Justin Cronin (born 1962) is an American author. He has written three novels: Mary and O'Neil, The Summer Guest and The Passage. Awards he's won for his fiction include the PEN/Hemingway Award, the Stephen Crane Prize, and the Whiting Writer's Award.
Born and raised in New England, Cronin is a graduate of Harvard University and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He taught creative writing and was the 'Author in-residence' at La Salle University in Philadelphia, PA from 1992 - 2005. He currently lives with his wife and children in Houston, Texas where he is Professor of English at Rice University.
The Houston Chronicle reports that Cronin's recent book deal for a post-apocalyptic vampire trilogy earned him close to $3.75 million dollars. The first book of the series, called The Passage, was released in June 2010. It garnered mainly favorable reviews.
The New York Times reports that Fox 2000 has purchased the film rights to the first book in the trilogy for approximately US$1.75 million. Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions paid US$1.75 million for the film rights, and it is predicted that he will direct the film. Initially Cronin was asking for US$3 million for outright purchase of the rights to the films as opposed to an option deal. Along with Fox 2000, three other studios were bidding for the rights, Universal, Warner Brothers and Sony, with prices around $1.25 million.