Walter Mosley

About the Author

Walter Mosley was born in Los Angeles, California on January 12, 1952. He graduated from Johnson State College in Vermont. His first book, Devil in a Blue Dress, was published in 1990, won a John Creasy Award for best first novel, and was made into a motion picture starring Denzel Washington in show more 1995. He is the author of the Easy Rawlins Mystery series, the Leonid McGill Mystery series, and the Fearless Jones series. His other works include Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, 47, Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, and Twelve Steps toward Political Revelation. He has received numerous awards, including an O. Henry Award, the Carl Brandon Society Parallax Award, and PEN America's Lifetime Achievement Award. (Bowker Author Biography) Walter Mosley is the author of the acclaimed Easy Rawlins series of mysteries, the novels "Blue Light" and "RL's Dream", and two collections of stories featuring Socrates Fortlow, "Always Outnumbered", "Always Outgunned", for which he received the Anisfield-Wolf Award, and "Walkin' the Dog". He is a member of the board of directors of the National Book Awards and the founder of the PEN American Center's Open Book Committee. At various times in his life he has been a potter, a computer programmer, & a poet. He was born in Los Angeles & now lives in New York. (Publisher Provided) show less

Includes the names: Walte Mosley, Walter Mosely, Walter Mosely, Mosley Walter, Walter Moseley, by Walter Mosley, Walter Mosley ed., ed. Walter Mosley, Walter Mosley SIGNED, By (author) Walter Mosley

Image credit: Credit: David Shankbone, Sept. 2007

Series

Crosstown to Oblivion

Tempest Landry

King Oliver

Works by Walter Mosley

Popular Recent

Devil in a Blue Dress (1990) 2,607 copies

A Red Death (1991) 936 copies

White Butterfly (1992) 877 copies

Little Scarlet (2004) 827 copies

The Man in My Basement (2004) 800 copies

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (2010) 782 copies

The Long Fall (2009) 769 copies

Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned (1997) 754 copies

A Little Yellow Dog (1996) 709 copies

Bad Boy Brawly Brown (2002) 708 copies

Fearless Jones (2001) 679 copies

Cinnamon Kiss (2005) 633 copies

Blonde Faith (2007) 539 copies

Black Betty (1994) 514 copies

Blue Light (1998) 492 copies

47 (2005) 478 copies

The Best American Short Stories 2003 (2003) — Editor — 471 copies

Futureland (2001) 470 copies

RL's Dream (1995) 464 copies

Black Betty + Gator Green (2002) 464 copies

Fortunate Son (2006) 461 copies

Walkin' the Dog (1999) 458 copies

Known to Evil (2010) 435 copies

Fear Itself (2003) 431 copies

Gone Fishin' (1997) 427 copies

Down the River unto the Sea (2018) 424 copies

This Year You Write Your Novel (2007) 369 copies

Fear of the Dark (2006) 367 copies

Little Green (2013) 358 copies

Six Easy Pieces (2003) 353 copies

All I Did Was Shoot My Man (2012) 299 copies

When the Thrill Is Gone (2011) 297 copies

The Wave (2005) 287 copies

Gone Fishin'/Smoke (1998) 274 copies

A Little Yellow Dog + Gray-Eyed Death (2002) 272 copies

Charcoal Joe (2016) 272 copies

Rose Gold (2014) 254 copies

Killing Johnny Fry (2006) 251 copies

The Right Mistake: The Further Philosophical Investigations of Socrates Fortlow (2008) — Author — 203 copies

Diablerie (2008) 202 copies

Blood Grove (2021) 164 copies

Trouble Is What I Do (2020) 159 copies

John Woman (2018) 159 copies

Debbie Doesn't Do It Anymore (2014) 153 copies

And Sometimes I Wonder About You (2015) 150 copies

Workin' on the Chain Gang: Shaking Off the Dead Hand of History (Library of Contemporary Thought) (2000) — Author — 136 copies

The Awkward Black Man: Stories (2020) 132 copies

The Tempest Tales (2008) 129 copies

Every Man a King (2023) 125 copies

Elements of Fiction (2019) 84 copies

Inside a Silver Box (2015) 76 copies

The Gift of Fire / On the Head of a Pin: Two Short Novels from Crosstown to Oblivion (2012) 76 copies

Walter Mosley Omnibus: Devil in a Blue Dress; A Red Death; White Butterfly (1995) 74 copies

What Next: A Memoir Toward World Peace (2003) 67 copies

Black Genius: African American Solutions to African American Problems (1999) — Editor, Introduction & Contributor — 65 copies

Merge / Disciple: Two Short Novels from Crosstown to Oblivion (2012) 65 copies

Touched (2023) 52 copies

Stepping Stone / Love Machine: Crosstown to Oblivion (2013) 48 copies

Life Out of Context (2005) 45 copies

Twelve Steps Toward Political Revelation (2011) 39 copies

Folding the Red Into the Black: Developing a Viable Untopia for Human Survival in the 21st Century (2016) 28 copies

