“The Many Faces of Donald E. Westake”: Extensive 1988 interview from The Armchair Detective

Thanks to reader Colin, we can now read and enjoy this in-depth interview with Donald Westlake from the Fall 1988 issue of The Armchair Detective.

The interview was conducted by the late mystery writer William L. DeAndrea, who had previously expressed his admiration by penning an introduction to a library-oriented edition of The Score.

At sixteen pages, it’s quite possible that it’s the most extensive Westlake interview ever published. So while it hits on some material that will be familiar to readers of this site (the origin of Parker, the Smith Corona typewriter), it also covers a lot of ground that will likely be new to you.

Topics include:

• Westlake movie projects, filmed and unfilmed.
• How did The Stepfather end up so good?
• Comfort Station, Up Your Banners, Under an English Heaven, and other lesser-known works.
• The Tucker Coe novels.
• The non-existent Parker novel Child Heist.

…and much, much more.

Don’t be intimidated by the length. You’ll find the whole thing fascinating. This is a reasonably major find, and I’m mighty pleased to be presenting it. Thanks again to Colin.

“The Many Faces of Donald E. Westlake” by William L. DeAndrea

(The PDF is pretty big, so you’re likely better off downloading it rather than trying to read it in the viewer.)