Literary Birthday – 27 May – Tony Hillerman

Tony Hillerman was born on 27 May 1925 and died on 26 October 2008.

Tony Hillerman Quotes

1. Good reviews delight me when I get them. But I am far more delighted by being voted the most popular author by the students of St. Catherine Indian School, and even more by middle-aged Navajos who tell me that reading my mysteries revived their children’s interest in the Navajo Way. (e-Hillerman)
2. How can you stop writing? (A-Z)
3. The First Chapter Law is, “Don’t spend much time on it. You’re going to have to rewrite it.” (A-Z)
4. I always have one or two, sometimes more, Navajo or other tribes’ cultural elements in mind when I start a plot. In A Thief of Time, I wanted to make readers aware of Navajo attitude toward the dead, respect for burial sites. (A-Z)
5. A writer is like a bag lady going through life with a sack and a pointed stick collecting stuff. (A-Z)
6. You write for two people, yourself and your audience, who are usually better educated and at least as smart. (A-Z)
7. I am 82 years old. I imagine that I will keep on writing as long as anyone wants to keep reading. (A-Z)

Tony Hillerman was an American author of detective novels and nonfiction works. His stories feature Navajo Tribal Police officers, Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, blending crime fiction with Navajo culture, landscape, and spirituality. Several of his works have been adapted for film and television, including the series Dark Winds. Hillerman won multiple Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, including Best Novel for Dance Hall of the Dead and Best Novel for A Thief of Time. He wrote 18 books in his Navajo series. He wrote more than 30 books in total, including a memoir, Seldom Disappointed: A Memoir, and books about the Southwest, its beauty, and its history. He was named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America in 1991, one of the highest honours in crime fiction. He also received numerous lifetime achievement awards and was widely regarded as one of the most important American mystery writers of the 20th century.

Source for photograph: Facebook Page

by Amanda Patterson

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