Since his time at IU, author Michael Koryta has fulfilled his dream of becoming an award-winning author. The Bloomington resident releases his eleventh book, “Last Words,” today and will have a signing at Barnes and Noble on Saturday.
Koryta is an IU alumnus, a former IU School of Journalism adjunct professor and a former private detective for the city of Bloomington. Growing up in Bloomington, he started his journalism career working part time at the Herald Times while in high school. He continued working part time as the police beat reporter while studying criminal justice at IU.
“My newspaper experience was all my education unto itself,” Korya said. “I got to learn about so many walks of life which served as inspiration as a fiction writer.”
These experiences collectively have been the basis of inspiration for all of Koryta’s literary works. The most recent book focuses on a fictional private investigator from Florida sent to a town in the middle of nowhere Indiana to work on a 10-year-old cold case.
The idea for “Last Words” came from the Innocence Project, a national litigation and public policy organization developed by Northwestern University. The Innocence Project is dedicated to clearing criminal records of wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. Koryta was fascinated by the organization, especially when working as a private investigator and thought it was a great basis for the fictional story.
Looking back, Koryta said his time at IU was incredibly valuable. He said the size of the community is just right to have professional opportunities.
The mix of what Bloomington brings offers these opportunities without making the market too difficult to navigate, Koryta said .
Some of Koryta’s previous literary works have had film adaptations, but Koryta said he is not interested in selling the rights to this particular piece at the moment. The majority of his other novels featured a comical protagonist, different from the very serious protagonist in “Last Words.” Koryta said he is wary of giving up the rights to a character that he sees in such a specific light.
In contrast to a film adaptation, Koryta said he sees this novel becoming a premium cable production. Referencing season 1 of “True Detective,” Koryta said he would like “Last Words” to have a long form format for its perceived audience.
Currently Koryta’s involvement with IU only includes going to IU basketball games, but this does not take away from his enormous pride for going to the University in the first place, Koryta said.
In 2008 he was honored as a “distinguished young alumni” by IU, and in 2010 he was named a “distinguished alumni” by the criminal justice department.
Even after receiving various writing awards throughout his career, Koryta said the idea of influencing aspiring authors is still a scary idea.
“The one thing I’ve always been very conscious of is people going out of their way to make time for me,” Koryta said. “That’s why I got such an early start, from that process of someone showing genuine curiosity.”
Coming to Bloomington as part of his book tour, is fun and stressful Koryta said. On one side, he said he feels the support of the town. Yet on the other hand there is also the pressure from the multiple ringers .
“Here in Bloomington I can’t escape the reality of the times that I screwed up,” Koryta said. “They know me too well.”
Fulfilling his dream since the age of 8 years old, the only thing Koryta said he would like to say to his readers is thank you. Having the ability to have a release week for his novel is the most rewarding experience, Koryta said.
The upcoming event is also a fundraiser for the Exotic Feline Rescue Center. Proceeds from books sold at the event will be donated to the center. This center is a charity program that to which Koryta frequently donates his efforts.
“Writing is a lonely profession, and these couple of weeks allow me to meet the people that read my books,” Koryta said. “This is a very humbling experience.”
