Archives West Finding Aid

Steven Mark Krauzer was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1948 to Earl and Bernice Krauzer. Raised in Manchester, New Hampshire, Krauzer began his writing career in high school as a general reporter and sportswriter for the Manchester Union Leader. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Yale University in 1970, Krauzer explored the depiction of good and evil in detective fiction in his 1974 Master’s thesis in the English Literature program at the University of New Hampshire. His first magazine article, “Caught Naked in Lover’s Lane,” appeared in the February 1971 issue of Real Confessions, followed by short stories in Cavalier, Fling and Gem magazines.

Krauzer moved to Missoula, Montana in the mid-seventies, where he co-authored nine westerns with acclaimed author and University of Montana creative writing professor William Kittredge. The Cord series, published between 1982 and 1986 under the pen name Owen Rountree, featured bank robber Cord and his girlfriend accomplice Chi. With Kittredge, Krauzer also edited three anthologies in the late seventies; Great Action Stories, The Great American Detective, and Stories into Film. In 1980, they edited TriQuarterly 48, an issue dedicated to Western American literature, which included works by Edward Abbey, Richard Ford, and Cormac McCarthy.

From 1975-1977, Steven taught composition and literature as a continuing education instructor at The University of Montana. As a Visiting Instructor, he taught courses titled "The Hard-Boiled Detective in Fiction and Film" and "The American Western Film: Myth and Image." The latter he taught with Bill Kittredge. From 1990-1996, Krauzer taught Creative Writing at the University on an occasional basis as a Visiting Assistant Professor.

In 1983, he met Dorrit Karasek, a Missoula artist and mental health therapist, and they married nine years later. Throughout his career, Krauzer wrote many western and action-adventure novels under various pen names; most notably the six-volume Dennison’s War series as Adam Lassiter in the mid-eighties. Under his own name, his publications include Frame Work in 1989; Brainstorm in 1991; Rojak’s Rule in 1992; God’s Country in 1993 and Winter of the Wolf in 1994. Krauzer also led fiction writing workshops at The University of Montana as an adjunct professor and played right field for the Montana Review of Books, a team comprised of Missoula writers including Bryan DiSalvatore and James Crumley.

In 1986, Krauzer’s first screenplay was made into the Roger Corman produced film, “Cocaine Wars,” followed by “Sweet Revenge” in 1987. His last major publications were non-fiction guidebooks about kayaking and, with local Missoula author Peter Stark, outdoor winter adventuring. He also authored an outdoor advice column for Outside Magazine.

From 1996 to 2002, Krauzer worked in production for a number of radio and television stations in Missoula. He served as Production Director for KYSS-FM, KGVO, and KLCY from 1996-1999, and in Master Control for KMMF-TV in 2002. Steven died on March 18, 2009 in Missoula.

A draft of an obituary by DiSalvatore that was printed in the March 29, 2009 Missoulian is kept in the archives and special collections accession file along with a reminiscence by Michael Sherwood dated November 9, 2010.