Summary
Mary Willis Walker (May 24, 1942 – November 4, 2023)[1] was an American crime fiction author.
Mary Willis Walker | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mary Willis May 24, 1942 Fox Point, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Died | November 4, 2023 (aged 81) |
| Occupation | Author |
| Alma mater | Duke University |
| Genre | Crime fiction |
| Notable works | Zero at the Bone, The Red Scream, Under the Beetle's Cellar |
| Notable awards | Zero at the Bone: Agatha Award (1991), Macavity Award (1992) The Red Scream: Edgar Award (1995) Under the Beetle's Cellar: Macavity Award (1996), Anthony Award (1996), Martin Beck Award (1998) |
| Spouse | Lee Walker (1967–1993) |
Life edit
Walker graduated from Duke University in English and took up high school teaching.[2] She married in 1967 to Lee Walker who became president of Dell Computers, living in New York and Virginia before moving to Austin, Texas. They had two daughters, Amanda and Susannah. The couple divorced when she was 51. She returned to her maiden name of Mary Willis, but continued to published as Mary Willis Walker, which, she wrote in an article for the New York Times Magazine, she considered a pen name.[3] She continued to live in Austin.[4]
Walker died November 4, 2023.[5]
Writing edit
She began writing in her mid-forties, which she characterized as "pretty late to start".[6] She spent two years writing her first published thriller, Zero at the Bone, which was published in 1991.[6] Her second Texas-based mystery, Red Scream, was Walker's first to feature sleuth Molly Cates.[6] Red Scream won the Best Mystery Edgar Award in 1993.[6] Under the Beetle's Cellar, published in 1995, was Walker's third mystery.[6]
Bibliography edit
- Zero at the Bone (1991)
- "Molly Cates" series
- The Red Scream (1994)
- Under the Beetle's Cellar (1995)
- All the Dead Lie Down (1998)
Selected awards edit
- 1991: Agatha Award for best first novel for Zero at the Bone
- 1992: Macavity Award for best first novel for Zero at the Bone
- 1995: Edgar Award for Best Novel for The Red Scream
- 1996: Macavity Award for Under the Beetle's Cellar
- 1996: Anthony Award for Under the Beetle's Cellar
- 1998: Martin Beck Award for Under the Beetle's Cellar
Footnotes edit
- ^ Embden, Nico van. "Mary Willis Walker". embden11.home.xs4all.nl. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ^ "Lars Eighner's US Bookstore Presents The Texas Institute of Letters Authors: Mary Willis Walker". larseighner.com. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ^ Willis, Mary (November 1, 1994). "Too important to sign away: Divorce underlines value of maiden name". The StarPhoenix. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
- ^ page 253, Great Women Mystery Writers, 2nd Ed. by Elizabeth Blakesley Lindsay, 2007, publ. Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-313-33428-5
- ^ Barnes, Michael (December 7, 2023). "'Ecstatic, fervent literacy': Award-winning Austin mystery writer Mary Willis dies at 81". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Doug J. Swanson (November 15, 1995). "Author works from fears". Baca Raton News. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
References edit
- Marilyn Stasio (October 1, 1995). "Crime". New York Times. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
External links edit
- How I Gave Up My Alias by Mary Willis, The New York Times, October 16, 1994