Jack Strong: A Story of Life after Life (2014) 26 copies

Parishioner (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard) (2012) 16 copies

Archibald Lawless, Anarchist at Large: Walking the Line {novella} (2016) 14 copies

The Gift of Fire (2012) 13 copies

The Thing: The Next Big Thing (2022) 12 copies

Whispers in the Dark (2000) 12 copies

The Greatest (2000) 12 copies

Odyssey (2013) 9 copies

Conversations with Walter Mosley (Literary Conversations Series) (2011) 8 copies

Farewell, Amethystine (2024) 7 copies

Stepping Stone (Crosstown to Oblivion) (2013) 6 copies

Transgressions 2: Three Brand New Novellas (UK Edition) (2006) — Contributor — 6 copies

Karma {story} (2011) — Author — 5 copies

Transgressions, Volume One [audio] (2005) — Contributor — 4 copies

The Fall of Heaven (2011) 4 copies

Disciple (2012) 4 copies

The Further Tales of Tempest Landry (2015) 4 copies

On the Head of a Pin (2012) 4 copies

Cinnamon Kiss / Fear Itself (2005) 4 copies

Merge 3 copies

Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins Mysteries (2001) 2 copies

The Thing (2021-) #1 (of 6) (2021) 2 copies

Easy Rawlins Collection (1-10) 1 copy

Love Machine: A Novel from Crosstown to Oblivion 1 copy

Easy Rawlins: Black Betty (BBC Radio Crimes) (2012) 1 copy

Siete casos (Negra) (Spanish Edition) 1 copy

Mosley Walter 1 copy

The Mask of Sanity 1 copy

Ostatnie dni Ptolemeusza Greya 1 copy

Buscando problemas (2022) 1 copy

Little Brother 1 copy

The Thing (2021-2022) #6 (of 6) (2022) 1 copy

The Thing (2021-) #3 (of 6) (2022) 1 copy

The Thing (2021-) #5 (of 6) (2022) 1 copy

The Thing (2021-) #4 (of 6) (2022) 1 copy

The Thing (2021-) #2 (of 6) (2021) 1 copy

The Firekeeper 1 copy

[No title] 1 copy

Black Dog {story} 1 copy

Lavanda (in Gli occhi della paura) 1 copy

Walter Mosley Paperback Book Collection (1997) 1 copy

Pet Fly [short story] 1 copy

Alien Script: Coloring Book 1 copy

The Man Who Cried I Am 1 copy

Work Explorer

Associated Works

Stories: All-New Tales (2010) — Contributor — 1,401 copies

The Silent Speaker (1946) — Introduction, some editions — 995 copies

All I Did Was Ask: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians, and Artists (2004) — Contributor — 558 copies

Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction From the African Diaspora (2000) — Contributor — 535 copies

The Expendable Man (1963) — Afterword, some editions — 506 copies

Writers on Writing: Collected Essays from the New York Times (2001) — Contributor — 447 copies

The Best American Short Stories 2000 (2000) — Contributor — 396 copies

The Plot Thickens (1997) — Contributor — 327 copies

Transgressions {ten novellas} (2005) — Contributor — 268 copies

Unexpected Stories (2014) — Introduction, some editions — 239 copies

The Best American Mystery Stories 2003 (2003) — Contributor — 205 copies

Dark Matter: Reading the Bones (2005) — Contributor — 203 copies

Why We Write: 20 Acclaimed Authors on How and Why They Do What They Do (2013) — Contributor — 182 copies

The Best American Mystery Stories 1998 (1998) — Contributor — 179 copies

The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2013 (2013) — Introduction — 153 copies

The Best American Mystery Stories 2006 (2006) — Contributor — 152 copies

Light the Dark: Writers on Creativity, Inspiration, and the Artistic Process (2017) — Contributor — 138 copies

Dangerous Women (1998) — Contributor — 134 copies

Gumbo: A Celebration of African American Writing (2002) — Contributor — 124 copies

Brotherman: The Odyssey of Black Men in America (1995) — Contributor — 91 copies

It Occurs to Me That I Am America: New Stories and Art (2018) — Contributor — 75 copies

OxCrimes (2014) — Contributor — 74 copies

Freedom: Stories Celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (2009) — Contributor — 73 copies

Devil in a Blue Dress [1995 film] (1995) — Original novel — 64 copies

The New Mystery: The International Association of Crime Writers' Essential Crime Writing of the Late 20th Century (1993) — Contributor — 62 copies

Transgressions, Volume 3 (U.S. Edition) (2006) — Contributor — 61 copies

The Darker Mask : Heroes from the Shadows [Anthology] (2008) — Contributor — 57 copies

