J. P. Donleavy

James Patrick Donleavy, popularly known as J. P. Donleavy, (23 April 1926 – 11 September 2017) was an American-Irish author, short story writer, novelist, and playwright. Known for his usage of dark humor in his writings, he first achieved critical acclaim with his picaresque novel The Ginger Man, published in 1955 in Paris. The novel is an international bestseller, having sold 50 million copies worldwide, and is one of the best-selling books of all time. It has never been out of print and has been translated into more than 30 languages. It was subsequently named by the Modern Library in 1998 as "one of the 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century."

Donleavy is also the author of A Fairy Tale of New York, published in 1973, and The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B, published in 1968. He received the Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award, funded by Bord Gáis Energy, for his contributions to Irish literature in 2015.