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Megan Abbott

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Megan Abbott (born August 21, 1971)[1] is an American author of crime fiction and of non-fiction analyses of hardboiled crime fiction. Her novels and short stories have drawn from and re-worked classic subgenres of crime writing from a female perspective.[2][3] She is also an American writer and producer of television.

Megan Abbott
Abbott in 2015
Abbott in 2015
Born (1971-08-21) August 21, 1971 (age 53)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
OccupationAuthor, screenwriter, journalist
LanguageEnglish
CitizenshipUnited States
EducationUniversity of Michigan
New York University (PhD)
GenreCrime fiction
Notable awardsEdgar Award
2008 Queenpin
Barry Award – Best Paperback Novel
2008 Queenpin
RelativesPhilip Abbott (father)
Website
www.meganabbott.com

Biography

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Growing up, Abbott was greatly intrigued by the 1930 and 1940s movies she saw at a movie theater in Grosse Pointe. She believes that watching these films as a child gave her her lifelong interest in crime fiction.[4] Abbott graduated from the University of Michigan.[5] She received her Ph.D. in English and American literature from New York University, and has taught at NYU, the State University of New York and New School University. In 2013 and 2014, she served as the John Grisham Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi.[6]

In 2002, Abbott published her first book, The Street Was Mine: White Masculinity in Hardboiled Fiction and Film Noir, which The Paris Review described as "a prescient work of critical theory."[7] In it, Abbott challenges the archetypes of the "tough guy" and "femme fatale" common to noir literature.[8]

Three years later, Abbott published Die a Little,[9] the first of several novels presenting woman-centered takes on traditional noir tropes.[7] Set in midcentury Los Angeles, the story centered on Lora King, a schoolteacher whose brother Bill falls in love with Alice Steele, a former costumer for the film industry. Suspicious of Alice's motives and jealous of her hold over Bill, Lora sets out to investigate Alice's background, only to find herself pulled into the dark side of Hollywood. Kirkus Reviews reviewed the book favorably.[9]

In addition to literature, Abbott has written for major journals and newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times.[10] She also writes a blog with novelist Sara Gran.[11]

Abbott was a screenwriter for The Deuce,[12] an HBO show that premiered in 2017 and deals with pornography and the Mafia in New York in the 1970s and beyond.[13] In 2019, she adapted her bestselling novel Dare Me into a TV series on USA Network.[14] She served as co-showrunner on the series, along with Gina Fattore.[15]

Influences

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Abbott was influenced by film noir, classic noir fiction, and Jeffrey Eugenides's novel The Virgin Suicides.[16][17] Two of her novels make reference to notorious crimes. The Song Is You (2007) is based around the disappearance of Jean Spangler in 1949, and Bury Me Deep (2009) on the 1931 case of Winnie Ruth Judd, dubbed "the Trunk Murderess".[18]

Reception and awards

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Abbott has won the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award for outstanding fiction. Time named her one of the "23 Authors That We Admire" in 2011.[19] Publishers Weekly gave her 2011 novel The End of Everything a starred review.[20]

Awards

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Year Title Award Result Ref.
2006 Die a Little Anthony Award for Best Novel Finalist [21]
Barry Award for Best First Novel Finalist [22][21]
Edgar Award for Best First Novel Finalist [23][21]
2008 Queenpin Anthony Award for Best Paperback Finalist [21]
Barry Award for Best Paperback Original Won [22][21]
Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original Won [21]
2009 Bury Me Deep Hammett Prize Finalist [21]
2010 Anthony Award for Best Paperback Finalist [21]
Barry Award for Best Paperback Original Finalist [21]
Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original Finalist [21]
Macavity Award for Best Novel Finalist [21]
2012 The End of Everything Anthony Award for Best Mystery Finalist [21]
Dare Me Steel Dagger Award Finalist [21]
2013 Anthony Award for Best Mystery Finalist [21]
2014 The Fever Strand Critics Award for Best Novel Nominated
2015 ITW Thriller Award for Novel Won [21]
2016 "Little Men" Anthony Award for Best Short Story Won
2017 You Will Know Me Anthony Award for Best Mystery Finalist [21]
ITW Thriller Award for Best Novel Finalist [21]
Macavity Awards Finalist [21]
Steel Dagger Award Finalist [21]
2018 Give Me Your Hand Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller Nominated
2019 Anthony Award for Best Novel Finalist [21]
Steel Dagger Award Finalist [21]
2021 The Turnout Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books for Young Adults Selection [24]
Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller Won [25]
2022 ITW Thriller Award for Hardcover Novel Finalist [26]
Booklist's Best Mysteries & Thrillers Top 10 [27]

Publications

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As editor

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  • —— (2007). A Hell of a Woman: An Anthology of Female Noir. ISBN 9780979270994.

