The son of Belfast natives, Pete Hamill is one of the finest journalists in the U.S. He joined the New York Post in 1960 and became a columnist in 1965. He later wrote or edited for the Dally News, the Village Voice, and New York magazine. He became editor of the Daily News on January 1, 1997. He has published in most major American magazines, including The New York Times Magazine and Esquire, where he remains a contributing editor. Throughout his career, Hamill has distinguished himself for publicizing human rights abuses and because of his affinity with society’s outsiders.

He has several novels to his credit. A Drinking Life, his poignant memoir of growing up the child of Irish immigrants in Brooklyn, was a New York Times bestseller. He has also published two collections of short stories and a number of screenplays. His latest books are Tools as Art and Piecework, a collection of news writings.

Hamill has also been instrumental in the success of a large number of young Irish writers, most notably Terry George, who wrote the screenplay for in file Name of the Father and who later went on to direct Some Mother’s Son starring Helen Mirren and Fionnula Flanagan.