Linda Greenlaw

Linda Greenlaw (born December 22, 1960)[1][2] is a best-selling author of books with maritime themes and the only female swordfishing boat captain on the East Coast of the United States.[3] She was featured in the 1997 book The Perfect Storm and the film The Perfect Storm.

Linda Greenlaw
Born (1960-12-22) December 22, 1960
Connecticut, United States
OccupationAuthor, fisher
NationalityAmerican
EducationColby College
GenreMaritime, autobiography, detective fiction, cookbooks
Notable awardsU.S. Maritime Literature Award (2003)
New England Book Award (2004)

Greenlaw wrote three best-selling books about life as a commercial fisher: The Hungry Ocean in 1999, The Lobster Chronicles in 2002 and All Fishermen Are Liars in 2002.

Her books have climbed as high as No. 2 on the New York Times bestseller list, with The Hungry Ocean remaining on the list for three months.[4][5]

Greenlaw lives on Isle au Haut, Maine, and was the first female sword-fishing boat captain on the American East Coast.[6]

Early life

Greenlaw was born in Connecticut, the daughter of Jim and Martha Greenlaw. Her father was an information systems manager for Bath Iron Works. She was raised in Topsham, Maine, and her family spent their summers in Isle au Haut, a village of 71 people off the coast of Maine. Greenlaw attended Colby College, where she majored in both English and government. To help pay her way through college, Linda worked as a cook and deckhand aboard the sword-fishing boat Walter Leeman during her summers. She continued working on the boat during free time and vacations and, after her graduation in 1983, continued working for the boat's owner, Alden Leeman, who installed Greenlaw as a swordfish captain in 1986 when he acquired a second vessel.[7]

Greenlaw wrote in The Hungry Ocean: "Being a woman hasn't been a big deal. I never anticipated problems stemming from being female, and never encountered any. I have been surprised, even embarrassed, by the number of people who are genuinely amazed that a woman might be capable of running a fishing boat."[7]

Career

Commercial fisherman

Greenlaw was the captain of the Hannah Boden in October 1991 when Andrea Gail sank in the Atlantic in the 1991 Perfect Storm. Greenlaw's efforts to warn the Andrea Gail about the impending storm were portrayed in Sebastian Junger's 1997 book The Perfect Storm and in the movie version, in which she was played by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. Junger called Greenlaw not just the only female swordfishing captain, but "one of the best captains, period, on the entire East Coast."[5]

In 1997, Greenlaw settled in Isle au Haut, and bought a lobster boat, the 35-foot Mattie Belle.[2]

On May 28, 2009, Greenlaw was convicted of illegally entering and illegally fishing in Canadian waters by the Provincial Court of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Crown asked for a fine of CAD$53,000, while the defense recommended a fine of half that amount. She was fined $38,000 after the judge found she did not use "due diligence".[8]

Writer
External video
video icon Booknotes interview with Greenlaw on The Lobster Chronicles: Life On a Very Small Island, October 13, 2002, C-SPAN
video icon Presentation by Greenlaw on The Lobster Chronicles, November 24, 2002, C-SPAN

Greenlaw's first book, The Hungry Ocean (1999), described a one-month swordfishing voyage, entailing, "among other things, treacherous weather, uncooperative fish, wildly entertaining shipmates, and the exhausting, mind-bending pressure of ten consecutive 21-hour days."[5] Subsequent books include The Lobster Chronicles: Life on a Very Small Island (2002), All Fishermen Are Liars: True Tales from the Dry Dock Bar (2004), Seaworthy: A Swordboat Captain Returns to the Sea (2010), and Lifesaving Lessons: Notes from an Accidental Mother (2013). Greenlaw has co-authored two cookbooks with her mother, Martha Greenlaw, and published four novels of detective fiction—Slipknot (2007), Fisherman's Bend (2008), Shiver Hitch (2017) and Bimini Twist (2018) — all the names of knots and featuring her fictional detective Jane Bunker.

TV

Linda has joined Season 19 of Deadliest Catch to try and break into the highly dangerous career of Alaskan Crab fishing.

Awards

Greenlaw was the winner of the American Library Association's Alex Award in 2000,[9] United States Maritime Literature Award in 2003, and the New England Book Award for nonfiction in 2004.[7]

Bibliography

Cookbooks
  • Greenlaw, Linda; Greenlaw, Martha (2005). Recipes from a Very Small Island. Hyperion. ISBN 1401300731.
  • Greenlaw, Linda; Greenlaw, Martha (2011). The Maine Summers Cookbook: Recipes for Delicious, Sun-Filled Days. Studio. ISBN 978-0670022854.

Maritime

Memoir

Mystery
  • Greenlaw, Linda (2007). Slipknot. Jane Bunker Mystery #1. Hyperion. ISBN 978-0786866786.
  • Greenlaw, Linda (2008). Fisherman's Bend. Jane Bunker Mystery #2. Hyperion. ISBN 978-1401322359.
  • Greenlaw, Linda (2017). Shiver Hitch. Jane Bunker Mystery #3. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-1250181541.
  • Greenlaw, Linda (2018). Bimini Twist. Jane Bunker Mystery #4. Minotaur Books. ISBN 978-1250107589.

References
  1. "Greenlaw, Linda, 1960-". Library of Congress Authorities. Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 2017-04-06. Retrieved 2013-07-31.
  2. Drew, Bernard A. (2007). 100 Most Popular Nonfiction Authors: Biographical Sketches and Bibliographies. Libraries Unlimited. p. 135.
  3. "Linda Greenlaw," by John Koch, The Boston Globe, May 2, 1999
  4. Linda Greenlaw bio and 2007 interview, BookReporter.com
  5. Dave Weich, True Tales from Linda Greenlaw Archived 2008-12-09 at the Wayback Machine, Powells.com interview, 2004
  6. The Perfect Storm, by Sebastian Junger
  7. Linda Greenlaw biography. BookRags.com. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  8. "Perfect Storm captain convicted of illegally fishing in Canadian waters". CBC News. 2009-05-29. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  9. "2000 Alex Awards". Young Adult Library Services Association. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
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