Steve Brewer (born February 2, 1957) is an American author of mystery,

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads t ...

and

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

novels. His novel ''Lonely Street'' was made into the Hollywood film of the same name, starring

Robert Patrick Robert Hammond Patrick (born November 5, 1958) is an American actor. Known for portraying villains and honorable authority figures, he is a Saturn Award winner with four other nominations. Patrick dropped out of college when drama class sparked ...

Jay Mohr Jon Ferguson "Jay" Mohr (born August 23, 1970) is an American actor, comedian and radio host. He is known for his roles as film producer Peter Dragon in the TV comedy series ''Action'', Professor Rick Payne in the TV series ''Ghost Whisperer'' (2 ...

and

Joe Mantegna Joseph Anthony Mantegna (, ; born November 13, 1947) is an American actor. Mantegna began his career on stage in 1969 in the Chicago production of the musical '' Hair''. He earned a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play and a Joseph Jef ...

Biography

Writing

Brewer was a journalist for 22 years, writing for the ''

Arkansas Gazette The ''Arkansas Gazette'' was a newspaper in Little Rock, Arkansas, that was published from 1819 to 1991. It was known as the oldest newspaper west of the Mississippi River. It was located from 1908 until its closing at the now historic Gazette ...

'',

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

, and ''

Albuquerque Journal The ''Albuquerque Journal'' is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of New Mexico. History The ''Golden Gate'' newspaper was founded in June 1880. In the fall of 1880, the owner of the ''Golden Gate'' died and Journal Publishing Company was ...

''. He continued to write a weekly syndicated humor column for 10 more years, many of them collected in the book ''Trophy Husband''. Brewer switched to fiction with the publication of his first novel, ''Lonely Street'' in 1994. He has published 34 books, including three under the pen name Max Austin. Ten of his novels, including ''Lonely Street'', feature bumbling Albuquerque private eye Bubba Mabry.

Teaching

Brewer teaches writing at the Honors College of the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25, ...

. He has also taught classes at the Midwest Writers Workshop, SouthWest Writers, and the Tony Hillerman Writers Seminar, and regularly speaks at mystery conventions.

Bookstore

In 2018, Brewer opened Organic Books, an

independent bookstore An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned. Usually, independent stores consist of only a single actual store (although there are some multi-store independents). They may be structured as sole proprietorships, ...

Albuquerque, NM Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...

, with his wife Kelly and sons Max and Seth.

Published works

Novels

* ''Lonely Street'' (1994), Pocket Books * ''Baby Face'' (1995), Pocket Books * ''Witchy Woman'' (1996), St. Martin's Press * ''Shaky Ground'' (1997), St. Martin's Press * ''Dirty Pool'' (1999), St. Martin's Press * ''End Run'' (2000), Intrigue Press * ''Crazy Love'' (2001), Intrigue Press * ''Cheap Shot'' (2002), Intrigue Press * ''Bullets'' (2003), Intrigue Press * ''Fool's Paradise'' (2003), UNM Press * ''Boost'' (2004), Speck Press * ''Bank Job'' (2005), Intrigue Press * ''Whipsaw'' (2006), Intrigue Press * ''Monkey Man'' (2006), Intrigue Press * ''Cutthroat'' (2007), Bleak House * ''Firepower'' (2010), Amazon * ''1500 Rules for Successful Living'' (2011), Amazon * ''Calabama'' (2011), Amazon * ''The Big Wink'' (2011), Amazon * ''Lost Vegas'' (2011), Amazon * ''A Box of Pandoras'' (2012), Amazon * ''Duke City Split'' (as Max Austin) (2014), Alibi * ''Duke City Hit'' (as Max Austin) (2014), Alibi * ''Duke City Desperado'' (as Max Austin) (2015), Alibi * ''Shotgun Boogie'' (2016), Amazon * ''Homesick Blues'' (2016), Amazon * ''Side Eye'' (2017), Amazon * ''Cold Cuts'' (2018), Amazon * ''Upshot'' (2020), Amazon * ''Trouble Town'' (2021), Amazon

Short fiction

* "Sanity Clause" (novella), in ''The Last Noel'' (2004), Worldwide * "Payoff" (short story) in ''Damn Near Dead'' (2006), Busted Flush Press * "Limbo" (short story), in the Mystery Writers of America anthology ''Crimes by Moonlight'' (2010), Berkley * "Surf City" (short story), in ''West Coast Crime Wave'' (2011), Amazon * "Showdown" (short story) (2012), Amazon * "Found Money" (short story) (2012), Amazon * "Party Doll" (novella) (2012), Amazon * "Yvonne's Gone" (short story) (2012), Amazon * "Cemetery Plot" (short story) (2013), Amazon (reprinted in the 2019 anthology ''Knucklehead Noir'', Coffin Hop Press) * "Up the Chimney"" (short story) in ''It's a Weird Winter Wonderland'' (2017), Coffin Hop Press * "Babbling Brook" (short story) in ''Trouble & Strife'' (2019), Down and Out Books * "Black Friday" (short story) in ''A Beast Without A Name'' (2019), Down and Out Books

Humor

* ''Trophy Husband'' (2003), University of New Mexico Press * ''Rules for Successful Living'' (2020), Amazon

Recognition

Brewer served two years on the national board of

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an 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 Edgar Award, ...

and twice served as an

Edgar Awards The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

judge. He is also a member of

International Thriller Writers International Thriller Writers (ITW), was founded October 9, 2004, at Bouchercon XXXV, the "World Mystery and Suspense Conference", in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Six months later, some 150 authors with more than one billion books sold worldwide h ...

and SouthWest Writers.

References

External links

The Home Front
Steve Brewer's blog and homepage *
Steve Brewer reviews at Kirkus

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brewer, Steve American male novelists American mystery writers University of New Mexico faculty University of Arkansas alumni Writers from New Mexico 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists Living people 1957 births