death_place death_date nationality notableworks birth_date period article_title name occupation
new york city september 1984 american '' saul 's book '' c. 1936 1980s paul rogers -lrb- novelist -rrb-
 paul rogers novelist
paul rogers -lrb- novelist -rrb-

paul t. rogers was an american writer .
his sole published novel `` saul 's book '' , an account of the gay underground hustler scene in times square , was the winner of pushcart press 's editors ' book award in 1981 .
the award , presented to unpublished manuscripts of quality which had been rejected by commercial publishers , included the novel 's publication by pushcart , which released `` saul 's book '' in 1982 ; a paperback edition by penguin books followed in 1984 .
the novel had been rejected by 10 publishing companies before coming to pushcart 's attention .
rogers released little biographical information to the media , acknowledging only that he was a former teacher and social worker and indicating in a preface to the paperback edition that he `` knows first-hand the people and places found in book '' .
on september 22 , 1984 , rogers was found dead in his apartment by the superintendent of his apartment building .
two days later on september 24 , charges of murder , robbery and conspiracy were laid against christopher rogers , the author 's adopted son , and nicholas ondrizek , a drifter who had been staying with them .
the pair reportedly beat him to death with a wooden plank , and then stole his wallet and bank card .
he was 48 years old at the time of his death , and according to his editor was gravely ill with cancer .
the two pled guilty to the charges on october 9 , 1985 .
after his death , `` the village voice '' published an article revealing that rogers had essentially modelled the novel 's titular saul on himself , as rogers was also an alcoholic and drug addict who was involved in both male prostitution and criminal embezzlement .
`` saul 's book '' was the subject of an essay by paul russell in the 2010 book '' '' .
