Marty Drapkin is the author of four books of fiction, including his latest novel, Poor Tom. The others include Now and at the Hour, Ten Nobodies (and their somebodies) and The Cat Tender. He is also the author of many articles and two books about aspects of county jail operations, including Management and Supervision of Jail Inmates with Mental Disorders, published by Civic Research Institute. Before retirement in 2012, he was the coordinator of the statewide program for training of county jail officers, working for the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
He is also a long-time fine-arts photographer, specializing in black-and-white street photographs and portraits of women in general and mothers and daughters specifically. He was also a professional wedding photographer for many years, and particularly liked the receptions. For his fine arts work, he prefers using black-and-white Ilford film over digital. He thinks it looks better. He plans to publish several photobooks of his work.
As a dedicated karaoke singer, he is at once shameless and talentless—a combination of traits that has horrified some and endeared him to others.
Marty and his wife, Erica, live in rural Cross Plains, Wisconsin, near the state capital of Madison. They’ve cared for many rescue dogs and cats over the years, many of whom have had issues. He has a talented grown daughter who lives in Seattle and doesn’t much mind the rain.