About Nancy Werlin
“An Edgar-award-winning author who writes psychological thrillers with the same depth and punch as Ruth Rendell and Minette Walters with the kind of noirish feel that permeates many of my favorite crime novels. A writer who has a keen understanding of how kids react and feel — who goes for the gut and never flinches on true emotions, who creates characters so true they make you cry and feel a little something yourself.
“Chances are, many of you haven't heard of this author. Or if you have, it's because her name has come up in a completely different context. That's because Nancy Werlin writes novels geared for young adults, and so if you were — like me — not as inclined towards YA as to adult crime fiction, then you would have passed her by. And that would be a shame, because she's simply one of the best crime novelists going right now. Period.”
-Sarah Weinman (12/06/2006)
Nancy Werlin was born and raised in Peabody, Massachusetts, USA and now lives near Boston. She received her bachelor's degree in English from Yale.
Since then, she has worked as a technical writer and editor for several computer software and Internet companies, while also writing fiction.
Interview Links
You can read interviews with Nancy at the following sites.
If you've got questions like "What did it mean in Killer's Cousin when David", along with most other questions, these comprehensive interviews are where you'll find your answers.
- Cynthia
Leitich Smith—Children's Literature Resources (2001)
(This is one of the premier sites on the web for comprehensive information about children's books and is well worth a lengthy visit.) - Update Interview with Cynthia Leitich Smith (7/2006)
- Interview with Not Your Mother's Book Club (12/2006)
- fireandwater.com at HarperCollins UK (interview largely about The Killer's Cousin)
- authors4teens.com
(Although this is a subscription site, a 24-hour free trial subscription is available; go to the site, find the "Access" menu, and click on "Trial access.")
Photographs of Nancy
Above: at 17, for
high school graduation.
Above: a recent photo.
Photo credit: Jerry Bauer, 2008.
[For a high-resolution image, click here.]