John Dunning (detective fiction author) explained

John Dunning (detective fiction author) should not be confused with John Dunning (true crime author).

John Dunning
Birth Date:9 January 1942
Birth Place:New York City, U.S.
Occupation:Novelist
Genre:Detective fiction, mystery
Spouse:Helen

John Dunning (January 9, 1942 – May 22, 2023) was an American writer of non-fiction and detective fiction. He was known for his reference books on old-time radio and his series of mysteries featuring Denver bookseller and ex-policeman Cliff Janeway.

Early life and career

Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1942, Dunning moved to his father's hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, at the age of three. In 1964 he left his parents' home and moved to Denver, Colorado, where, after a time working as a stable hand at a horse racing track, he got a job at The Denver Post. In 1970 he left the newspaper and took up writing novels, while pursuing a variety of jobs. Partly because of trouble with his publishers, in 1984 he stopped writing and opened a store specializing in second-hand and rare books called the Old Algonquin Bookstore.[1] [2] At the urging of fellow authors, he returned to the world of novels in 1992 with his first Cliff Janeway novel, Booked to Die. In 1994 he closed the store and continued it as an internet and mail order business called Old Algonquin Books.[3]

Radio

In addition to compiling encyclopedic reference books about the history of radio programming, Dunning hosted a long-running weekly radio show, Old-Time Radio.[4]

Awards

Dunning received his first award nomination in 1981, when Looking for Ginger North received an Edgar Award nomination for "Best Paperback Original".[5] The following year, Deadline was nominated for this same honour.[5]

Dunning's novel Booked to Die won the Nero Award and was nominated for the 1993 Anthony Award in the "Best Novel" category.[6] [7] The follow-up to this novel, The Bookman's Wake, was nominated for the 1996 Edgar Award in the "Best Novel" running.[8]

Personal life and death

On May 30, 1969, Dunning married Helen Rose Korupp.[9]

Dunning died on May 23, 2023, at the age of 81, following a long battle with dementia, stemming from a brain tumor diagnosed in 2006.[10]

Works

Cliff Janeway novels

Other detective novels

Other novels

Nonfiction

Notes and References

  1. News: Author Combines Bookselling, Writing Fevers . Joe . Wheelan . . Jack Osteen . 6A . April 28, 1992 . April 2, 2012.
  2. News: Worlds of Books, Murder Collide . Joe . Wheelan . . John Pipes Gaines . 11 . May 25, 1995 . April 2, 2012 . Bowling Green, Kentucky.
  3. Web site: Welcome to Old Algonquin Books . December 5, 2014.
  4. Book: Dunning, John . On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio . registration . john dunning on the air. . New York . . 1998 . 0-19-507678-8 . April 2, 2012.
  5. Web site: Best Paperback Original Mystery Novel Edgar Award Winners and Nominees – Complete Lists . Mysterynet.com . April 2, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121220075006/http://www.mysterynet.com/edgars/previous/original/ . December 20, 2012 . dead .
  6. Web site: Wolfe Pack Nero Award Recipients chronologically . Nerowolfe.org . December 12, 2011 . April 2, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130514203832/http://www.nerowolfe.org/htm/neroaward/awardees_chron.htm . May 14, 2013 .
  7. Web site: Bouchercon World Mystery Convention : Anthony Awards Nominees . Bouchercon.info . October 2, 2003 . April 2, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120207060829/http://www.bouchercon.info/nominees.html . February 7, 2012 .
  8. Web site: Best Mystery Novel Edgar Award Winners and Nominees – Complete Lists . Mysterynet.com . April 2, 2012.
  9. https://archive.org/details/contemporaryauth0155unse/page/98/mode/2up?q=%22John+Dunning%22+%22thieves+Like+Us%22 "Dunning, John 1942-"
  10. McKinley, Carol (May 26, 2023). "John Dunning, author, rare bookseller, force of nature dead at 81". The Denver Gazette. Retrieved May 26, 2023.

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