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John Straley

John Straley is a poet, private investigator and novelist from Sitka. He has worked as a secretary, a horseshoer, wilderness guide, trail crew foreman, mill worker, and teacher. He has a degree in literature from the University of Washington. His first book, The Woman Who Married a Bear, was published in 1993 and won the Shamus award for the Best First Mystery from the Private Eye Writers of America. His sixth book, Cold Water Burning, came out in October of 2001 and received a Shamus nomination for best novel of 2001. His poetry has appeared in publications including The Alaska Quarterly Review, Runes, The Sonora Review, and The Seattle Times. His essays and short stories have appeared in anthologies in the United States and the U.K. His essay “Wobblies in Alaska” appeared in These United States edited by John Leonard and published by Nation Books. In 2006 Straley was appointed as the twelfth Alaska Writer Laureate.