Walter Mosley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Walter Mosley
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Mosley at the 2014 Texas Book Festival
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Walter Ellis Mosley
January 12, 1952 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Johnson State College (BA) |
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Notable work
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Devil in a Blue Dress (1990) |
| Spouse(s) | Joy Kellman (m. 1987; div. 2001) |
| Awards | National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Diamond Dagger, 2023 |
Walter Ellis Mosley (born January 12, 1952) is an American novelist. He is best known for his crime fiction stories. He created the popular detective character Easy Rawlins. Rawlins is a black private investigator who lives in the Watts area of Los Angeles. In 2020, Mosley received a special award from the National Book Foundation. He was the first Black man to get this honor.
Contents
About Walter Mosley
Mosley was born in Los Angeles, California. His mother, Ella, was Jewish and worked as a clerk. His father, Leroy Mosley, was African American from Louisiana. He worked as a custodian at a public school. His parents tried to marry in 1951. Even though it was legal in California, they had trouble getting a marriage license.
Walter was an only child. He believes this helped him develop his imagination. He went to a private African-American elementary school. This school taught pioneering classes in black history. When he was 12, his family moved to a different part of Los Angeles. He graduated from Alexander Hamilton High School in 1970.
Mosley describes his father as a deep thinker and storyteller. His mother encouraged him to read classic books. He also enjoys books by Langston Hughes and Gabriel García Márquez. He grew up in a family that wasn't very political. However, he later became more aware of racial inequalities in the US. These issues often appear in his stories.
Mosley studied political science at Johnson State College. He then started working as a computer programmer. In 1981, he moved to New York. He met dancer Joy Kellman and they married in 1987. They later separated in 1997 and divorced in 2001. While working for Mobil Oil, Mosley took a writing class. He was inspired by Alice Walker's book The Color Purple. One of his teachers, Edna O'Brien, encouraged him to write.
Mosley still lives in New York City. He identifies as both African-American and Jewish.
Walter Mosley's Career
Mosley began writing when he was 34 years old. He says he has written every day since then. He has written over forty books. He often publishes two books a year. His books cover many types of fiction, including mystery and afrofuturist science fiction. He also writes nonfiction about politics. His work has been translated into 21 languages.
His writing was inspired by authors like Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. Mosley became more famous in 1992. This was when presidential candidate Bill Clinton said Mosley was one of his favorite authors. In 1997, Mosley made a unique choice. He gave his book Gone Fishin' to a small, independent publisher. This publisher was Black Classic Press.
Mosley's first published book was Devil in a Blue Dress. This book was made into a movie in 1995. It starred Denzel Washington. The next year, a shorter version of the novel was broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Mosley's first play, The Fall of Heaven, was performed in 2010.
Mosley has served on the board of directors for the National Book Awards. He is also on the board of the TransAfrica Forum.
Some people have discussed whether Mosley should be called a "black author." Mosley prefers to be called a "novelist." He wants to write about "black male heroes." He says that not many authors write about black male heroes.
Mosley has also worked as a writer for TV shows. He worked on Snowfall and Star Trek: Discovery. He later decided to leave Star Trek: Discovery to focus on other projects.
Awards and Honors
- 1996 – Black Caucus of the American Library Association's Literary Award for RL's Dream
- 1996 – O. Henry Award for a Socrates Fortlow story
- 1998 - Anisfield Wolf Award, for works that increase the appreciation and understanding of race in America
- 2001 – Grammy Award for Best Album Notes for Richard Pryor's …And It's Deep Too!
