Jeff Maysh

Jeff Maysh
Born (1982-03-30) 30 March 1982 (age 42)
Nassau, Bahamas
NationalityBritish-American
Occupations
  • Writer
  • author
  • journalist
Maysh's voice
recorded January 2017
Websitewww.jeffmaysh.com

Jeff Maysh (born 30 March 1982, Nassau, Bahamas) is a British-American writer, author and journalist based in Hollywood, California.

Journalism

Maysh started his career at the British men's magazine Loaded.[1] He moved to America in 2010 to cover international crime,[2] for publications including The Atlantic.[3]

As a correspondent for the BBC, Maysh became the first journalist to enter the notorious Korydallos prison, near Athens.[4] His profile of prisoner Vassilis Paleokostas, a Greek bank robber who escaped from the prison in a helicopter, twice, was published on the BBC News Magazine on 25 September 2014.[5][6]

His story about Steve Davies, a mythical soccer fan who scored a goal for West Ham United,[7] was listed in the notable section of 'Best American Sports Writing 2014', and voted number one in a poll of 'greatest ever soccer stories'.[8]

In May 2015, Paramount Pictures acquired the movie rights to Maysh's story 'The Wedding Sting'. According to a report in Variety,[9] bidding became 'competitive' among Hollywood studios for the true account of a rural Michigan police department that trapped drug dealers with a fake wedding. The story was first published in The Atlantic.[10]

In 2016, Maysh won 'Best Crime Reporting' and 'Best Feature (over 1,000 words)' at the 58th Annual Southern California Journalism Awards.[11] Both awards recognised his story in Playboy about a Michigan farmer who ran a $4 million smuggling operation involving counterfeit Pez dispensers.[12][13]

His 2016 book Handsome Devil is about Victor Lustig,[14] while the following year's The Spy With No Name is about Erwin van Haarlem, a Czechoslovak spy.[15]

In 2018, Maysh published an 8,900-word article on a major fraud involving the McDonald's Monopoly promotion on The Daily Beast.[16] This story of a former police officer who stole $20 million in cash and prizes became the subject of a bidding war in Hollywood.[17] The sale of the movie rights to Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Twentieth Century Fox for $1 million was reported by The Hollywood Reporter as the highest fee ever paid for a single magazine article.[18]

Bibliography

  • Lilywhite and Blue: The History of Tottenham's Famous Shirt. Jeff Maysh Books. 2010. ISBN 978-0956684202.
  • Handsome Devil. Kindle singles. 2016. ASIN B01CR9PQ6Y.
  • The Spy With No Name: The Cold War and a Case of Stolen Identity. Kindle singles. 2017. ASIN B01NBR1CNV.

References

  1. ^ "Talking About Writing: Jeff Maysh, author of 'Handsome Devil' — The Queue UK — Medium". Archived from the original on 22 August 2016.
  2. ^ "Talking About Writing: Jeff Maysh". The Queue. 12 March 2016. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Jeff Maysh". The Atlantic. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  4. ^ "Exclusive: Hollywood Calls For Paleokostas?". Greek Reporter. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  5. ^ "The Uncatchable". BBC News. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Readers spent 2.3 million minutes on The Uncatchable @BBCNewsMagazine". Twitter. 26 September 2014.
  7. ^ "The day Harry Redknapp brought a fan on to play for West Ham". The Guardian. 5 September 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  8. ^ "Readers' Poll: These Are Your Five Favorite Ever Soccer Articles". Longform.org. 2 October 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Paramount lands Atlantic Article on Flint Wedding Sting". Variety. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  10. ^ "The Wedding Sting". The Atlantic. 12 May 2015.
  11. ^ "Winners: Southern California Journalism Awards 2015" (PDF). Los Angeles Press Club. 12 July 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  12. ^ "The Pez Outlaw". Playboy. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  13. ^ "Quest for the Pez Holy Grail: International Smuggling Meets Father-Son Bonding". Collectors Weekly. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  14. ^ "The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower. Twice". Smithsonian. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  15. ^ "The spy with no name". 4 January 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  16. ^ Maysh, Jeff (29 July 2018). "How an Ex-Cop Rigged McDonald's Monopoly Game and Stole Millions". Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  17. ^ Lee, Chris. "Behind Hollywood's A-List Bidding War for a McDonald's Monopoly Article". www.vulture.com. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  18. ^ Abramovitch, Seth. "Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Paid $1 Million for McDonald's Monopoly Scam Story". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 20 July 2019.