Julie Smith
Encyclopedia
Julie Smith is an American
mystery writer
, the author of nineteen novel
s and several short stories
. She received the 1991 Edgar Award for Best Novel for her sixth book, New Orleans Mourning (1990).
for sixteen years, beginning as a reporter for the New Orleans Times-Picayune. She then moved on to the San Francisco Chronicle
, where she eventually became the first woman hired for the newsroom
since World War II
and spent the next ten years as a general assignment and court reporter. She later worked for the Santa Barbara News-Press
, for Banana Republic as an advertising and catalogue copy writer
, and for the San Francisco
District Attorney
's office as a public information officer
.
She quit the Chronicle in 1979 to form a freelance writing and editing firm called Invisible Ink with several other aspiring fiction writers, including Marcia Muller
. In 1982 Smith published her first novel.
In 1991, she became the first American woman since 1956 to win the Edgar for Best Novel. Her latest novel is P.I. On A Hot Tin Roof (2005), and New Orleans Noir, an anthology she edited, was published in 2007.
She currently lives in the Faubourg Marigny
section of New Orleans.
In 2006 she founded Writerstrack.com, a course of writing instruction done through conference calls, which in 2011 she turned into an ebook titled "Writing Your Way."
In 2010 she founded her own publishing company, booksBnimble, which focuses on video-enhanced ebooks.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mystery writer
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
, the author of nineteen novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s and several short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
. She received the 1991 Edgar Award for Best Novel for her sixth book, New Orleans Mourning (1990).
Biography
Smith worked as a journalistJournalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
for sixteen years, beginning as a reporter for the New Orleans Times-Picayune. She then moved on to the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, where she eventually became the first woman hired for the newsroom
Newsroom
A newsroom is the place where journalists—reporters, editors, and producers, along with other staffers—work to gather news to be published in a newspaper or magazine or broadcast on television, cable or radio...
since World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and spent the next ten years as a general assignment and court reporter. She later worked for the Santa Barbara News-Press
Santa Barbara News-Press
The Santa Barbara News-Press is a broadsheet newspaper based in Santa Barbara, California.-History:The News-Press asserts it is the oldest daily newspaper in Southern California, publishing since 1855...
, for Banana Republic as an advertising and catalogue copy writer
Copywriting
Copywriting is the use of words and ideas to promote a person, business, opinion or idea. Although the word copy may be applied to any content intended for printing , the term copywriter is generally limited to promotional situations, regardless of the medium...
, and for the San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
's office as a public information officer
Public information officer
Public Information Officers are the communications coordinators or spokespersons of certain governmental organizations . They differ from public relations departments of private organizations in that marketing plays a more limited role...
.
She quit the Chronicle in 1979 to form a freelance writing and editing firm called Invisible Ink with several other aspiring fiction writers, including Marcia Muller
Marcia Muller
Marcia Muller is an American author of fictional mystery and thriller novels.Muller has written many novels featuring her Sharon McCone female private detective character. Vanishing Point, won the Shamus Award for Best P.I. Novel...
. In 1982 Smith published her first novel.
In 1991, she became the first American woman since 1956 to win the Edgar for Best Novel. Her latest novel is P.I. On A Hot Tin Roof (2005), and New Orleans Noir, an anthology she edited, was published in 2007.
She currently lives in the Faubourg Marigny
Faubourg Marigny
The Marigny is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Bywater District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: North Rampart Street and St...
section of New Orleans.
In 2006 she founded Writerstrack.com, a course of writing instruction done through conference calls, which in 2011 she turned into an ebook titled "Writing Your Way."
In 2010 she founded her own publishing company, booksBnimble, which focuses on video-enhanced ebooks.
