Ann Cleeves (born 1954) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

writer. She wrote the Vera Stanhope, Jimmy Perez, and Matthew Venn series, all three of which have been adapted into

TV shows A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...

. In 2006 she won the

Duncan Lawrie Dagger The Gold Dagger is an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom since 1960 for the best crime novel of the year. From 1955 to 1959, the organization named their top honor as the Crossed Red Herring Award. Fro ...

for her novel ''

Raven Black ''Raven Black'' is a 2006 novel by Ann Cleeves that won the Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award for the best crime novel of the year.

'', the first novel in the Jimmy Perez series.

Early life and career

Cleeves was born in

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

and brought up in north

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

where she attended Barnstaple Grammar School; she studied English at the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

but dropped out and then took up various jobs including cook at the

Fair Isle Fair Isle (; sco, Fair Isle; non, Friðarey; gd, Fara) is an island in Shetland, in northern Scotland. It lies about halfway between mainland Shetland and Orkney. It is known for its bird observatory and a traditional style of knitting. Th ...

bird observatory A bird observatory is a centre for the study of bird migration and bird populations. They are usually focused on local birds, but may also include interest in far-flung areas. Most bird observatories are small operations with a limited staff, man ...

, auxiliary coastguard, probation officer, library outreach worker and child care officer.

Personal life

She lives in

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around eas ...

, and is widowed with two daughters.

Honours, awards, and media appearances

In 2006 she won the

for her novel ''

Raven Black ''Raven Black'' is a 2006 novel by Ann Cleeves that won the Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award for the best crime novel of the year.

''. In 2014 Cleeves was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of Sunderland. In 2015, Cleeves was the Programming Chair for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival & the

Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award The Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award is one of the UK's top crime-fiction awards, sponsored by Theakston's Old Peculier. It is awarded annually at Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of ...

. In 2015, she was shortlisted for the

Dagger in the Library The Dagger in the Library (Golden Handcuffs in 1992–1994) is an annual award given by the British Crime Writers' Association to a particular "living author who has given the most pleasure to readers". Yearly shortlists are drawn up of the ten auth ...

UK Crime Writers' Association award for an author's body of work in British libraries (UK). Cleeves was chosen as the 2017 recipient of the

Cartier Diamond Dagger The Diamond Dagger is an award given by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom to authors who have made an outstanding lifetime's contribution to the genre. Winners * 1986 – Eric Ambler * 1987 – P. D. James * 1988 – John le Car ...

from the

Crime Writers' Association The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors’ organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its Dagger awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. T ...

for "sustained excellence" in crime fiction. In February 2019 Ann Cleeves appeared on

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...

. Cleeves was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to reading and libraries. In July 2022, Cleeves was awarded an honorary D.Litt. from Newcastle University for services to reading and libraries.

Bibliography

Palmer-Jones

* ''A Bird in the Hand'' (1986), * ''Come Death and High Water'' (1987), * ''Murder in Paradise'' (1988), * ''A Prey to Murder'' (1989), * ''Another Man's Poison'' (1992), * ''Sea fever'' (1993), * ''The Mill on the Shore'' (1994), * ''High Island Blues'' (1996),

Inspector Ramsay

* ''A Lesson in Dying'' (1990), * ''Murder in My Backyard'' (1991), * ''A Day in the Death of Dorothea Cassidy'' (1992), * ''Killjoy'' (1993), * ''The Healers'' (1995), * ''The Baby Snatcher'' (1997),

Vera Stanhope

These novels, except for ''The Glass Room'', have been dramatized in the television series '' Vera'' on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

, which stars Brenda Blethyn in the title role. The programme premiered in May 2011. * ''The Crow Trap'' (1999), * ''Telling Tales'' (2005), * ''Hidden Depths'' (2007), * ''Silent Voices'' (2011), * ''The Glass Room'' (2012), * ''Harbour Street'' (2014), * ''The Moth Catcher'' (2015), * ''The Seagull'' (2017), * ''The Darkest Evening'' (2020), * ''The Rising Tide'' (2022),

Shetland Island

In 2013, ''Red Bones'' was dramatised by David Kane for BBC television as the first episode of the series ''

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

'', which stars

Douglas Henshall Douglas “Dougie” James Henshall (born 19 November 1965) is a Scottish television, film and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Professor Nick Cutter in the science fiction series '' Primeval'' (2007–2011) and Detective Inspect ...

as Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez. Episodes broadcast in 2014 were based on ''Raven Black'', ''Dead Water'', and ''Blue Lightning''. ;The Four Seasons Quartet * ''

Raven Black ''Raven Black'' is a 2006 novel by Ann Cleeves that won the Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award for the best crime novel of the year.

'' (2006), ;

Gold Dagger The Gold Dagger is an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom since 1960 for the best crime novel of the year. From 1955 to 1959, the organization named their top honor as the Crossed Red Herring Award. From ...

Award * ''White Nights'' (2008), * ''Red Bones'' (2009), * ''Blue Lightning'' (2010), ;The Four Elements Quartet * ''Dead Water'' (2013), * ''Thin Air'' (2014), * ''Cold Earth'' (2016), * ''Wild Fire'' (2018), A Shetland Island series travel tie-in preceding the below released ''Too Good To Be True''. * ''Shetland'' (2015), A Shetland Island series novella following the above non-fiction ''Shetland'' and preceding ''Cold Earth''. * ''Too Good To Be True'' (2016), ; novella

Two Rivers

The first book is the adaptive basis for '' The Long Call'' ITV series starring Ben Aldridge as DI Matthew Venn. * ''The Long Call'' (2019), * ''The Heron's Cry'' (2021),

Standalone novels

* ''The Sleeping and the Dead'' (2001), * ''Burial of Ghosts'' (2003),

TV series adaptations

The Vera Stanhope novels have been dramatised as the TV detective series '' Vera''; the Jimmy Perez novels as the TV series ''

''; and the Matthew Venn novel ''The Long Call'' (from Cleeves' ''Two Rivers'' book series) as the TV series '' The Long Call'' (premiered autumn 2021).

References

External links

Ann Cleeves: biography

Harbour Street : Review

Story behind Harbour Street - Online essay by Ann Cleeves

When a young archaeologist discovers a set of human remains, the locals are intrigued - Online Book Store
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleeves, Ann 1954 births Living people English crime fiction writers Members of the Detection Club 20th-century English novelists Crime Writers' Association 21st-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English women writers English women novelists Women mystery writers Place of birth missing (living people) People from Herefordshire People from North Devon (district) People educated at Barnstaple Grammar School Date of birth missing (living people) Officers of the Order of the British Empire Cartier Diamond Dagger winners