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Daniel Woodrell

(1953 - 2025)

Daniel Woodrell came from a long line of Ozarkers stretching back to before the Civil War. A high school dropout he joined the marine corps at 17. The military and he saw things differently. A period of post military drifting ended up at the University of Kansas and a Michener fellowship at the Iowa Writers School, where he was definitely the odd man out.

Genres: Mystery

Series

Rene Shade
   1. Under The bright Lights (1986)
   2. Muscle For The Wing (1988)
   3. The Ones You Do (1992)

Novels

   Woe to Live On (1987)
     aka Ride with the Devil
   Give Us a Kiss (1996)
   Tomato Red (1998)
   The Death of Sweet Mister (2001)
   Winter's Bone (2006)
   The Maid's Version (2013)

Collections

The Outlaw Album (2011)

Books containing stories by Daniel Woodrell

Stray Dogs (2014)
Writing from the Other America
edited by
William Hastings

Kansas City Noir (2012)
(Akashic Noir)
edited by
Steve Paul

The Best American Mystery Stories 2012 (2012)
(Best American Mystery Stories)
edited by
Robert Crais and Otto Penzler

More books

Award nominations

	2013 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction (nominee) : The Maid's Version
	2008 Edgar Award for Best Short Story (nominee) : Uncle
	2008 Anthony Award for Best Short Story (nominee) : Uncle
	2006 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction (nominee) : Winter's Bone

Daniel Woodrell recommends

Broiler (2024)
Eli Cranor
"Eli Cranor is one of the new big 'uns. I don't have the proper term for what he does with words, calm but knowing prose, and nearly Steinbeckian concern for his characters, their woes and petty victories, dreams and shitty jobs. There is conflict and tension and sorrow, but it's his people who stick."

The Waters (2024)
Bonnie Jo Campbell
"Bonnie Jo Campbell has quietly become one of our best writers. She brings news you haven't heard before, and that's why I read. Her new novel, The Waters, is written in prose strong and lyrical, and tells a story so deeply rooted in a specific place that the accumulation of details approaches the magical."

The Devil Takes You Home (2022)
Gabino Iglesias
"Though a young writer, Gabino Iglesias writes with the authority of a writer who's been down this road many times before. Iglesias' prose is smooth where smooth is called for and rough or a bit mean when smooth won't work."

The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu (2021)
Tom Lin
"Tom Lin’s debut novel is a special pleasure. There’s blood and humor, wit and wide knowledge, in his telling of this revenge odyssey that rambles across the vastness, harshness, and myriad dangers of the Old West. The nuanced prose is firm and evocative, and we have a gritty, luminous, and fantastic take on the era and the people. Ride this one hard, folks, and put it up wet."

The Killing Hills (2021)
(Mick Hardin, book 1)
Chris Offutt
"Chris Offutt’s work about mountain life earns high praise from other writers, and Country Dark, his return to fiction, is entirely welcome and a pleasure all around.…Offutt writes so well, with such deep knowledge of the language and people, that Country Dark is likely to be read straight through, no resting places."

The Night Always Comes (2021)
Willy Vlautin
"I finished reading this novel dripping with admiration for Willy Vlautin and the tough wonder he has brought forth. The Night Always Comes hits the high-water mark; there is skillful and beautiful objectivity to the writing, characters so real that when they bleed you get a few drops on your sleeve, and a story of economic want and desperation and heart."

The Last Homeland (2020)
(Mountain Trilogy, book 2)
Matteo Righetto
"A harrowing, respectful novel...Beautiful."

Kingdomtide (2020)
Rye Curtis
"Rye Curtis's debut novel is an astonishing work. His powerful and convincing characters are at risk in a harsh and beautiful landscape in which the best and worst are revealed, and nothing is as it initially seems. Kingdomtide is at once a page-turner and a meditation on the complexity of the human experience and spirit."

Sugar Run (2019)
Mesha Maren
"Strong and insightful . . . Maren puts stories to lives that are ordinarily overlooked, exploring damaged souls and damaged land, the need for that redemptive sense of connection to places and people. Maren writes prose that moves us ever deeper into her world without strain, but with sureness and vivid details."

The Which Way Tree (2018)
Elizabeth Crook
"In The Which Way Tree, Elizabeth Crook has conjured a powerful, sly, and often charming tale delivered in the winning voice of Benjamin. This novel is a fast-paced story resonating with rich characters and mythic elements that come to us as folklore that mustn't be doubted."

The Winter Station (2018)
Jody Shields
"The Winter Station is a novel set in Russia that to its great credit reads like a Russian novel. Set early in the 20th Century, it is a story of courage, love, resilience, loyalty during a season of absolute terror. Jody Shields is a fearless writer, with the integrity of a worthy creator, and this novel won't be easily forgotten."

Bluebird, Bluebird (2017)
(Highway 59, book 1)
Attica Locke
"With Bluebird, Bluebird Attica Locke brings freshness and vitality to a beloved form. Her storytelling touch is just so strong! From the first beautifully done scene until the finale, this is a very propulsive novel concerning old deeds that keep influencing the present, injustice and courage---a powerful and dramatic look at contemporary black life in rural America."

Where All Light Tends to Go (2015)
David Joy
"Lyrical, propulsive, dark and compelling. Joy knows well the grit and gravel of his world, the soul and blemishes of the place."

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