Matt Knight is a San Francisco-based writer and intellectual property lawyer. His writing crosses two genres: near-future fiction that explores the misuse of modern technology, and women’s fiction focused on love, crisis, and personal growth. He holds a BS in pre-med from Pfeiffer University, an MS in biochemistry from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, and a JD from the University of Houston Law School. Various careers seasoned his life in North Carolina and Texas – chemist for the EPA, researcher of urinary bladder cancer, editor of the Houston Law Review, and clerk for the Civil District Court of Texas – before culminating in a fifteen-year career in California as a biotech patent litigator specializing in genetic engineering. His publications have appeared in the New York Times, Independent Book Publisher Association Magazine,  Houston Law Review, and San Diego Union-Tribune. Matt’s GPS coördinates are split between San Francisco and Maui. When he finds snippets of spare time, you can pinpoint him swimming laps, surfing waves, painting a canvas, or unleashing his inner Julia Child.
Read more about his books at www.mattknightbooks.com.
Recently I received a question from a writer about police search and seizure. It is a common subject in the headlines. Usually these news stories and commentaries cover an illegal search and seizure by police […]
Search and Seizure and Plots – A Few Tips For Writers (Part 1) Read More
Last week I was talking to a writer friend about Miranda warnings for an episode of a crime series. We smoothed over a minor misconception, one of many misconceptions about criminal cases that, as an
Six Common Misconceptions About Criminal Cases Read More
James from Connecticut is writing a story set 100 years in the future and wanted to know how to handle trademarks that, in his fictional setting, might have become generic. For example, Taser being used
How to Use Generic Trademarks in Science Fiction or Near-Future Novels Read More
Of the many provisions in a publishing contract, two are extremely important to the author-publisher relationship: the delivery and acceptance of a manuscript. These provisions delineate the timing for submission and quality of the final
How to Avoid Unfair Delivery and Acceptance Clauses in a Publishing Contract Read More
Over the holiday, Kristin from Florida asked if she could use a current news story in her fiction without being sued. This question arises often and in various permutations, like writing about relatives, celebrities, politicians,
Pilfering News Events For Your Fiction – Is it Legal? Read More
One of many worrisome areas for writers negotiating publishing contracts is who has final word when editing a manuscript for publication. Publishing agreements define the right to creative control over the manuscript in the editing
Negotiating Editorial Control in Publishing Contracts Read More
