How Award-Winning Writer & Producer Arvind Ethan David Writes

Award-winning writer and producer Arvind Ethan David spoke to me about making sh*t up for a living, late bloomers, and adapting RAYMOND CHANDLER’S TROUBLE IS MY BUSINESS into a graphic novel.

Arvind Ethan David is the Stoker Award-nominated graphic novelist who has also written chart-topping Audiodramas (The Crimes of Dorian Gray, Earworms), television (Anansi Boys) and plays (The Boy with Wings). Arvind is also a producer of film and theater, including the Emmy & Grammy award-winning musical Jagged Little Pill with Diablo Cody.

His latest adaptation TROUBLE IS MY BUSINESS is a graphic novel adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s novella featuring one of the most well-known characters in hard-boiled fiction, detective Phillip Marlowe.

Library Journal called it “A gripping adaptation of a classic short story [...] A compelling exploration of greed and justice in shadowy 1940s Los Angeles.”

Arvind is a principal of Prodigal, the entertainment company where he has produced eight feature films including the Asian Academy Award-winning "The Garden of Evening Mists" and theatrical shows including the Tony- and Grammy-winning Alanis Morissette musical "Jagged Little Pill."

[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Arvind Ethan David and I discussed:

Why he was told to be more like Chekhov or Grisham

His past lives as a lawyer and venture capitalist

Working with some of the greatest writers in the world

How storytelling is genetic

Adapting one of the great prose stylists for a graphic novel

The most interesting dinner in literary history

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

Raymond Chandler's Trouble Is My Business – May 20, 2025 – by Raymond Chandler and Arvind Ethan David; illustrated by Ilias Kyriazis (Amazon)

Arvind Ethan David on IMDb

Arvind Ethan David on Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices