John Dunning (born January 9, 1942) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

writer of non-fiction and

detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as sp ...

. He is known for his reference books on

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...

and his series of mysteries featuring

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

bookseller and ex-policeman Cliff Janeway.

Life

Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in 1942, Dunning moved to his father's hometown of

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, at the age of three. In 1964 he left his parents' home and moved to

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where, after a time working as a stable hand at a

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

track, he got a job at ''

The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...

''. In 1970 he left the newspaper and took up writing novels, while pursuing a variety of jobs. Partly because of trouble with his publishers, in 1984 he stopped writing and opened a store specializing in second-hand and rare books called the Old Algonquin Bookstore. At the urging of fellow authors, he returned to the world of novels in 1992 with his first Cliff Janeway novel, ''Booked to Die''. In 1994 he closed the store and continued it as an internet and mail order business called Old Algonquin Books. Dunning lives in

with his wife Helen.

Radio

In addition to compiling encyclopedic reference books about the history of

radio programming Radio programming is the process of organising a schedule of radio content for commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting by radio stations. History The original inventors of radio, from Guglielmo Marconi's time on, expected it to be use ...

, Dunning hosted a long-running weekly radio show, ''Old-Time Radio''.

Works

Cliff Janeway novels

*''Booked to Die'' (1992) *''The Bookman's Wake'' (1995) *''The Bookman's Promise'' (2004) *''The Sign of the Book'' (2005) *''The Bookwoman's Last Fling'' (2006)

Other detective novels

*''The Holland Suggestions'' (1975) *''Looking for Ginger North'' (1980) *''Two O'Clock Eastern Wartime'' (2001)

Other novels

*''Denver'' (1980) *''Deadline'' (1981)

Nonfiction

*''Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, 1925–1976'' (1976) *''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio'' (1998)

Awards

Dunning received his first award nomination in 1981, when ''Looking for Ginger North'' received an

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

nomination for "Best Paperback Original". The following year, ''Deadline'' was nominated for this same honour. Dunning's novel ''Booked to Die'' won the

Nero Award The Nero Award is a literary award for excellence in the mystery genre presented by The Wolfe Pack, a society founded in 1978 to explore and celebrate the Nero Wolfe stories of Rex Stout Rex Todhunter Stout (; December 1, 1886 – October 27 ...

and was nominated for the

1993 Anthony Award Bouchercon is an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher; also the inspiration for the Anthony Awards, which have been issued at the con ...

in the "Best Novel" category. The follow up to this novel, ''The Bookman's Wake'', was nominated for the 1996 Edgar Award in the "Best Novel" running.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunning, John 1942 births American mystery novelists 20th-century American novelists Living people Writers from Denver Novelists from South Carolina Nero Award winners Dilys Award winners The Denver Post people 21st-century American novelists American male novelists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Colorado