Talent + grit = How Dennis Lehane made it


Dennis Lehane, MFA ’01 was honored with the 2018 Lawrence A. Sanders Award for Fiction.

The crime and mystery writer talked about his career and time at FIU at a ceremony last month.

Lehane earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from FIU’s Creative Writing Program. He is best known for his novels turned movies, including Mystic River, Gone, Baby, Gone, and Shutter Island. Lehane has also written for the acclaimed HBO series The Wire and Boardwalk Empire.

The Lawrence A. Sanders Award for Fiction is awarded annually by the Creative Writing Program to a fiction writer whose work combines literary excellence with popular appeal. Past award recipients include Scott Turow, Isabelle Allende, Richard Ford, Amy Tan and Tim O’Brien. Lehane is the only FIU alumnus to earn the award.