About Richard Banks
Richard Banks (Gustafson) is a novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and award-winning short story writer, as well as the occasional background actor.
An explorer at heart, his global experience informs his fiction’s vivid sense of place and moral complexity. Richard trained as a safari guide in Africa, served as a UN peacekeeper in Yugoslavia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and flew helicopters in Croatia, Macedonia, and for the United States Army. He later spent years as an airline pilot before turning to writing full-time. His home in Texas, affectionately known as Base Camp, serves as the launch point for both his travels and creative work.
Education
Richard holds a Master of Liberal Studies in Global Affairs and a Certificate in Creative Writing from the University of Denver and three undergraduate degrees from the University of North Dakota.
Richard Banks - Novelist
In 2026, his novel The Price of Ash was shortlisted for the Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Award. It was also a finalist for the 2025 Faulkner–Wisdom Award, and the 2023 Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Gold Rush Award. His novella Me & Mickey was selected as a runner-up for the 2025 Faulkner–Wisdom Award.
Richard Banks - playwright and Screenwriter
In theatre, Actors and Writers London and Questors Theatre have presented readings of his full-length stage play The Weigh Station. Questors Theatre performed his overnight play Back Before Dark as part of its Overnight Plays program, while Bread and Roses Theatre presented an excerpt from Look Left, Look Right and will next present his short play Nothing to Declare this May. His play Being Ernest was a second-rounder at the Austin Film Festival. He is currently developing several new works, including the musical Super Skier, Painting with Water, and the TV pilot, Over There.
Richard Banks - Short story writer
Richard’s short fiction has received honors including a Zebulon Award from Pikes Peak Writers, first place in the E.M. Koeppel Short Fiction Contest, and recognition from the Writers–Editors Network and the Denver Women’s Press Club. His work also appears in The Nefarious North Anthology.
Richard Banks - Background actor
Look for Richard in Yellowstone, Landman, The Madison, Lioness, Frisco King, and One in a Million.
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