Black Noir: Mystery, Crime, and Suspense Fiction by African-American Writers (2009) — Contributor — 54 copies

Dead Man's Hand: Crime Fiction at the Poker Table (2007) — Contributor — 52 copies

Shades Of Black: Crime and Mystery Stories by African-American Authors (2004) — Contributor — 46 copies

Los Angeles Noir 2: The Classics (2010) — Contributor — 44 copies

The Perfect Crime (2022) — Contributor — 39 copies

The Obama Inheritance: Fifteen Stories of Conspiracy Noir (2017) — Contributor — 38 copies

New Suns 2: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color (2023) — Foreword — 37 copies

The Best American Political Writing 2006 (2006) — Contributor — 35 copies

The Vintage Book of Classic Crime (1993) — Contributor — 34 copies

The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023 (2023) — Contributor — 26 copies

Crime Hits Home (2022) — Contributor — 24 copies

Envisioning the Future: Science Fiction and the Next Millennium (2003) — Contributor — 19 copies

Black Pulp (2013) — Introduction — 17 copies

The Atria International Book of Mysteries (2012) — Contributor — 15 copies

The Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories: Seventh Annual Edition (1998) — Contributor — 9 copies

The Middle Passage (2003) — Author — 4 copies

Left Coast Crimes: A Collection of Short Stories — Contributor — 2 copies

Apex Magazine 95 (April 2017) (2017) — Contributor — 2 copies

Journeys (1996) — Contributor — 1 copy

Tagged

African American (675) American (143) American literature (147) anthology (578) audiobook (120) California (136) crime (624) crime fiction (349) detective (341) detective fiction (161) Easy Rawlins (492) ebook (169) essays (107) fantasy (220) fiction (2,941) first edition (163) hardboiled (119) historical fiction (125) Kindle (113) literature (118) Los Angeles (424) mysteries (97) mystery (2,850) Nero Wolfe (141) New York (87) noir (289) non-fiction (225) novel (354) read (258) science fiction (469) series (157) short stories (806) signed (144) suspense (83) thriller (136) to-read (1,506) unread (152) USA (108) Walter Mosley (89) writing (252)

Common Knowledge

Legal name: Mosley, Walter Ellis
Birthdate: 1952-01-12
Gender: male
Nationality: USA
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA
Places of residence: New York, New York, USA
Education: Victory Baptist day school
Alexander Hamilton High School
Goddard College
Johnson State College (BA|1977)
Occupations: novelist
Organizations: Crime Writers of Color (cofounder)
Awards and honors: O. Henry Award (1996)
Grammy Award for Best Album Notes (2001)
Carl Brandon Society Parallax Award (2006)
New York Writers Hall of Fame (2013)
Langston Hughes Medal (2014)
Edgar Award (2019) (show all 14)
National Book Foundation Medal (2020)
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work (2007, 2009, 2014, 2021)
Sankofa Freedom Award (2022)
Robert Kirsch Award (2019)
Anisfield Wolf Award (1998)
Mystery Writers of America Grand Master (2016)
National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters (2020)
Crime Writers' Association Diamond Dagger (2023)

Members

Reviews

This Year You Write Your Novel by Walter Mosley

Don't waste your time unless you know nothing about fiction writing. Best thing in the book: "Write every day."

Flagged

prairiemage | 16 other reviews | May 29, 2024 |

Charcoal Joe: An Easy Rawlins Mystery by Walter Mosley

Masterful writing bogged down by hard-to-follow plot and too many characters

There is no denying that Walter Mosely can write like nobody's business. In creating the main character Easy Rawlins, Mosely captures the essence of what it's like to be a black man in the 1960s, as well as what it's like to be (mostly) on the right side of the law when others around are criminal.

The lastest installment of the Easy Rawlins series proved to be too much of a good thing. There were far too many characters and I couldn't keep them all straight. I don't think I'd make a good gangster, becuase I couldn't keep track of the plot. As one other reviewer said, "At the end of the book I still didn't know who had the money."

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.… (more)

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jj24 | 12 other reviews | May 27, 2024 |

Touched by Walter Mosley

Sex and violence-packed crime/sci fi hybrid about a guy and his family getting alien powers. Not my thing, but it read quickly. Would have felt a little better as a paperback original than as a $25 hardcover, the industry is weird. Maybe not the best place for me to start with Mosley.

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Amateria66 | 4 other reviews | May 24, 2024 |

Touched by Walter Mosley

Well-written prose and an interesting protagonist who's been "gifted" by intergalactic beings with extraordinary powers to accomplish a task that's developed along the way. The premise is intriguing and the plot moves the story forward relentlessly. It's a short, but powerful read. Despite the heavy nature of the story there is some dark humor in it.

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EZLivin | 4 other reviews | May 5, 2024 |

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