Jean-Patrick Manchette (1942-1995) was a genre-redefining French crime novelist, screenwriter, critic, and translator. In 1971 he published his first novel, a collaboration with Jean-Pierre Bastid, and went on to produce ten subsequent works over the course of the next two decades, establishing a new genre of French novel, the néo-polar (distinguished from the traditional detective novel, or polar , by its political engagement and social radicalism). Manchette's Fatale , The Mad and the Bad , Ivory Pearl , Nada , and No Room at the Morgue are also available from NYRB Classics. Donald Nicholson-Smith was born in Manchester, England, and is a longtime resident of New York City. For NYRB Classics, he has translated Manchette's Fatale , The Mad and the Bad , Ivory Pearl , and Nada as well as Jean-Paul Clébert's Paris Vagabond and Frédéric Pajak's Uncertain Manifesto ; and for NYR Comics The Green Hand and Dead Season by Nicole Claveloux and Yellow Negroes and Other Imaginary Creatures by Yvan Alagbé. Gary Indiana is a critic and novelist. His most recent books include I Can Give You Anything But Love , a memoir, and Tiny Fish That Only Want to Kiss , a collection of short fiction. His writing has appeared in New York magazine, The New York Times , Vice , the London Review of Books , and many other publications.