Murray Bishoff is a writer at ''The Monett Times'' in

Monett, Missouri Monett is the most-populous city in Barry and Lawrence counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The city is located in the Ozarks, just south of Interstate 44 between Joplin and Springfield. According to the 2024 census population estimate, th ...

. Formerly a contributor to ''

Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The publ ...

'', Bishoff won an

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at Comic-Con Internati ...

in 1980. Bishoff is also known for his research and writings on the 1901 fifteen-hour lynching spree in

Pierce City, Missouri Pierce City, formerly Peirce City, is a city in southwest Lawrence and northwest Barry counties, in southwest Missouri, United States. The population was 1,251 at the 2020 census. According to the 2024 census population estimate, the town is ho ...

, during which white residents murdered three African American residents and caused nearly 300 others to flee the city. His writings include a series of articles published to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the event and the

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

''Cry of Thunder''. In addition, the town's cemetery holds a marker to the event paid for in large part by Bishoff and the Pierce City Museum hosts an exhibit which Bishoff created. He has also publicly spoken about the event to

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

and appears in a documentary about the event, ''Banished: How Whites Drove Blacks out of Town in America''. Bishoff is the vice-president of the

Harold Bell Wright Harold Bell Wright (May 4, 1872 – May 24, 1944) was a best-selling American writer of fiction, essays, and nonfiction. Although mostly forgotten or ignored after the middle of the 20th century, he had a very successful career; he is said to hav ...

Museum in Pierce City.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American columnists American newspaper editors 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers People from Pierce City, Missouri Novelists from Missouri 21st-century American novelists American historical novelists American male novelists People from Monett, Missouri 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American historians 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers Inkpot Award winners {{US-editor-stub