Kate Burns interviews Walter Mosley

WALTER MOSLEY is one of the greats. He’s a prolific novelist who is best known for his crime fiction. He’s also written bestselling science fiction, literary fiction, nonfiction, and beyond — over 43 books at last count. Among others, he’s won an O. Henry Award, a Grammy, PEN America’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and he’s the Mystery Writers of America’s 2016 Grand Master.

At 64, Mosley is at the top of his game. He is perhaps a little young to be considered an elder statesman, but he’s easing into the role with grace. He’s deeply knowledgeable but without pretense, rejecting the mystique that sometimes surrounds writing in favor of daily practice and attention to craft. When I met him, he wore his signature fedora and a playfully elegant, oft-described oversized African gold ring.

We sat down during UC Riverside’s Writer’s Week, at which Mosley was a keynote speaker. I took the opportunity to ask him for some tips about writing, to discuss his recent hand-lettered memoir, the musical that he’s working on, and why he doesn’t tweet.

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Acclaimed American author is Writing on the Wall guest as part of One Magnificent City
American author Walter Mosley is making a rate UK appearance when he comes to Liverpool next week as part of the Writing on the Wall festival.

The 63-year-old is making a special trip from his home in New York to take part in ‘An Evening With’ event at Liverpool Town Hall as part of the American Dreams programme to celebrate Cunard’s 175th anniversary through the One Magnificent City programme. Read the rest of this entry »

October 3, 2011, New York, NY—Doubleday has acquired two new Easy Rawlins mysteries and another novel by critically acclaimed, bestselling author Walter Mosley, it was announced today by William Thomas, Senior Vice President, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief of Doubleday. Gerald Howard, Vice President & Executive Editor, acquired world rights in all languages from Gloria Loomis of Watkins/Loomis Agency. The first Easy Rawlins mystery, currently untitled, is scheduled to be published in 2013. The novel, also untitled, is a noirish account of a porn star’s determination to escape her dangerous milieu, and is scheduled for 2014, to be followed a year later by the next Easy Rawlins mystery.

Devil in A Blue Dress, Mosley’s first novel and his first Easy Rawlins mystery, was published in 1990. It was made into an acclaimed film starring Denzel Washington as the title character, and a television series is currently in development. The Easy Rawlins books have been translated into 21 languages, and the series has sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide.

Howard, who edited Devil in a Blue Dress and several subsequent Mosley works when he was at W.W. Norton, said: “It’s an honor and a kick to be back working with Walter again. I’ve never had more fun with a pencil in my hand than while editing his supple, swinging sentences, and I’ve always felt that no other American novelist explores questions of race and identity with a fresher eye and a deeper penetration.”

Walter Mosley is the author of more than 34 critically acclaimed books, including the bestselling mystery series featuring Easy Rawlins. His work includes literary fiction, science fiction, political monographs, and a young adult novel. His short fiction has been widely published, and his nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times Magazine and The Nation, among other publications. He is the winner of numerous awards, including an O. Henry Award, a Grammy and PEN America’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He lives in Brookyln, New York.

The Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group is a division of Random House, Inc., whose parent company is Bertelsmann AG.