John Copenhaver

Copenhaver was born in Marion, Virginia. He attended Davidson College, and had his BA in English. He proceeded to Middlebury College's Bread Loaf School of English, and obtained his MA in Literature, and further MFA in Creative Writing from George Mason University.

Since 2015, Copenhaver has written a crime fiction review column for Lambda called "Blacklight" on LGBTQ+ crime fiction. His writings has appeared on CrimeReads,[1] Electric Lit,[2] PANK magazine,[3] and the New York Journal of Books.[4] He is a member of the Mystery Writers of America.[5]

His works has received critical reviews and awards. His first novel, Dodging and Burning won the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery Novel, Anthony Award for First Best Novel,[6] nominated for the 2019 Strand Critics Awards,[7] Barry Award for Best First Novel,[8] and Lambda Award for Best Gay Mystery.[9] His second work, The Savage Kind won the Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBTQ Mystery,[10] and was nominated for Left Coast Crime's 2022 Best Historical Mystery.[11]

Copenhaver has been a fellow of many literary societies. He was an Artist Fellow of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.[12][13] His novels are set in the 1940s in Virginia and Washington, DC, and often explores the lives of the LGBTQ community through a mystery narrative.[14] He teaches at the University of Nebraska's MFA in Creative Writing Program,[15] and the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia[16]

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