the police beat. In 1968, he moved to New York City to work for the Associated Press until 1974 when he began work on his debut novel, Black Sunday. Harris avoids publicity and participated in few interviews between 1976 and 2019. At Baylor University, he met fellow student Harriet Anne Haley and they married in June 1961. They had one daughter, Elizabeth Anne, and divorced in August 1968. Harris remained close to his mother, Polly, and called her every night no matter where he was. He often discussed particular scenes from his novels with her. Polly died on December 31, 2011. As of 1991, Harris lived in South Florida and had a summer home in Sag Harbor, New York. His partner as of 1999 was Pace Barnes, who, according to USA Today, worked in publishing and 'is as outgoing as he is quiet.' Harris' friend and literary agent Morton Janklow described him as 'wonderfully jovial' and a passionate chef, with 'a courtliness you associate with the South.' In his first major interview in 43 years, with The New York Times in 2019 to promote Cari Mora, Harris said he was a nature lover, and a long-time visitor and volunteer of the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station, an animal rescue center in Miami, Florida, for 20 years. The staff were not aware of Harris's fame until a few years before the 2019 interview. He described fame as 'more of a nuisance than anything else.'

Reader's Guide

Thomas Harris's significance comes from his creation of the Hannibal Lecter series of suspense novels. The most famous of these, The Silence of the Lambs (1988), received positive reviews, won several genre awards, and sold over 10 million copies. Its follow-up, Hannibal (1999), received high praise from Stephen King, but John Lanchester said it had a 'sense of discontinuity.' The novelist John Dunning said Harris was 'a talent of the first rank.' In 2019, Harris elaborated on his process, described as 'almost passive,' by saying: 'Sometimes you really have to shove and grunt and sweat. Some days you go to your office and you're the only one who shows up, none of the characters show up, and you sit there by yourself, feeling like an idiot. And some days everybody shows up ready to work. You have to show up at your office every day. If an idea comes by, you want to be there to get it in.' In 2007, Harris was presented with a Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement. His novels have sold more than 50 million copies overall, and the majority have been adapted into films and television. His works include Black Sunday (1975), Cari Mora (2019), and the Hannibal Lecter novels: Red Dragon (1981), The Silence of the Lambs (1988), Hannibal (1999), and Hannibal Rising (2006; prequel). He also wrote the screenplay for Hannibal Rising (2007).

Did You Know?

• Harris worked as a reporter covering the police beat for the Waco Tribune-Herald while attending Baylor University.
• He called his mother, Polly, every night no matter where he was, and often discussed specific scenes from his novels with her.
• Harris volunteered at the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station in Miami, Florida, for 20 years, and the staff did not know he was famous until a few years before 2019.
• His debut novel, Black Sunday, was begun in 1974 after he left the Associated Press.
• The Silence of the Lambs was the third film to win Academy Awards in all five major categories.