Evan Alan Wright (December 12, 1964 – July 12, 2024) was an American writer, known for his reporting on subcultures forRolling Stone andVanity Fair.^[1] He was best known for his book on theIraq War,Generation Kill (2004). He also wrote an exposé about a topCIA officer who allegedly worked as aMafia hitman,How to Get Away with Murder in America (2012).^[2]

Evan Wright
Wright in 2008
Born	(1964-12-12)December 12, 1964 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Died	July 12, 2024(2024-07-12) (aged 59) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Vassar College
Occupation	Writer
Notable work	Generation Kill,Hella Nation,American Desperado
Television	Generation Kill
Spouse	Kelly Wright
Children	3
Awards	TwoNational Magazine Awards

Although some compare his writings to those ofHunter S. Thompson, Wright claimed his biggest literary influences were authorsMark Twain andChristopher Isherwood.^[3]The New York Times called his military writing "nuanced and grounded in details often overlooked in daily journalistic accounts" and noted his use of "gallows humor".^[4]

Wright was born inCleveland, Ohio, on December 12, 1964,^[5] and grew up inWilloughby, Ohio. Both of his parents were lawyers. His father was a prosecutor, then the general counsel for a utility. Wright attendedHawken School,^[6] but was expelled for sellingcannabis and sent to a home forjuvenile delinquents calledThe Seed.^[3] He returned to Hawken and made state debate finals in high school. Wright studied atJohns Hopkins University and atVassar College; he graduated from Vassar with a degree in medieval history.^[7] His first writing job was to interview South African political leaderMangosuthu Buthelezi, but it was for a small magazine that did not pay.^[6]

Wright died by suicide via firearm at his home in Los Angeles on July 12, 2024, at the age of 59.^[5][8][9]

In 1995, Wright became the entertainment editor and chiefpornographic film reviewer forHustler magazine. In 2000, he wrote about the experience and the issues surrounding the pornography industry in an article forSalon, titled "Maxed Out",^[10] and for theLA Weekly, in a cover story titled "Scenes from My Life in Porn".^[11]

Starting in 1996 atHustler, then atRolling Stone,Time, andVanity Fair, Wright wrote long features based on his immersion in subcultures ranging fromradical environmentalists toneo-Nazis. Many of his essays focused on crimes or controversial figures, and were said by him to capture a "dark, untamed America" that resembled "theWild West".^[12] Several of his essays were collected in the bookHella Nation, which Wright called a "sort of autobiography".^[3] His essays inHella Nation were compared toJoan Didion's writings on California.^[13] Another reviewer calledHella Nation a "comically macabre portrait of American life".^[14]

In 2002, Wright went to Afghanistan on assignment forRolling Stone.^[7]

In 2003, he was embedded with the1st Reconnaissance Battalion of theUnited States Marine Corps during the early stages of the2003 invasion of Iraq.^[15] Wright spent his entire time embedded in a recon team led by then-SergeantBrad Colbert. He was under fire with the Marines for several weeks, and accompanied them "on point" (i.e., in the lead vehicle). One of the Marines in the unit toldThe New York Times, "He was in the worst possible place to have a reporter. During the first firefight, he took 10 rounds in his door."^[4] Wright expressed admiration for the Marines, but warned them that a reporter's motto is "charm and betray." He published a series of articles forRolling Stone magazine titled "The Killer Elite" which, in 2004, received theNational Magazine Award for Reporting, the top prize in magazine writing. He then wroteGeneration Kill.^[16]

In 2007, he returned to Iraq whenthe surge in U.S. forces was beginning. Wright interviewed GeneralDavid Petraeus and spent several weeks embedded with U.S. troops in Baghdad, Ramadi, and Diwania. He later criticized American television media for promoting misperceptions of the war. He also criticized some U.S. political leaders, includingSenate Majority LeaderHarry Reid, for calling the surge a failure before it had been fully implemented.^[17]

HBO adaptedGeneration Kill into an eponymous televisionminiseries first aired in 2008; Wright is portrayed byLee Tergesen. Wright himself served as a writer and consulting producer on the project, collaborating closely with Emmy-winning producerDavid Simon.^[18]

Wright was hired byParamount to write a script about Miami's "Cocaine Cowboys"Jon Roberts andMickey Munday forPeter Berg to direct. The screenplay was based on a book Wright wrote about Roberts, published by Crown Books.^[19] ActorMark Wahlberg was producing the film with plans to star in it, but the film did not make it out of preproduction.^[20][21]

In 2010, it was announced that directorOle Bornedal was filming a movie^[22] inspired by an article Wright wrote forTime magazine called "Death of a Hostess".^[23] Wright's article was a profile of Japanese serial-rapist and killerJoji Obara he wrote in Tokyo forTime magazine.^[24]

In 2012, he released the bookAmerican Desperado,^[2][25] co-written withJon Roberts, who was featured in the documentaryCocaine Cowboys.^[26] In 2024, he appeared in the documentaryTeen Torture, Inc, during which he discussed his time atThe Seed, an earlytroubled teen industry program.^[27]

At least six of the Marines Wright wrote about inGeneration Kill have claimed they were punished for the remarks he published. Spokesman Lieutenant Nathan Braden denied that any Marines were punished as a result of Wright's work.^[7]

In 2004, Wright wrote an op-ed inThe New York Times criticizing the U.S. military for allowing Iraq's insurgents to obtain weapons.^[28]

Wright criticized collegecreative writing programs, saying such programs produce bad writers.^[3]

• "Mad Dogs & Lawyers", forRolling Stone, republished inThe Best American Crime Writing: 2003 Edition: The Year's Best True Crime Reporting^[29]
• "The Killer Elite", forRolling Stone, republished inThe Best American Magazine Writing: 2004 (Best Reporting)^[15]
• Generation Kill (2004)^[30]
• Hella Nation (2009)^[30]
• American Desperado (withJon Roberts) (2011)^[31]
• The Best American Magazine Writing: 2008 (Best Profile Writing)^[32]
• How to Get Away with Murder in America (2012)^[33]

• 2004:Los Angeles Times Book Prize forGeneration Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America and the New Face of American War^[34]
• 2004:National Magazine Award for Reporting, the top prize in magazine writing^[15]
• 2005:J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize from theColumbia University School of Journalism and theNieman Foundation^[35]
• 2005: PEN USA Literary Award in research nonfiction forGeneration Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America and the New Face of American War^[36]
• 2005: General Wallace M. Greene, Jr., Award from the U.S. Marine Corps Heritage Society for writing the Best History of the Marine Corps^[37]
• 2008: National Magazine Award for Profile Writing for hisVanity Fair profile titled "Pat Dollard's War on Hollywood"^[38]

• "Evan Wright's interview".Columbia Journalism Review.
• AnExcerpt of "Pat Dollard's War on Hollywood" fromThe Best American Magazine Writing 2008
• Evan Wright atIMDb
• "Evan Wright".Goodreads.
• Appearances onC-SPAN