Nevada Barr is an American author best known for her Anna Pigeon series of mystery novels set in national parks in the United States.
Early life
Although Barr was born in Yerington, Nevada, she was named not after her state of birth but after a character in one of her father's favorite books. She grew up in Johnstonville, California, and finished college at the University of California, Irvine. With a master's degree in drama, she pursued a career in theater, TV, films, commercials and voice work for almost two decades.
Writing
When her then-director husband changed careers and became interested in the environmental movement, she began working as a seasonal park ranger in the summer. Barr created the Anna Pigeon series while working at her second seasonal job in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas. Pigeon is a law enforcement ranger with the United States National Park Service. The books in the series take place in various national parks where Pigeon solves murders that are often related to natural resource issues. Barr's first permanent park ranger job was on the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi. She resigned to focus on writing when her books began to achieve commercial success. She and her husband currently reside in Ashland, Oregon.
Anna Pigeon character
Anna Pigeon is a fictional park ranger and detective in the series of novels by the same name. She shares some life experiences with the author such as working as a national park ranger and having had a husband who worked in the theater in New York City.
2003 Seeking Enlightenment... Hat by Hat: A Skeptic's Guide to Religion, a memoir
2009 13, a psychological thriller
2019 What Rose Forgot, a standalone thriller
Awards
Barr has received a number of awards and nominations for her work. Her début novel, Track of the Cat, won the 1994 Anthony Award and Agatha Award for "Best First Novel". Her next novel, Superior Death, was nominated for the Dilys Award in 1995. Firestorm was nominated for the 1997 Anthony Award in the "Best Novel" category. Blind Descent was the next novel to receive attention from the mystery community, receiving a "Best Novel" nomination at the 1999 Anthony Awards, Dilys Awards and the Macavity Awards in the same year. Deep South, published in 2000, won the Barry Award for "Best Novel" and was again nominated for the Anthony Award in the same category. In 2011, the National Parks Conservation Association honored her with the Robin W. Winks Award for Enhancing Public Understanding of National Parks. The award recognizes an individual or organization that has effectively communicated the values of the National Park System to the American public.
