People like David James Duncan

David James Duncan (born 1952) is an American novelist and essayist, best known for his two bestselling novels, The River Why (1983) and The Brothers K (1992). Both novels received the Pacific Northwest Booksellers award; The Brothers K was a New York Times Notable Book in 1992 and won a Best Books Award from the American Library Association.

In 2008, The River Why was adapted into a "low-budget film" of the same name starring William Hurt and Amber Heard. On April 30, 2008, the film rights to The River Why became the subject of a lawsuit by Duncan alleging copyright infringement, among other issues. The lawsuit has been settled and Duncan has said, "I engaged in a three-year legal battle against the producers of the film over their handling of my film rights. That battle was settled last fall. My name is off the film, Sierra Club's name is off the film, and the rights have returned to me. I tried to remove my title from their film, too, but the federal magistrate in San Francisco let them keep it".