Joan Wright Mularz, mystery author and sometime author and illustrator of picture books

It all started when...

I was born into a large family on an island in the middle of New York Harbor. It's where I read my first mystery and learned to love reading, writing, and drawing. Since then, I’ve lived in three countries and traveled to five continents. Many rich experiences with diverse groups of kids as a parent, teacher, and graduate student have influenced me to write for young people.

Slate - A Band of Friends Mystery is set in Manhattan, the place I spent my undergraduate years and know well. It won the ROYAL PALM LITERARY AWARD 2023 for Best Young Adult/New Adult published novel (Florida Writers Assn.) and was 2nd runner-up for BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 (all genres) (Florida Writers Assn). It was also a FINALIST for the Chanticleer International Book Award for Best Young Adult book.

The 3 books of the E.T. Madigan Mystery series are set in places I’ve lived—Italy, Germany, and Maine. The third book, Maine Roots Run Deep was a FINALIST for Best Young Adult Book 2018 at the Independent Publishers of New England Book Awards.

I also write and illustrate picture books. What I Like About My Friends, celebrates the diversity I found through both teaching and travel, and another, Island Times, celebrates the multiplication and diversity of animal and plant life found on islands.

Many years ago, my husband and I were drawn to the beauty of the Rangeley Lakes region of Maine and built a vacation home there with our own labor and the help of family and friends. Rangeley is the inspiration for my alliterative alphabet book, Down West — the Other Maine, and my picture book, The Color of Western Maine is…. Many excursions to the Maine Coast led to another picture book, The Color of the Maine Coast is….

I have also written short stories, curriculums, and educational grants.

Outside of my writing life, I love to swim laps, kayak, hike, downhill ski, paint and draw, sew, garden, read, and spend time with my family and friends.

Memberships:

Sisters in Crime National

Florida Treasure Coast Sisters in Crime Chapter

Sisters in Crime New England Chapter

Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators

Palm Beach Gardens Fiction Writers

Newburyport Writers

Independent Publishers of New England