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The author Sara Paretsky has been named the recipient of the 2011 Mystery Writers of America (MWA) Grand Master Award, the highest honor given by the organization in recognition of extraordinary career achievement and contribution to the mystery genre.

Paretsky is best known for her award-winning V.I. Warshawski series, launched in 1982 with the publication of Indemnity Only. The series was one of the first to feature a gutsy female private investigator, now a favorite prototype of the genre. Decades later, the Chicago PI continues to be a protaganist remarkable for her intelligence, backbone, and humanity in works that have consistently refused to shy away from weighty issues ranging from 9/11 to health care to violence against women. In between penning a dozen Warshawski novels, Paretsky founded Sisters in Crime in 1986, and generated two standalone novels, a collection of short stories, and 2007 memoir, Writing in the Age of Silence.

"I'm so glad to win this," said Paretsky in a statement released by the MWA. "I'm glad to have this as my very own."

The Grand Master Award will be presented to Paretsky at the MWA Edgar Awards Banquet at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City on April 28, 2011. A PDF version of the full press release is available here.

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Mystery Scene extends our heartfelt congratulations to Sara Paretsky on her honor. For more on the author Sara Paretsky from Mystery Scene, please see our #112 Holiday 2009 Issue, featuring a cover story with the author.

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