Novels
- Death Turns A Trick (Walker & Co., 1982)
- The Sourdough Wars (Walker & Co., 1984)
- True-Life Adventure (Mysterious Press, 1985)
- Tourist Trap (Mysterious Press, 1986)
- Huckleberry Fiend (Mysterious Press, 1987)
- New Orleans Mourning (St. Martin's Press, 1990)
- The Axeman's Jazz (St. Martin's Press, 1991)
- Dead in the Water (Ivy, 1991)
- Other People's Skeletons (Ivy, 1993)
- Jazz Funeral (Fawcett/Columbine, 1993)
- New Orleans Beat (Fawcett/Columbine, 1994)
- House of Blues (Fawcett/Columbine, 1995)
- The Kindness of Strangers (Fawcett/Columbine, 1996)
- Crescent City Kill (Fawcett/Columbine, 1997)
- 82 Desire (Fawcett/Columbine, 1998)
- Louisiana Hotshot (Forge, 2001)
- Louisiana Bigshot (Forge, 2002)
- Mean Woman Blues (Forge, 2003)
- Louisiana Lament (Forge, 2004)
- P.I. On A Hot Tin Roof (Forge, 2005)
Short stories
- "Grief Counselor", Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, 1978; reprinted in Miniature Mysteries: 100 Malicious Little Mystery Stories, edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg, and Joseph D. Olander (Taplinger, 1981), and in Last Laughs: The 1986 Mystery Writers of America Anthology, edited by Gregory McDonald (Mysterious Press, 1986)
- "The Wrong Number", Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, 1979
- "Crime Wave in Pinhole", Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, 1980; reprinted in The Arbor House Treasury of Mystery and Suspense, edited by Bill Pronzini, Barry N. Malzberg, and Martin H. Greenberg (Arbor House, 1981)
- "Project Mushroom", Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine 1983; reprinted in 101 Mystery Stories, edited by Bill Pronzini and Martin H. Greenbery (Avenel, 1986)
- "Red Rock", Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe: A Centennial Celebration, edited by Byron Preiss (Knopf, 1988)
- "Blood Types", Sisters In Crime, edited by Marilyn Wallace (Berkley, 1989)
- "Cul-de-Sac", Sisters In Crime II, edited by Marilyn Wallace (Berkley, 1990)
- "Montezuma's Other Revenge", Justice for Hire, edited by Robert J RandisiRobert J RandisiRobert J. Randisi is an American author who writes in the detective and Western genres.He has authored more than 500 published books and has edited more than 30 anthologies of short stories. Booklist magazine said he "may be the last of the pulp writers."...
(Mysterious Press, 1990) - "A Marriage Made in Hell", Eye of a Woman, edited by Sara Paretsky (Delacorte Press, 1991)
- "Silk Strands", Deadly Allies, edited by Marilyn Wallace and Robert J. Randisi (Bantam, 1992)
- "Strangers on a Plane", Unusual Suspects, edited by James Grady, (Black Lizard Press, 1996)
- "The End of the Earth", Detective Duos, edited by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini (Oxford University Press, 1997)
- "Where The Boys Are", Mary Higgins Clark Mystery Magazine, September 1998
- "Too Mean to Die", Blue Lightning, edited by John Harvey (Slow Dancer Press, 1998)
- "Fresh Paint", Irreconcilable Differences, edited by Lia Matera (HarperCollins, 1999)
- "Always Othello", Mary Higgins Clark Mystery Magazine, June 1999
- "Let's Go Knock Over Seaside", Murder and Magnolias (HarperCollins 2000)
- "Kid Trombone", Murder And All That Jazz (Signet, 2004)
Essay
- "Splendor in the Mildew", A Place Called Home, edited by Mickey Perlman (St. Martin's Press, 1996)
Progressive novel
- I'd Kill For That, edited by Marcia Talley (St. Martin's, 2004) (With twelve other writers, including Rita Mae BrownRita Mae BrownRita Mae Brown is an American writer. She is best known for her first novel Rubyfruit Jungle. Published in 1973, it dealt with lesbian themes in an explicit manner unusual for the time...
, Linda FairsteinLinda FairsteinLinda Fairstein is an American feminist author and former prosecutor focusing on crimes of violence against women and children. She served as head of the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's office from 1976 until 2002 and is the author of a series of novels featuring Manhattan...
, Kathy ReichsKathy ReichsKathleen Joan Toelle "Kathy" Reichs is an American crime writer, forensic anthropologist and academic . She is a professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, but is currently on indefinite leave...
, Jennifer CrusieJennifer CrusieJennifer Crusie is a pseudonym for Jennifer Smith, a bestselling and award winning author of contemporary romance novels. She has written over 15 novels, which have been published in 20 countries.-Biography:...
, Anne PerryAnne PerryAnne Perry is an English author of historical detective fiction. Perry was convicted of the murder of her friend's mother in 1954.-Early life:Born Juliet Marion Hulme in Blackheath, London, the daughter of Dr...
, and Katherine Neville)
External links
- booksBnimble: Julie Smith's publishing company and blog
- Casa Mysterioso: Julie Smith's website
- Julie Smith Collection (MUM00414) owned by the University of Mississippi, Archives and Special Collections.