April 16, 2009
Mystery author J.A. Jance to keynote libraries’ fundraiser, ‘Literary Voices’
J.A. Jance, New York Times best-selling author of the Joanna Brady series; the J. P. Beaumont series; and three interrelated thrillers, will deliver the keynote speech at Friends of the UW Libraries “Literary Voices,” where guests dine at tables with authors, at 6 p.m., Saturday, April 25, at the UW Club.
J.A. Jance was born in South Dakota and raised in Bisbee, Ariz. As a second-grader, Jance was introduced to Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz series. She was hooked and knew that she wanted to be a writer.
She is a graduate of the University of Arizona with a degree in English and secondary education and a master’s in library science. She worked as a school librarian on a Native American reservation.
Her first book, a slightly fictionalized version of murders that happened in Tucson in 1970, was never published. The editors who turned it down said that the parts that were real were totally unbelievable, and the parts that were fiction were fine. Her agent finally suggested that she try writing fiction.
Until Proven Guilty, the first novel to feature her now well-loved Seattle detective J.P. Beaumont, was published in 1985. While the Detective Beaumont books are set in Jance’s adopted home town of Seattle, her other series — the Joanna Brady Mysteries that include Outlaw Mountain and Devil’s Claw — are set in Jance’s original hometown of Bisbee, Ariz.
Other authors hosting tables at the event include Kathleen Alcala, Bruce Barcott, Daniel James Brown, Charles R. Cross, Madeline DeFrees, Lauro Flores, Lawrence Kreisman, Linda Mapes, Cliff Mass, Ann Pancake, Malcolm Parks, Matt Ruff, and Peter Ward.
The University Book Store will be at the event with authors’ books, which may be purchased and signed by the authors. Literary Voices is made possible with support from the UW Libraries Allen Library Endowment, BNY Mellon, OCLC, and the University of Washington Press. Proceeds from the dinner will support preservation, the Library Research Awards for Undergraduates, and collection enhancement.
Advance tickets, at $100 each, can be purchased by calling 206-616-8397 or e-mailing uwlibs@u.washington.edu. Click here for more information.
