Stephen Coonts

Stephen Coonts (born July 19, 1946) is an American spy thriller and suspense novelist.

BornJuly 19, 1946 (age 79)

OccupationNovelist

Quick facts Born, Occupation ...

Stephen Coonts
Born	(1946-07-19) July 19, 1946 (age 79) Buckhannon, West Virginia, U.S.
Occupation	Novelist
Language	English
Alma mater	West Virginia University (BA)
Genre	Spy fiction
Years active	1984–present
Spouse	Deborah Coonts (m. 2011; died 2025)
Website
www.coonts.com

Close

Early life, education, and military career

Stephen Coonts grew up in Buckhannon, West Virginia, a small coal mining town. Following high school graduation, he earned a B.A. degree in political science at West Virginia University in 1968.^[1] After joining the Navy upon graduation and then going to officer candidate school, Coonts went to flight school at Naval Air Station Pensacola and earned his wings as a naval aviator in 1969.

Coonts was later assigned to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and VA-128 to train in the A-6 Intruder, a medium attack, all-weather, carrier-based jet. After training, he was attached to and deployed with VA-196 to Vietnam. With 196, he served aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) on two cruises and accumulated 1600 flying hours in the A-6. Coonts was awarded several commendations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross.

After Vietnam, Coonts served as an A-6 flight instructor for two years, then was assigned as an assistant catapult and arresting gear officer aboard USS Nimitz (CVN-68). He separated from the active duty Navy as a lieutenant in 1977 but remained as reserve officer, retiring as a commander with a total of 21 years of service.

Post military career

Lawyer

After leaving active duty, Coonts pursued a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree at the University of Colorado, graduating in 1979. He then worked as a lawyer for several oil and gas companies, pursuing his writing interests in his free time.

Writer

Coonts began writing Flight of the Intruder in 1984; it was published by the US Naval Institute Press in 1986. The novel, based in part on his experiences as an A-6 pilot during the Vietnam War, remained for 28 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and in 1991 was made into a movie. This launched his career as a novelist, and he continued writing adventure-thrillers, most of them based on the main character from his first book, Jake Grafton. Coonts has also written several other series and stand-alone novels, but is best known for the Grafton books.

In 1992, he was inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Alumni at his alma mater, West Virginia University.^[2]^[3] In 2014, West Virginia University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Letters degree.

As of 2013, Coonts continues to write, having had 16 New York Times bestsellers (out of 36 books). He lives in Colorado.^[4] He was married to romantic mystery novelist Deborah Coonts, his third wife, from September 2011 until her death on February 1, 2025.^[5]