- Joan Lowery Nixon
Infobox Writer
name = Joan Lowery Nixon
birthdate = birth date|1927|2|3|mf=y
birthplace =Los Angeles, California ,United States
deathdate = death date and age|2003|6|28|1927|2|3|mf=y
deathplace =Houston, Texas ,United States
occupation = Author
nationality = American
genre = Young Adult FictionJoan Lowery Nixon (
February 3 ,1927 –June 28 ,2003 ) was a prolific Americanjournalist andauthor , specializing inhistorical fiction and mysteries forchildren and young adults.Biography
Joan Lowery Nixon was born on
February 3 ,1927 in Los Angeles. She received a degree injournalism from theUniversity of Southern California in 1947. It was at USC where she met her husband, Hershell, a naval officer and geologist. At USC she was a member of Kappa Delta, and has received their highest honor. She taught for a time at various schools in L.A. before becoming a full-time writer. Her son,Joe Nixon , was a Representative in the Texas House. She died ofpancreatic cancer inHouston, Texas onJune 28 ,2003 . Not only was she a very productive author, but a writer of over 130 books ranging from more than three genres. Joan, Hershell, and her children lived in Midland and Corpus Christi before finally settling in the Memorial and Tanglewood area of Houston, Texas.Career
Nixon's books were noted for frequently having strong, self-sufficient young women as lead characters. She also co-authored several popular science books with her
geologist husband, Hershell. Each of her books often features her children--Maureen, Kathy, Joe and Eileen--or one of her several grandchildren as ancillary characters, contributing to the main character's mystery solving process. Nixon won four Edgar Allan Poe Awards from theMystery Writers of America , and had five additional nominations. Twice, she won the California Young Reader Medal of the Texas Library Association. She also won theWestern Writers of America 's "Golden Spur Award" two times, and received the Texas Institute of Letters Award.Her novel, "The Other Side of Dark", was loosely adapted into the 1995 TV movie "Awake To Danger"; it starred
Tori Spelling and Michael Gross. (Another novel, "The Kidnapping of Thomas Gordon Gongol", is similar to the 1996 Moment of Truth movie "Abduction of Innocence", which starredKatie Holmes .External links
* [http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/mystery/bio.htm Short Autobiography]
* [http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/mystery/index.htm Mystery Writing With Joan Lowery Nixon]
* [http://special.lib.umn.edu/findaid/xml/CLRC-172.xml Joan Lowery Nixon Collection at the University of Minnesota]
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