Simplify the following text for a Grade 9 native English-speaking person.
Original: Norman Kingsley Mailer ( January 31 , 1923 â `` November 10 , 2007 ) was an American novelist , journalist , essayist , poet , playwright , screenwriter , and film director .
Simplified: Norman Kingsley Mailer ( January 31 , 1923 -- November 10 , 2007 ) was an American writer and journalist .