John Straley
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| John Straley | |
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| Born | Redwood City, California, United States |
| Occupation | mystery writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Genres | Detective fiction, historical fiction |
John Straley is a detective fiction and Shamus Award-winning author famous for his Cecil Younger series of novels. He currently resides in Sitka, Alaska.
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[edit] Biography
John Straley was born in Redwood City, California. He grew up in the Seattle area and attended high school in New York City.[1] Straley trained, with encouragement from his parents, to be a horseshoer.[2] He attended Grinnell College before transferring to the University of Washington for a degree in writing. After college and a stint in Eastern Washington, he followed his wife to Sitka, Alaska in 1977.[1] After moving through a number of jobs he became a private investigator and a staff investigator for the Alaska Public Defender. As an investigator, he continued to write. After being turned down by publishers numerous times, in 1991 he received a tip from friend and anthropologist Richard Nelson that New York City-based Soho Press was interested in detective fiction novels. Upon submitting his manuscript for The Woman Who Married a Bear, Soho Press expressed interest in his work. After a successful run of mysteries that has garnered critical acclaim, he is now looking outside of his trademark Cecil Younger series for future books.
In 2006, he was named writer laureate for the State of Alaska until 2008.[3]
Straley expects a new historical crime story to be published through Alaska Northwest Books. It is titled The Big Both Ways and will come out in the spring of 2008.[2]
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] Cecil Younger series
- The Woman Who Married a Bear (1992)—winner of the 1993 Shamus Award
- The Curious Eat Themselves (1993)
- The Music of What Happens (1996)—winner of the Spotted Owl Award
- Death and the Language of Happiness (1997)
- The Angels Will not Care (1998)
- Cold Water Burning (2001)
[edit] Other writing
- Short stories:
- "Life Before the War"—published in Men from Boys
- "Finding Lou"—published in The Mysterious North
- Essays:
- Published in The Nation, Alaska magazine
- "Love, Crime and Joyriding on a Dead-End Road"—published in The Book of the Tongass (1999)
[edit] References
- ^ a b Doran, Tom (13 December 2002). "Interview with mystery writer John Straley". Whalesong 24 (7).
- ^ a b "Mystery! Alaska Style". Talk of Alaska. 2007-09-18.
- ^ Alaska State Writer Laureate list
