Walter Mosley

Walter Mosley is an American novelist, most widely recognized for his crime fiction. He has written a series of best-selling historical mysteries featuring the hard-boiled detective Easy Rawlins, a black private investigator and World War II veteran living in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles; they are perhaps his most popular works. Mosley started writing at 34 and has written every day since, penning more than 40 books and often publishing two books a year. He has written in a variety of fiction categories, including mystery and afro futurist science fiction, as well as non-fiction politics. His work has been translated into 21 languages. His direct inspirations include the detective fiction of Dashiell Hammett, Graham Greene, and Raymond Chandler. His first published book, Devil in a Blue Dress, was the basis of a 1995 movie starring Denzel Washington. The world premiere of his first play, The Fall of Heaven, was staged at the Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati, Ohio, in January, 2010. Mosley has served on the board of directors of the National Book Awards, and is on the board of the Trans Africa Forum.