Barbara Neely

Neely died on March 2, 2020, at the age of 78 after a short illness.

In December 2019, the Mystery Writers of America named her their 2020 Grand Master winner. Ms. Neely's death came less than two months before the April 30, 2020 banquet where she would have received her award. One year later, the Mystery Writers of America created a scholarship program in her name for Black crime fiction writers -- one for an already published author, and another for someone getting started in publishing.

For Blanche on the Lam, Neely received an Agatha Award for best first novel (1992); an Anthony Award for first best novel (1993); the Go on Girl! Award from the Black Women's Reading Club for the best début novel; and a Macavity Award for first best mystery novel (1993). Neely also won two awards for her activism. They include "Community Works Social Action Award for Leadership and Activism for Women's Rights and Economic Justice" and "Fighting for Women's Voices Award" from the Coalition for Basic Human Needs.

Neely published her first short story, "Passing the Word" (1981), in the magazine Essence. Her Blanche White novels appeared a decade later, beginning with Blanche on the Lam (1992), followed by Blanche Among the Talented Tenth (1994), Blanche Cleans Up (1998), and Blanche Passes Go (2000). Most notable about Neely's heroine Blanche is both her physical appearance as well as her occupation; she is a heavy-set, dark-skinned Black woman who works as a maid. Blanche is proud of her work and does not let it get in the way of her independence and proud personality. This immediately sets her apart from the typical protagonist. Other notable characteristics of Blanche are her curiosity, and her ability to piece together clues in order to figure out mysteries.

During a trip to San Francisco in 1978, Neely witnessed a woman dancing in front of a band which she says inspired her to take her work in activism even farther. Neely stated, "she [the dancing woman] started pointing to people, and when she turned and pointed to me, it seemed to me that she was saying, 'Do it today, because today is all you have.'" Soon after, Neely had her first piece of fiction, a short story called "Passing the Word", published in Essence magazine. Neely moved to North Carolina and began writing for Southern Exposure as well as producing various shows for the African News Service. Her involvement in activism continued with becoming director of a YWCA branch, Family Services Coordinator for ABCD Head Start, executive director of Women for Economic Justice, cofounder (with Loretta Ross, and others) of Women of Color for Reproductive Freedom, and host of Commonwealth Journal on Boston Radio. She was also part of an evaluative research team at the Institute for Social Research.

She attended a Roman Catholic elementary school and was the only child in her class of Pennsylvania German dialect (popularly known as Pennsylvania Dutch) students to speak English fluently and was the only student of African-American descent to attend her elementary and high school. In 1971, she moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she was awarded a master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Pittsburgh.

Barbara Ann Neely (often self-stylized as BarbaraNeely; November 30, 1941 – March 2, 2020) was an African-American novelist, short story writer and activist who wrote murder mysteries. Her first novel, Blanche on the Lam (1992), introduced the protagonist Blanche White, a middle-aged mother, domestic worker and amateur detective. The Mystery Writers of America named her their 2020 Grand Master winner.

Barbara Neely was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1941, was the oldest of three children born to Ann and Bernard Neely who lived in a rural Pennsylvania Dutch community in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.