Jennifer Dowdell, writing under the pseudonym Nikki Baker (born 1962), is an African-American mystery novelist. Her character Virginia Kelly is the first African-American detective to appear in lesbian fiction. [1]
Dowdell received her bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and took an MBA in economics and finance, and worked briefly as an engineer before turning to the financial services industry. Her mystery novels feature a young, black, lesbian financial analyst who lives and works in Chicago. [2] She has also written two anthologized novellas. Baker's work has been published by such outlets as Naiad Press, Bella Books, and Third Side Press. [3]
Little biographical information about Dowdell is available, and she remains private about her life. [3] Two of her novels, The Lavender House Murder and Long Goodbyes, were finalists for the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery. [1]
(List from: [3] )
Laurie R. King is an American author best known for her detective fiction.
Lizzie Andrew Borden was an American woman who was tried and acquitted of the August 4, 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts. No one else was charged in the murders, and, despite ostracism from other residents, Borden spent the remainder of her life in Fall River. She died of pneumonia at the age of 66, just days before the death of her older sister, Emma.
Mary Higgins Clark was an American author of suspense novels. Each of her 51 books was a bestseller in the United States and various European countries, and all of her novels remained in print as of 2015, with her debut suspense novel, Where Are the Children?, in its 75th printing.
Margaret Ellis Millar was an American-Canadian mystery and suspense writer.
Rita Mae Brown is an American feminist writer, best known for her coming-of-age autobiographical novel, Rubyfruit Jungle. Brown was active in a number of civil rights campaigns and criticized the marginalization of lesbians within feminist groups. Brown received the Pioneer Award for lifetime achievement at the Lambda Literary Awards in 2015.
Susan Wittig Albert, also known by the pen names Robin Paige and Carolyn Keene, is an American mystery writer from Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. Albert was an academic and the first female vice president of Southwest Texas State University before retiring to become a fulltime writer.
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Marijane Agnes Meaker was an American writer who, along with Tereska Torres, was credited with launching the lesbian pulp fiction genre, the only accessible novels on that theme in the 1950s.
Anita Cornwell was an American lesbian feminist author. In 1983, she wrote the first collection of essays by an African-American lesbian, Black Lesbian in White America.
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Nancy Pickard is an American crime novelist. She has won five Macavity Awards, four Agatha Awards, an Anthony Award, and a Shamus Award. She is the only author to win all four awards. She also served on the board of directors of the Mystery Writers of America. She received a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri and began writing when she was 35 years old.
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Jessie Chandler is an American author of mystery and humorous caper fiction, most of which is about lesbian protagonists. Her work includes the Shay O'Hanlon Caper Series, many short stories, and other novels. Chandler has presented talks about the craft of writing, serves as a mentor to many up-and-coming writers, and is a contributing member of The Golden Crown Literary Society, Sisters in Crime, and serves on the board of Mystery Writers of America.
Jill Churchill was an American author, winner of the Agatha and Macavity Awards for her first Jane Jeffry novel and featured in Great Women Mystery Writers (2007).
Barbara D'Amato is an American mystery author and winner of the Agatha and Anthony Award. She also features in Great Women Mystery Writers (2007).
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Clarissa Minnie Thompson Allen was an American educator and author. She wrote fictional stories about wealthy African-American families in the American South.
Tony Fennelly is an American writer of mystery fiction.
Terri Lynn Jewell was an American author, poet and Black lesbian activist. She was the editor of The Black Woman’s Gumbo Ya-Ya, which received the New York City Library Young Persons Reading Award in 1994.