Patricia Cornwell

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Making a splash as an American crime writer, Patricia Cornwall has made her mark on literary fans. Certainly the fact that her key heroine of her books is a female, in Dr. Kay Scarpetta, it is easy to see that both character and author share a steely perseverance and determination.

Patricia was born in June of 1956 in sunny Florida, USA. What followed was an admittedly difficult if not tumultuous childhood in foster care homes, yet she found an outlet in writing and crime reporting. Patricia joined the staff of The Charlotte Observer in 1979 as a crime reporter, and subsequently released ‘Ruth, A Portrait: The Story of Ruth Bell Graham’ in 1983.

She kept a close relationship with the crime scene, helping out the Richmond Police Department as she held employment with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Virgina beginning in 1984. Her passion for novel writing continued as she persistently submitted works to publishers but was only met with rejection.

It was not until 1991′s ‘Postmortem’ that she finally hit acclaim. Tying in her love of crime and all it entails she drew on this knowledge to then write ‘Predator’ and then the much beloved ‘Scarpetta’ series. Patricia continued to release titles for this series, yet apparently not fast enough for her voracious readers.

Patricia Cornwell earned the Galaxy British Book Award for the crime genre in 2008, which established herself as the very first American to gain this recognition. This all came after she won the Edgar Award, Anthony Award, Macavity Awards, and the Sherlock Award. She has spanned past not only the crime and thriller niche, and has in addition to writing biographies has other non fiction works and even a children’s book.

Her writing has been said to have inspired many hit crime television show series, such as CSI, and Patricia sees no end in sight. She is further noted for being a more than giving philanthropist and charity donor.