Ellen Hart

Ellen Hart (born August 10, 1949) is the award-winning mystery author of the Jane Lawless and Sophie Greenway series. Born in Maine, she was a professional chef for 14 years. Hart's mysteries include culinary elements similar to those of Diane Mott Davidson.[1]

Not to be confused with Ellen Hart Peña.
"Jane Lawless" redirects here. For the installation artist, see Jayne Lawless.
Ellen Hart
Born (1949-08-10) August 10, 1949
OccupationNovelist
GenreMystery fiction, LGBT fiction
Years active1989–present
Notable worksJane Lawless series, Sophie Greenway series
Notable awardsMystery Writers of America Grand Master
5-time Lambda Literary Award winner
Golden Crown Literary Society Trailblazer Award

Life and career

The author says of her work, "I don't write about the Mean Streets. I don't live there .... I don't do lots of blood and gore. I don't do sex scenes in any great detail. I'd never kill a dog or a cat. I guess you could call my style, maximal suspense and minimal gore."[2] Hart is openly lesbian.[3] Her Jane Lawless series features a lesbian restaurateur and her smart mouth best friend, Cordelia Thorn. The Jane Lawless series began in 1989 and is an early post-Stonewall example of the mystery genre in lesbian literature. Hart's novels deal with LGBT issues and five of the Lawless series have won Lambda Literary Awards.[4]

Dubbed the "lesbian answer to Agatha Christie,[5] " for her Jane Lawless series, Hart also pens the culinary Sophie Greenway mystery series. She frequently tours[6] and lectures on the craft of mystery writing. She has contributed to numerous crime writer anthologies including Resort to Murder: Thirteen More Tales of Mystery by Minnesota's Premier Writers.

In 2005, Hart was inducted into the Saints and Sinners Hall of Fame, joining literary greats such as Dorothy Allison, Felice Picano, Katherine V. Forrest, and others. At the 2007 annual meeting of the Golden Crown Literary Society, Hart was the keynote speaker. Nominated twenty-three times for the Lambda Literary Award, Hart has won six.

In 2010, Hart won the Trailblazer Award from the Golden Crown Literary Society which honours the contributions of lesbian writers. Previous winners include Ann Bannon, Jane Rule, and Lee Lynch. In 2017, she became the first openly LGBT writer to be named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America.[7]

She is a founding member of The Minnesota Crime Wave along with Twin Cities crime-fiction writers Carl Brookins and William Kent Krueger. The Minnesota Crime Wave's TV show about mysteries and writing airs on CTV-15 in the Twin Cities or episodes can be seen at MinnesotaCrimeWave.org.

Hart has taught introductory classes for mystery writers at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis for many years. She and Kathy, her partner of over thirty years, lived in Minneapolis[3] until 2012 when they downsized and now live in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

Awards and honors

In 2010, Ellen Hart received the Golden Crown Literary Society's Trailblazer Award.[8]

Awards for Hart's writing
Year Work Award Result Ref.
1990 Hallowed Murder Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Finalist [9]
1993 Stage Fright Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Finalist [10]
1995 A Small Sacrifice Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Winner [11]
Minnesota Book Award for Mystery & Detective Winner [12]
1996 Faint Praise Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Finalist [13]
Minnesota Book Award for Mystery & Detective Winner [12]
1997 Robber's Wine Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Winner [14]
1999 Wicked Games Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Finalist [15]
2000 Hunting the Witch Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Winner [16]
2002 The Merchant of Venus Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Winner [17]
2003 Immaculate Midnight Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Winner [18]
2005 An Intimate Ghost Golden Crown Literary Society Award for Mystery Winner [19][20]
Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Finalist [21]
2006 The Iron Girl Golden Crown Literary Society Award for Mystery Winner [20]
Minnesota Book Award for Popular Fiction Winner [12]
Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Finalist [22]
2007 Night Vision Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Finalist [23]
2008 The Mortal Groove Golden Crown Literary Society Award for Dramatic General Fiction Winner [24]
Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Finalist [25]
2009 Sweet Poison Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Finalist [26]
2010 The Mirror and the Mask Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Finalist [27]
2011 The Cruel Ever After Golden Crown Literary Society Award for Mystery Nominee
Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Finalist
2013 Rest for the Wicked Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Finalist [28]
2014 Taken by the Wind Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Finalist [29]
2015 The Old Deep and Dark Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Winner [30][31]
2016 The Grave Soul Minnesota Book Award for Genre Fiction Winner [12]
2018 Fever in the Dark Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Finalist [32]
2019 A Whisper of Bones Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Finalist [33]
2020 Twisted at the Root Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery Finalist [34][35]

Bibliography

Anthology contributions
  • Murder, They Wrote, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Elizabeth Foxwell (1997)
  • The Milk of Human Kindness, edited by Lori L. Lake (2004)
  • Writes of Spring: Stories and Prose, edited by Gary Schulze and Pat Frovarp (2012)
  • Malice Domestic 15: Mystery Most Theatrical (2020)

