Joan Lowery Nixon
Joan Lowery Nixon was an American author born on February 3, 1927, in Los Angeles, California. She began her writing career early, publishing her first poem at age ten and selling her first story at seventeen. After graduating with a journalism degree from the University of Southern California, she taught kindergarten and first grade while continuing to write for various magazines. Nixon gained prominence in the literary world with her first novel, "The Mystery of Hurricane Castle," published in 1964, despite facing multiple rejections before its acceptance.
Over her prolific career, she wrote numerous young adult mysteries and received several prestigious awards, including the Edgar Allan Poe Best Young Adult Mystery Award. Nixon was also the president of the Mystery Writers of America in 1997 and was recognized for her contribution to children's literature, particularly through her "Orphan Train" series, which reflects a significant historical project. She passed away on July 5, 2003, in Houston, Texas, leaving behind a rich legacy in children's literature, with her manuscripts preserved at the University of Minnesota. In her memory, a short story competition for students was established by the Mystery Writers of America, honoring her impact on aspiring young writers.
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Joan Lowery Nixon
Writer
- Born: February 3, 1927
- Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
- Died: June 28, 2003
- Place of death: Houston, Texas
Biography
Joan Lowery Nixon was born in Los Angeles, California, on February 3, 1927. Her first publication came at age ten when her poem “Springtime” appeared in a children’s magazine, and she sold a story to Redbook and an article to Ford Times when she was seventeen. Her favorite radio show when she was growing up was I Love a Mystery, and she considered Jo March, one of the characters from Louisa May Alcott’s book Little Women, to be her role model. Nixon attended Hollywood High School, graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Southern California, and earned her teaching certification from night school. While at college, she wrote articles for magazines, including Women’s Day and Parents.
Nixon taught kindergarten and first grade after she graduated from college. She married geologist Herschel Nixon in 1949, and they moved to Corpus Christi, Texas. They had four children, Joe, Eileen, Kathleen, and Maureen, and coauthored several children’s books on geology. Nixon was writing articles for periodicals such as Teen Magazine and Scholastic when her first novel, The Mystery of Hurricane Castle, was published in 1964. The book, which featured two of her daughters as main characters, was rejected by twelve publishers before it finally sold. She became a full-time writer in 1964 and was president of the Mystery Writers of American in 1997.
Nixon received the Edgar Allan Poe Best Young Adult Mystery Award for The Kidnapping of Christina Lattimore (1979), The Séance (1980), The Name of the Game was Murder (1993), and The Other Side of Dark (1986). The latter book and The Stalker (1985) also won the California Young Reader Medal. Her Orphan Train series won two Golden Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America. The books are based on an actual 1854 project to send homeless children from Eastern cities to the Western states by train.
Nixon died on July 5, 2003, in Houston, Texas, of complications from pancreatic cancer. More than eighty of her manuscripts are housed in the Children’s Literature Research Collection at the University of Minnesota. In her honor, the Mystery Writers of America established a short story competition for students from grades two through ten.