By Dan Nonte, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-5371
Posted 10-4-06
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Mystery writer Margaret Maron has loaned her papers to the campus where she once studied.
The papers are on loan to University Archives and Manuscripts at Jackson Library. Maron has sent 10 boxes of material – drafts of her novels, correspondence, clippings and notes – and plans to send more soon.
She also has established a $25,000 endowment in the UNCG Excellence Foundation to enhance the preservation of her papers and other collections in University Archives and Manuscripts.
Born in Greensboro, Maron grew up on her family’s farm in Johnston County. She attended Woman’s College (now UNCG) for two years, ’56-57 and ’57-58. Initially planning to study education, she switched her major to English after just a few classes. She transferred to UNC-Chapel Hill, but dropped out soon afterward to get married.
Her 1992 novel “Bootlegger's Daughter,” which features the character Deborah Knott, received the Edgar Allan Poe Award, the Anthony Award for Best Mystery Novel, the Agatha Award for Best Traditional Novel and the Macavity Award for Best Novel, becoming the first book to win all four awards. Her novel “Up Jumps the Devil” won the Agatha Award in 1996.
She has written 24 novels, 12 featuring Deborah Knott, according to her web site, www.margaretmaron.com. She also has published short stories in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, McCall’s, Redbook, Reader’s Digest and other magazines. She is past president of Sisters in Crime, a 2,200-member organization that promotes mysteries written by women.
In July, the citizens of Johnston County recognized their favorite daughter with Margaret Maron Week. Also in her honor, the North Carolina Writers Conference held its annual meeting in Smithfield that week.
Maron has described her novels set in the state as “love letters to North Carolina.” The novels frequently involve issues confronting the state, such as race relations, real-estate development, the environment and the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs.
