Ellen Hart (born August 10, 1949) is the award-winning

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' *Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...

author of the Jane Lawless and Sophie Greenway series. Born in

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, she was a professional chef for 14 years. Hart's mysteries include culinary elements similar to those of

Diane Mott Davidson Diane Mott Davidson (born March 22, 1949) is an American author of mystery novels that use the theme of food, an idea she got from Robert B. Parker. Several recipes are included in each book, and each novel title is a play on a food or drink wor ...

Life and career

The author says of her work, "I don't write about the Mean Streets. I don't live there .... I don't do lots of blood and gore. I don't do sex scenes in any great detail. I'd never kill a dog or a cat. I guess you could call my style, ''maximal suspense and minimal gore''." Hart is openly

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

. Her Jane Lawless series features a lesbian restaurateur and her smart mouth best friend, Cordelia Thorn. The Jane Lawless series began in 1989 and is an early post- Stonewall example of the mystery genre in

lesbian literature Lesbian literature is a subgenre of literature addressing lesbian themes. It includes poetry, plays, fiction addressing lesbian characters, and non-fiction about lesbian-interest topics. A similar term is Sapphic love, sapphic literature, encom ...

. Hart's novels deal with

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

issues and five of the Lawless series have won

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...

s. Dubbed the "lesbian answer to

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

, " for her Jane Lawless series, Hart also pens the culinary Sophie Greenway mystery series. She frequently tours and lectures on the craft of mystery writing. She has contributed to numerous crime writer anthologies including ''Resort to Murder: Thirteen More Tales of Mystery by Minnesota's Premier Writers.'' In 2005, Hart was inducted into the Saints and Sinners Hall of Fame, joining literary greats such as

Dorothy Allison Dorothy Earlene Allison (April 11, 1949 – November 6, 2024) was an American writer whose writing focused on class struggle, sexual abuse, child abuse, feminism, and lesbianism. She was a self-identified femme lesbian. Allison won a number o ...

Felice Picano Felice Anthony Picano (February 22, 1944 – March 12, 2025) was an American writer, publisher and critic who encouraged the development of gay literature in the United States. His work is documented in many sources. Life and career Felice Ant ...

Katherine V. Forrest Katherine V. Forrest (born 1939) is a Canadian-born American writer, best known for her novels about lesbian police detective Kate Delafield. Her books have won and been finalists for Lambda Literary Award twelve times, as well as other awards. S ...

, and others. At the 2007 annual meeting of the

Golden Crown Literary Society Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) is an American nonprofit organization established in 2004 for those with an interest in Sapphism, Sapphic literature. Since 2005, GCLS has at its annual conference presented Golden Crown Literary Awards (Go ...

, Hart was the keynote speaker. Nominated twenty-three times for the Lambda Literary Award, Hart has won six. In 2010, Hart won the Trailblazer Award from the

which honours the contributions of lesbian writers. Previous winners include

Ann Bannon Ann Weldy (born September 15, 1932), better known by her pen name Ann Bannon, is an American author who, from 1957 to 1962, wrote five lesbian pulp fiction novels known as ''The Beebo Brinker Chronicles''. The books' enduring popularity and imp ...

Jane Rule Jane Vance Rule (28 March 1931 – 27 November 2007) was a Canadian-American writer of lesbian-themed works. Her first novel, '' Desert of the Heart'', appeared in 1964, when gay activity was still a criminal offence. It turned Rule into a r ...

, and Lee Lynch. In 2017, she became the first openly

writer to be named a Grand Master by the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the E ...

. She is a founding member of The Minnesota Crime Wave along with Twin Cities crime-fiction writers Carl Brookins and

William Kent Krueger William Kent Krueger (born November 16, 1950) is an American novelist and crime writer, best known for his series of novels featuring Cork O'Connor, which are set mainly in Minnesota. In 2005 and 2006, he won back-to-back Anthony Awards for best ...