Anthologies edited
  • Resort to Murder, edited with Carl Brookins (2007)

Jane Lawless series
  1. Hallowed Murder (1989)
  2. Vital Lies (1991)
  3. Stage Fright (1992)
  4. A Killing Cure (1993)
  5. A Small Sacrifice (1994)
  6. Faint Praise (1995)
  7. Robber's Wine (1996)
  8. Wicked Games (1998)
  9. Hunting The Witch (1999)
  10. The Merchant of Venus (2001)
  11. Immaculate Midnight (2001)
  12. An Intimate Ghost (2004)
  13. The Iron Girl (2005)
  14. Night Vision (2006)
  15. The Mortal Groove (2007)
  16. Sweet Poison (2008)
  17. The Mirror and the Mask (2009)
  18. The Cruel Ever After (2010)
  19. The Lost Women of Lost Lake (2011)
  20. Rest for the Wicked (2012)
  21. Taken by the Wind (2013)
  22. The Old Deep and Dark (2014)
  23. The Grave Soul (2015)
  24. Fever in the Dark (2017)
  25. A Whisper of Bones (2018)
  26. Twisted at the Root (2019)
  27. In A Midnight Wood (2020)

Sophie Greenway series
  1. This Little Piggy Went to Murder (1994)
  2. For Every Evil (1995)
  3. The Oldest Sin (1996)
  4. Murder in the Air (1997)
  5. Slice and Dice (2000)
  6. Dial M For Meat Loaf (2001)
  7. Death on a Silver Platter (2003)
  8. No Reservations Required (2005)

References
  1. "Oh no! | Harris County Public Library". Archived from the original on 2012-08-04. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
  2. Jon Jordan. "Interview with "The Minnesota Crime Wave"". booksnbytes.com. Archived from the original on 2012-05-11.
  3. Owen Keehnen. "Ellen Hart Sheds Light on Her Mystery Writing". glbtq. Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
  4. "Q and A with Ellen Hart". Retrieved 2007-03-30.
  5. Seajay, Carol. "Books to Watch Out for Lesbian Edition, Vol 1, #2". Books To Watch Out For. Archived from the original on 2012-04-19.
  6. Times, Windy City (30 March 2005). "Writers on the Road, Ellen Hart, Lori Lake - Gay Lesbian Bi Trans News Archive - Windy City Times". Windy City Times.
  7. Walters, Gillian (2017-01-10). "Lez Dish it OUT! - Lesbianing With AfterEllen Friday Round-Up". AfterEllen. Retrieved 2017-01-21.
  8. "2010 Award Winners". Golden Crown Literary Society. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  9. "2nd Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. 1990-07-13. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  10. "4th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. 1992-07-14. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  11. Gonzalez Cerna, Antonio (1995-07-15). "7th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  12. "Minnesota Book Awards Winners & Finalists". The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  13. Gonzalez Cerna, Antonio (1996-07-15). "8th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Archived from the original on 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2022-02-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. Antonio, Gonzalez Cerna (1997-07-15). "9th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  15. Antonio, Gonzalez Cerna (1999-07-15). "11th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  16. Antonio, Gonzalez Cerna (2000-07-15). "12th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  17. Gonzalez Cerna, Antonio (2002-07-10). "14th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Archived from the original on 2020-08-04. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  18. Schechner, Karen (2003-06-04). "Lambda Literary Foundation Presents 2003 Lammies". American Booksellers Association. Archived from the original on 2022-01-14. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  19. "2005 Award Winners". Golden Crown Literary Society. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  20. "Mystery/Thriller Winners". Golden Crown Literary Society. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  21. Gonzalez Cerna, Antonio (2005-07-09). "17th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  22. Gonzalez Cerna, Antonio (2013-12-11). "18th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  23. "19th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. 2006-04-30. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  24. "2009 Award Winners". Golden Crown Literary Society. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  25. "20th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. 2007-04-30. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  26. Gonzalez Cerna, Antonio (2010-02-18). "21st Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  27. Valenzuela, Tony (2010-05-10). "22nd Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Archived from the original on 2020-08-09. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  28. "25th Annual Lambda Literary Award Winners Announced!". Lambda Literary. 2013-06-04. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  29. "Winners of the 26th Annual Lambda Literary Awards Announced". Lambda Literary. 2014-06-03. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  30. Bennett, Karma (2015-06-04). "Lambda Literary Award 2015 Winners Announced". Alibris. Archived from the original on 2022-01-14. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  31. Hertzel, Laurie (2015-06-18). "Ellen Hart wins her sixth Lambda Award". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 2015-06-22. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  32. Boureau, Ella (2018-03-06). "30th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  33. "31st Annual Lammy Finalists". Lambda Literary. 2019-03-07. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  34. Yee, Katie (2020-03-10). "Here are the finalists for the 2020 Lambda Literary Awards!". Literary Hub. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  35. Hart, Michelle (2020-03-10). "Here are the Finalists For the 2020 Lambda Literary Awards". Oprah Daily. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
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