Joan Lowery Nixon
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Joan Lowery Nixon (February 3, 1927 - June 28, 2003) was a prolific American journalist and author, specializing in historical fiction and mysteries for children and young adults. She also co-authored popular science books with her husband, geologist Hershell Nixon.
Born in Los Angeles, California, Nixon received a degree in journalism from the University of Southern California. She taught for a time at various schools in L.A., before becoming a full-time writer. Nixon's juveniles were noted for frequently having strong, self-sufficient girls (and women) as lead characters.
Nixon won four Edgar Allan Poe Awards from the Mystery Writers of America (and had five additional nominations), and twice won the California Young Reader Medal of the California Library Association. She also twice won the Western Writers of America's Golden Spur Award, and received the Texas Institute of Letters Award. She is the only person ever to win the Edgar for Best Juvenile Mystery four times.
Nixon died of pancreatic cancer on June 28, 2003, in Houston, Texas. Her novel The Other Side Of Dark was loosely adapted into the 1995 TV movie Awake To Danger, starring Tori Spelling and Michael Gross.