. The Minnesota Crime Wave's TV show about mysteries and writing airs on CTV-15 in the Twin Cities or episodes can be seen at MinnesotaCrimeWave.org. Hart has taught introductory classes for mystery writers at

The Loft Literary Center The Loft Literary Center is a non-profit literary organization located in Minneapolis, Minnesota incorporated in 1975. The Loft is a large and comprehensive independent literary center which offers a variety of writing classes, conferences, grant ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

for many years. She and Kathy, her partner of over thirty years, lived in Minneapolis until 2012 when they downsized and now live in

Eden Prairie, Minnesota Eden Prairie is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. It had a population of 64,198 at the 2020 census, making it the 16th-largest city in Minnesota. The city is adjacent to the north bank of the Minnesota River, upstream fro ...

Awards and honors

In 2010, Ellen Hart received the

's Trailblazer Award.

Bibliography

Anthology contributions

* ''Murder, They Wrote'', edited by

Martin H. Greenberg Martin Harry Greenberg (March 1, 1941 – June 25, 2011) was an American academic and anthologist in many genres, including mysteries and horror, but especially in speculative fiction. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned ...

and Elizabeth Foxwell (1997) * ''The Milk of Human Kindness'', edited by

Lori L. Lake Lori L. Lake (born February 9, 1960) is an American writer of fiction, mainly about lesbian protagonists. She is also an editor, writing instructor, and former publisher. Personal life Lake was born in Portland, Oregon, the oldest of five daught ...

(2004) * ''Writes of Spring: Stories and Prose'', edited by Gary Schulze and Pat Frovarp (2012) * ''Malice Domestic 15: Mystery Most Theatrical'' (2020)

Anthologies edited

* ''Resort to Murder'', edited with Carl Brookins (2007)

Jane Lawless series

# ''Hallowed Murder'' (1989) # ''Vital Lies'' (1991) # ''Stage Fright'' (1992) # ''A Killing Cure'' (1993) # ''A Small Sacrifice'' (1994) # ''Faint Praise'' (1995) # ''Robber's Wine'' (1996) # ''Wicked Games'' (1998) # ''Hunting The Witch'' (1999) # ''The Merchant of Venus'' (2001) # ''Immaculate Midnight'' (2001) # ''An Intimate Ghost'' (2004) # ''The Iron Girl'' (2005) # ''Night Vision'' (2006) # ''The Mortal Groove'' (2007) # ''Sweet Poison'' (2008) # ''The Mirror and the Mask'' (2009) # ''The Cruel Ever After'' (2010) # ''The Lost Women of Lost Lake'' (2011) # ''Rest for the Wicked'' (2012) # ''Taken by the Wind'' (2013) # ''The Old Deep and Dark'' (2014) # ''The Grave Soul'' (2015) # ''Fever in the Dark'' (2017) # ''A Whisper of Bones'' (2018) #''Twisted at the Root'' (2019) #''In A Midnight Wood'' (2020)

Sophie Greenway series

# ''This Little Piggy Went to Murder'' (1994) # ''For Every Evil'' (1995) # ''The Oldest Sin'' (1996) # ''Murder in the Air'' (1997) # ''Slice and Dice'' (2000) # ''Dial M For Meat Loaf'' (2001) # ''Death on a Silver Platter'' (2003) # ''No Reservations Required'' (2005)

References

External links

Ellen Hart's Web Page

Minnesota Crime Wave

All Things Gay Interview with Ellen Hart
*Ellen Hart talks about her book ''Faint Praise'', another in the Jane Lawless series; interviewed by Bruce Southworth, Northern Lights TV Series #354 (1996):

/nowiki> *Ellen Hart talks about her book ''A Killing Cure'' and other books in the Jane Lawless series; interviewed by Barbara Haugen, Northern Lights TV Series #275 (1993):

/nowiki> *Mystery Writers Panel with Ellen Hart, Mary Logue, M.D. Lake & R.D. Zimmerman "Mystery & Suspense Writing” - Northern Lights TV Series #251 (Part One) (1993):

/nowiki> “The Mystery Writing Process/Writing Tips” - Northern Lights TV Series #252 (Part Two) (1993):

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Ellen 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American mystery writers Lambda Literary Award winners American lesbian writers Living people Writers from Minneapolis 1949 births Novelists from Minnesota American women mystery writers American LGBTQ novelists LGBTQ crime writers LGBTQ people from Maine American women novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers