Alice Blanchard (born 1959) is an American suspense novelist. She won the Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction for her book of stories ''The Stuntman's Daughter''.

Early life and education

Blanchard was born February 28, 1959, in

Hyannis, Massachusetts Hyannis is the largest of the seven villages in the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. It is the commercial and transportation hub of Cape Cod and was designated an urban area at the 1990 census. Because of this, many refer to Hya ...

. She received a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

in film studies from

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...

Career

Blanchard published her first book, a short story collection titled ''The Stuntman's Daughter: And Other Stories'', with

University of North Texas Press The University of North Texas Press (or UNT Press), founded in 1987, is a university press that is part of the University of North Texas. It is a member of the Association of University Presses, to which it was admitted in 2003. The University of N ...

in 1996. The 12-story collection won the Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction for that year. Her first novel, ''Darkness Peering'', was published by

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin Jr., Sidney B. K ...

in 1999. It was named one of the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

' Notable Books, a

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. The company operates approximately 600 retail stores across the United States. Barnes & Noble operates mainly through its B ...

Best Mystery, and a

Book Sense The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is a non-profit trade association founded in 1900 that promotes independent bookstores in the United States. ABA's core members are key participants in their communities' local economy and culture, and to ...

Pick. The novel was published in nine countries, and film adaptation rights were sold to

Propaganda Films Propaganda Films (stylized as PЯOPAGAИDA FILMS) was a production company founded in Los Angeles in 1986 by American producer Steve Golin, Icelandic producer Sigurjón Sighvatsson, English director Nigel Dick, and American directors David Fi ...

. She has since published three additional standalone novels: ''The Breathtaker'' (2003), ''Life Sentences'' (2005), and ''A Breath After Drowning'' (2018). ''The Breathtaker'' was an official

NBC Today ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

Book Club selection in January 2004. Blanchard also authored the Natalie Lockhart series, which consists of four novels: ''Trace of Evil'' (2019), ''The Wicked Hour'' (2020), ''The Witching Tree'' (2021), and ''The Shadow Girls'' (2023). ''Trace of Evil'' follows a female rookie detective investigating the murder of a popular high school teacher who has eerie ties to the murder of a teenage girl 20 years ago. The series includes witch accusation and obsession with

black magic Black magic (Middle English: ''nigromancy''), sometimes dark magic, traditionally refers to the use of Magic (paranormal), magic or supernatural powers for evil and selfish purposes. The links and interaction between black magic and religi ...

deep in the woods of the fictional

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

community of Burning Lake, New York.

Awards and honors

Blanchard has received a

PEN PEN may refer to: * (National Ecological Party), former name of the Brazilian political party Patriota (PATRI) * PEN International, a worldwide association of writers ** English PEN, the founding centre of PEN International ** PEN America, located ...

Syndicated Fiction Award, a

New Letters ''New Letters'', the name it has been published under since 1970, is one of the oldest literary magazines in the United States and continues to publish award-winning poems and fiction. The magazine is based in Kansas City, Missouri. History and ...

Literary Award, and a Centrum Artists in Residence Fellowship.

Personal life

Blanchard married writer Doug Dowling in January 1993.

Publications

Natalie Lockhart series

* * * *

Standalone novels

* * * *

Short story collections

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanchard, Alice Living people American thriller writers People from Middletown, Connecticut American women short story writers Novelists from Connecticut American women thriller writers American women novelists 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers Year of birth missing (living people)