One of the contemporary American authors who has made a mark in the literary field is Jack Ketchum whose notable works include the novel “The Girl Next Door”. Written about 20 years back, the novel is the fourth publication of the author which is said to be based on the murder case of Sylvia Likens in the 1960s who was killed by a single mother named, Gertrude Beniszewski, under whom she was left by her parents.

Ketchum’s story follows the similar line up of events, where Ruth and Meg are projected as Sylvia and Gertrude respectively. The story expressed through Jack Ketchum’s style intrigued readers which lead to the huge popularity of the book. Its success has been retraced again in 2007 when a film was made called “Jack Ketchum’s The Girl Next Door” by director Gregory Wilson. The film was also screened in several film festivals.

Dallas Mayr, is the original writer who publishes under the pseudonym Jack Ketchum. His writing career began in 1984 with the publication of his novel “Off Season” which was followed by Cover, Red, Joyride, She Wakes, The Lost and others, besides writing a number of short stories. While he was thrashed by the Village Voice critic for showing violent pornography, he also received much praise from the literary icons like Stephen king. He had also bagged prestigious awards for his short stories.

His fame scaled high when The Lost, Red and Offspring were also made into films. This summer he will be the guest lecturer at the odyssey Writing Workshop.

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