Raised in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, William Kent Krueger briefly attended Stanford University–before being kicked out for radical activities. After that, he logged timber, worked construction, tried his hand at free-lance journalism, and eventually ended up researching child development at the University of Minnesota. He currently makes his living as a full-time author. He’s been married for over 38 years to a marvelous woman who is an attorney. He makes his home in St. Paul, a city he dearly loves.
Krueger writes a mystery series set in the north woods of Minnesota. His protagonist is Cork O’Connor, the former sheriff of Tamarack County and a man of mixed heritage—part Irish and part Ojibwe. His work has received a number of awards including the Minnesota Book Award, the Loft-McKnight Fiction Award, the Anthony Award, the Barry Award, and the Friends of American Writers Prize. The tenth book in his series, Vermilion Drift, released in 2010, was a New York Times bestseller. The next book, Northwest Angle, will be published in September. He does all his creative writing in a little St. Paul coffee shop whose identity he prefers to keep secret.
Awards
Loft-McKnight Fiction Award, 1998
Minnesota Book Award, 1999
Anthony Award for Best First Novel, 1999
Barry Award for Best First Novel, 1999
Friends of American Writers Prize, 1999
Minnesota Book Award, 2002
Readers Choice Award, 2003
Anthony Award for Best Novel, 2005
Anthony Award for Best Novel, 2006
Minnesota Book Award, 2007
Midwest Booksellers Association Honor Award in Fiction, 2007
Minnesota Book Award, 2008
Northeastern Minnesota Book Award, 2008
Dilys Award, 2008