Mystery Writers of America Announces 2014
Wednesday, December 4, 2013, New York, NY – Robert Crais and Carolyn Hart have been chosen
as the 2014 Grand Masters by Mystery Writers of America (MWA). MWA's Grand Master Award
represents the pinnacle of achievement in mystery writing and was established to acknowledge
important contributions to this genre, as well as for a body of work that is both significant and of
consistent high quality. Mr. Crais and Ms. Hart will be presented with their awards at the Edgar
Awards Banquet, which will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City on Thursday, May 1,
2014.
When told of being named a Grand Master, Crais said, "I am happy, proud, and more than a little
humbled to be chosen for this high honor by Mystery Writers of America. The list of Grand Masters is
a list of my literary heroes. I may never accept that my name is now on this list, but I will be forever
grateful for the kindness and generosity of MWA for placing me among these esteemed writers."
Robert Crais hails from a blue-collar family in Louisiana. In 1976, after years of amateur film-making
and short story writing, he moved to Hollywood and found work as a screenwriter, crafting scripts for
such major TV crime shows as Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey, and Miami Vice. In the mid-eighties
he left television and began writing novels full-time. Upon the death of his father in 1985, he was
inspired to create his main character Elvis Cole using elements of his own life as the basis of the
story. It resulted in his breakout novel, The Monkey’s Raincoat, and was nominated for The Best First
Novel Edgar Award.
as the 2014 Grand Masters by Mystery Writers of America (MWA). MWA's Grand Master Award
represents the pinnacle of achievement in mystery writing and was established to acknowledge
important contributions to this genre, as well as for a body of work that is both significant and of
consistent high quality. Mr. Crais and Ms. Hart will be presented with their awards at the Edgar
Awards Banquet, which will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City on Thursday, May 1,
2014.
When told of being named a Grand Master, Crais said, "I am happy, proud, and more than a little
humbled to be chosen for this high honor by Mystery Writers of America. The list of Grand Masters is
a list of my literary heroes. I may never accept that my name is now on this list, but I will be forever
grateful for the kindness and generosity of MWA for placing me among these esteemed writers."
Robert Crais hails from a blue-collar family in Louisiana. In 1976, after years of amateur film-making
and short story writing, he moved to Hollywood and found work as a screenwriter, crafting scripts for
such major TV crime shows as Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey, and Miami Vice. In the mid-eighties
he left television and began writing novels full-time. Upon the death of his father in 1985, he was
inspired to create his main character Elvis Cole using elements of his own life as the basis of the
story. It resulted in his breakout novel, The Monkey’s Raincoat, and was nominated for The Best First
Novel Edgar Award.
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