- 2004 – Honorary doctorate from the City College of New York
- 2005 – "Risktaker Award" from the Sundance Institute for his creative and activist efforts
- 2006 – First recipient of the Carl Brandon Society Parallax Award for his young adult novel 47
- 2007– NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Fiction, for Blonde Faith
- 2009– NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Fiction, for The Long Fall
- 2013 – Inducted into the New York Writers Hall of Fame
- 2014 – NAACP Image Award-nominated for Outstanding Literary Work, Fiction, for Little Green: An Easy Rawlins Mystery
- 2014 – Langston Hughes Medal from the City College of New York
- 2016 – Named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America (see Edgar Award)
- 2019 – Edgar Award for Best Novel for Down the River Unto the Sea
- 2020 – National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
- 2021 – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction, The Awkward Black Man
- 2023 – Crime Writers' Association Diamond Dagger – for lifetime achievement
Walter Mosley's Books
Non-series Novels
- RL's Dream (1995)
- Blue Light (1998)
- Futureland: Nine Stories of an Imminent World (2001)
- The Man in My Basement (2004)
- Walking the Line (2005), a novella in the Transgressions series
- 47 (2005)
- The Wave (2006)
- Fortunate Son (2006)
- Killing Johnny Fry: A Sexistential Novel (2006)
- Diablerie (2007)
- The Tempest Tales (2008)
- The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (2010)
- Parishioner (2012)
- Odyssey (2013)
- Debbie Doesn't Do It Anymore (2014)
- The Further Tales of Tempest Landry (2015)
- Inside a Silver Box (2015)
- John Woman (2018)
- The Awkward Black Man (2020), short stories
- Touched (2023)
Easy Rawlins Mysteries
- Devil in a Blue Dress (1990)
- A Red Death (1991)
- White Butterfly (1992)
- Black Betty (1994)
- A Little Yellow Dog (1996)
- Gone Fishin' (1997)
- Bad Boy Brawly Brown (2002)
- Six Easy Pieces (2003)
- Little Scarlet (2004)
- Cinnamon Kiss (2005)
- Blonde Faith (2007)
- Little Green (2013)
- Rose Gold (2014)
- Charcoal Joe (2016)
- Blood Grove (2021)
- Farewell, Amethystine (2024)
Fearless Jones Mysteries
- Fearless Jones (2001)
- Fear Itself (2003)
- Fear of the Dark (2006)
Leonid McGill Mysteries
- The Long Fall (2009)
- Known to Evil (2010)
- When the Thrill Is Gone (2011)
- All I Did Was Shoot My Man (2012)
- And Sometimes I Wonder About You (2015)
- Trouble Is What I Do (2020)
Socrates Fortlow Books
- Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned (1997)
- Walkin' the Dog (1999)
- The Right Mistake (2008)
Crosstown to Oblivion Series
- The Gift of Fire / On the Head of a Pin (2012)
- Merge / Disciple (2012)
- Stepping Stone / The Love Machine (2013)
King Oliver Books
- Down the River unto the Sea (2018)
- Every Man a King (2023)
- Been Wrong So Long It Feels Like Right (2025)
Graphic Novels
- Maximum Fantastic Four (2005, with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby)
- The Thing: The Next Big Thing (2022, with Tom Reilly)
Plays
- The Fall of Heaven (2011)
- Lift (2014)
Nonfiction Books
- Workin' on the Chain Gang: Shaking off the Dead Hand of History (2000)
- What Next: An African American Initiative Toward World Peace (2003)
- Life Out of Context: Which Includes a Proposal for the Non-violent Takeover of the House of Representatives (2006)
- This Year You Write Your Novel (2007)
- Twelve Steps Toward Political Revelation (2011) ISBN: 978-1-56858-642-7
- Elements of Fiction (2019)
Films and Television Shows
- Fallen Angels: Fearless (1995) (TV)
- Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
- Always Outnumbered (1998) (TV)
- "Little Brother", episode of Masters of Science Fiction (2007) (TV)
- Snowfall (2018) (TV), consulting producer, episode writer: "Prometheus Rising"
- Star Trek: Discovery (2019) (TV)
- The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (2022), executive producer
- Justified: City Primeval (2023) (TV), consulting producer
Images for kids
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Mosley at the 2024 National Book Awards, introducing Paul Coates
