Howard Buten is an American writer who has had seven novels published in France. He is a clinical psychologist and founding clinical director of the Adam Shelton Center, an institution for the treatment of autism in young adults. He has also toured the world as a performing artist in the guise of Buffo the clown. In 1991, Howard Buten was named a Chevalier des Artes et Lettres, France’s highest literary honour.