Non-fiction

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  • —— (2002). The Street Was Mine: White Masculinity in Hardboiled Fiction and Film Noir. ISBN 0312294816.

Novels

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  • —— (2025). El Dorado Drive.

Short stories

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  • "Oxford Girl" (2016). Appeared in Mississippi Noir.[28]
  • "Girlie Show" (2016). Appeared in In Sunlight or in Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper.[29]
  • "Little Men" (2015). Appeared in The Best American Mystery Stories 2016.[30]
  • "My Heart Is Either Broken" (2013). Appeared in Dangerous Women.

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Writer Producer Notes
2017-18 The Deuce Yes No also story editor
2019 Dare Me Yes Yes also executive producer
TBA The Turnout No Yes

References

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  1. ^ Abbott, Patricia (August 21, 2008). ""Happy Birthday, Megan"". Patricia Abbott (pattinase). Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  2. ^ Champion, Edward. "Megan Abbott, Literary Criminal." The Millions. July 12, 2011.
  3. ^ Glor, Jeff. "AUTHOR TALK: The End of Everything by Mega Abbott." CBS News. October 31, 2011.
  4. ^ Shaub, Michael (August 4, 2016). "Megan Abbott Writes Bestsellers about Bad People. Look Out, She's Coming to LA". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  5. ^ Abbott, Megan (July 26, 2011). "a stranger calls | The Abbott Gran Medicine Show". Abbottgran.wordpress.com. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  6. ^ "Author Megan Abbott". June 28, 2011. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011.
  7. ^ a b Godfrey, Rebecca (July 29, 2021). "The Things We Hide: An Interview with Megan Abbott". The Paris Review. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  8. ^ Ashman, Nathan (January 1, 2020). "The Street Was Hers: Deconstructing the Hardboiled in Megan Abbott's Noir Fiction". Mean Streets: A Journal of American Crime and Detective Fiction.
  9. ^ a b DIE A LITTLE | Kirkus Reviews.
  10. ^ Abbott, Megan. "Pretty Tough: Original victims and femme fatals, the female leads in today's mystery fiction are as complex as their male counterparts." Los Angeles Times Magazine. April 2011.
  11. ^ "The Abbott Gran Medicine Show". Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  12. ^ "Megan Abbott". New and Appearances. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  13. ^ Petski, Denise (September 19, 2017). "'The Deuce' Renewed For Season 2 At HBO". Deadline Hollywood.
  14. ^ "Cast & Info | Dare Me". USA Network. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  15. ^ McKeegan, Colleen Leahey (December 19, 2019). "Megan Abbott Wants You to Feel Everything". Marie Claire. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  16. ^ "interview". Culturaimpopular.com. December 6, 2011. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
  17. ^ Derbyshire, Johnathan. "The Books Interview: Megan Abbot." NewStatesman. September 12, 2011.
  18. ^ Kelly, Alan. "Tugged into Darkness: An interview with Megan Abbott" 3AM Magazine. Monday, August 24, 2009.
  19. ^ Time Staff. "Pack Your (Book) Bag: The best pages to turn this summer, from 23 authors we admire." Time Magazine Special. The Best Books for Summer Reading. Thursday, June 30, 2011.
  20. ^ Publishers Weekly. Review date: May 30, 2011.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Megan Abbott". Stop, You're Killing Me!. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  22. ^ a b "Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine- Barry Awards". www.deadlypleasures.com. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  23. ^ "2006 Edgar Allan Poe Award Winners". www.fictiondb.com. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  24. ^ "Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books for Young Adults, 2021". Booklist. January 1, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  25. ^ "L.A. Times Book Prizes Winners announcement". Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. Archived from the original on July 30, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  26. ^ "2022 Thriller Awards". International Thriller Writers. Archived from the original on August 3, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  27. ^ Ott, Bill (May 1, 2022). "Top 10 Mysteries & Thrillers: 2022". Booklist. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  28. ^ Mississippi Noir.
  29. ^ "In Sunlight or In Shadow". pegasusbooks.com. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  30. ^ Penzler, Otto (October 4, 2016). The Best American Mystery Stories 2016. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 978-0544527188.
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