2016 Highlights

Looking back on some favorite memories from 2016…

William Kent Krueger - Caribou Coffee
January: A fan,Kate Olsen, took this photo of me on the sly. The coffee shop is one of the many where I sit and write very early every morning. I love the photo. It reminds me of one of my favorite paintings, Hopper’s “Nighthawks.”

Douglas County Reads
February: A full house in Alexandria, MN for the Douglas County One Book, One Community Read! Thanks to Tessa Dutcher for the photo.

William Kent Krueger
March: I visited southern Arizona to research #16 in my Cork O’Connor series, Sulfur Springs. Here I am atop Montezuma Pass in the Coronado National Memorial. Visible behind me is the wide San Pedro River Valley, the route Coronado used to enter this territory. It’s also a corridor for the entry of illegal aliens seeking sanctuary here in the states. Sulfur Springs will be about this difficult situation confronting Americans north and south of a border now marked by an enormous fence visible even from this great height.

William Kent Krueger
April: My wife and I spent a weekend in Omaha with lots of family. While there, we visited the National Park Service’s Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Headquarters. Fascinating! Among the many items on display were reproductions of the uniforms the expedition’s two leaders wore to impress the Native population they encountered. Anyone could don the clothing, and I couldn’t resist. But I think I look more like Napoleon than Meriwether Lewis.

Newspaper
June: Why do I love small town libraries? Because the wonderful librarians there know small town politics. Just look what Meredith Vaselaar, director of the branch library in Adrian, Minnesota, twisted the arms of the mayor and the city councilmen into doing for the day of my visit there. A ticker tape parade down Broadway in New York City couldn’t be any sweeter.

William Kent Krueger in Petoskey
July: I was in Petoskey, Michigan, for a couple of book events sponsored by the Bay View Association, a Chautauqua community. As many of you Hemingway fans may know, Petoskey was one of Papa’s favorite haunts as he grew into manhood and became famous. Here I am at the City Park Grill. In Papa’s day, it was called the Annex, and he spent a good deal of time sitting at this bar, drinking, writing, probably holding forth vociferously with the locals. That’s him above me on the wall. I had to sit in the place he usually occupied (second stool from the end) and lift my glass in a toast to his memory.

William Kent Krueger in Arizona
August: Back to the southern Arizona desert, spitting distance from the border, to research Sulfur Springs. Don’t ever say that I don’t put everything on the line to make sure I get my stories right!

Once Upon a Crime
September: The Manitou Canyon book tour kicked off at Minneapolis’ Once Upon a Crime. Thanks to Mindy Mejia for the photo.

NYT Bestseller List
Manitou Canyon debuted at #11 on the New York Times bestseller list. Wahoo!!! Thanks to everyone who bought a copy early to help this happen.

WKK and David Corbett
October: Writer David Corbett and his dog Hamley were among the crowd at Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA.

WKK in Manteca
At the Great Valley Bookfest, held yearly in Manteca, California, the town in which I was living when I graduated from high school. What a terrific celebration of the written word. And just look at this! Local artist Kathleen Banzon was commissioned to paint the cover of Ordinary Grace for a permanent collection the Bookfest has begun. It wasn’t quite finished, but I was so honored to see this beautiful beginning.

WKK on Sharp Top Mountain
On Sharp Top Mountain in Virginia.

Sioux Falls Barnes and Noble
November: The Sioux Falls Barnes & Noble really stocked up on Manitou Canyon!

New England Crime Bake
At the New England Crime Bake’s “Mooses & Hunters 2016,” with Lucy Burdette, Hank Phillippi Ryan and Hallie Ephron.

Edgar Award
December: Mystery Writers of America has asked those of us who’ve been fortunate enough to receive an Edgar Award for our work to send a current photo, author and the Edgar together. Eddie and I wish you all Happy Holidays and a Joyous New Year!

 

7 thoughts on “2016 Highlights”

  1. Kate ‘Olsen’ and I love your books. She took the first photo you have posted and I happen to be from Petoskey. Next time you’re in Petoskey check out the Bay View Inn. Rumor has it that Earnest Hemingway would sell freshly caught rainbow trout, from the Bear River, to the kitchen when he was a young man.

  2. You’re my favorite contemporary mystery writer and I read a lot of mysteries. Your characters are wonderful & real, the settings authentic, and I love your tone towards your subject. I am 80 years old and have all of your books, which I pre order. I write one paragraph book reviews of all the authors I’ve read. You’re a 10 star & I recommend you to all the readers I encounter.

    Sincerely,
    Sharon Ramirez from Oregon (via Michigan)

  3. I am reading your books in no particular order (based on when and where I find them–a lot on audiobook) and have gotten quite attached to the O’Connor family and friends. Cork is definitely one of the most real and likeable lawmen/mystery solvers in fiction! Keep them coming!

  4. I am a new “follower” having just finished “Ordinary Grace”, which was a wonderful read. Do your other books need to be read in the order that they were written? Thank you so much.

  5. Christine, I have read all of the Cork books. While you don’t HAVE to read them in order, I think it deepens the experience to do so, because you get to follow Cork and his family through the years. Things that happen in one book may continue to have an impact on the lives of the O’Connors as the series continues.

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