John Straley
| John Straley | |
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 If so, please click here |
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| Born | 1953 Redwood City, California, United States |
| Occupation | mystery writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Genres | Detective fiction, historical fiction |
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www.johnstraley.com |
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John Straley is a poet and author of detective fiction. He currently resides in Sitka, Alaska.
Contents |
[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.
During his presidency, Bill Clinton visited a bookstore and bought The Woman Who Married a Bear.
In 2006, he was named writer laureate for the State of Alaska; he served in that position until 2008.[3]
In 2008, Alaska Northwest Books published Straley's The Big Both Ways, a historical fiction work based in the Pacific Northwest.
[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] Later books
- The Big Both Ways (2008)
- The Rising and the Rain (2008)
[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). http://www.uas.alaska.edu/whalesong/volumes/vol24_issue7/straley.html. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
- ^ "Mystery! Alaska Style". Talk of Alaska. 2007-09-18.
- ^ Alaska State Writer Laureate list
