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Ellen Byron

エレン・バイロン

Eren Bairon

Pen Names: Maria DiRico（Pen name for the Catering Hall Mystery series）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1956 （Queens, New York City）
Nationality
American
Languages
English
Residence History
New York City → Louisiana → Los Angeles

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Screenwriter, Television producer
Active Years
1992-2024

Education

Tulane University
Country: United States

Awards

Agatha Award
2015
Work: Plantation Shudders
Category: Best First Novel
Organization: Malice Domestic
Result: Finalist
Agatha Award
2016
Work: Body on the Bayou
Category: Best Contemporary Novel
Organization: Malice Domestic
Result: Finalist
Agatha Award
2017
Work: A Cajun Christmas Killing
Category: Best Contemporary Novel
Organization: Malice Domestic
Result: Finalist
Agatha Award
2018
Work: Mardi Gras Murder
Category: Best Contemporary Novel
Organization: Malice Domestic
Result: Winner
Agatha Award
2019
Work: Fatal Cajun Festival
Category: Best Contemporary Novel
Organization: Malice Domestic
Result: Finalist
Agatha Award
2020
Work: Murder in the Bayou Boneyard
Category: Best Contemporary Novel
Organization: Malice Domestic
Result: Finalist
Agatha Award
2021
Work: Cajun Kiss of Death
Category: Best Contemporary Novel
Organization: Malice Domestic
Result: Winner
Lefty Award
2017
Work: Body on the Bayou
Category: Best Humorous Mystery Novel
Organization: Left Coast Crime
Result: Winner
Lefty Award
2018
Work: Mardi Gras Murder
Category: Best Humorous Mystery Novel
Organization: Left Coast Crime
Result: Winner
Lefty Award
2021
Work: Cajun Kiss of Death
Category: Best Humorous Mystery Novel
Organization: Left Coast Crime
Result: Winner
Anthony Award
2022
Work: Bayou Book Thief
Result: Nominee

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Plantation Shudders

2015 Mystery

First book in the Cajun Country Mystery series.

Cozy mysteryCajun culture

Mardi Gras Murder

2018 Mystery

Cajun Country Mystery series. Agatha Award winner.

HumorMystery

Cajun Kiss of Death

2021 Mystery

Cajun Country Mystery series. Agatha Award winner.

HumorMystery

Bayou Book Thief

2022 Mystery

First in the Vintage Cookbook Mystery series. Anthony Award nominee.

Cozy mystery

Bibliography

  • Plantation Shudders
  • Body on the Bayou
  • A Cajun Christmas Killing
  • Mardi Gras Murder
  • Fatal Cajun Festival
  • Murder in the Bayou Boneyard
  • Cajun Kiss of Death
  • Here Comes the Body
  • Long Island Iced Tina
  • It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder
  • Four Parties and a Funeral
  • Graceland and Asleep on the Wind
  • Election Year and So When You Get Married.... Two Short Plays.
  • Bayou Book Thief
  • Wined and Died in New Orleans

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Humorous styleCozy mystery
Recurring Motifs
Cajun cultureLouisiana customs

Legacy

Renowned cozy mystery author, winner of two Agatha Awards and multiple Lefty Awards for the Cajun Country Mystery series. Also a prolific television screenwriter and producer.

Trivia

  • Her time at Tulane University in Louisiana inspired the Cajun Country Mystery series.
  • Has a 25-year television career, writing for shows like Wings, Just Shoot Me!, and The Fairly OddParents.