John Straley Follow

John Straley graduated from the Browning School for Boys in New York City in 1971. His father, who had grown up in Iowa and Wyoming, was determined that his youngest son wouldn’t become a city boy. Following that influence, John spent his summers working in the wilderness of north-central Washington State while earning degrees in literature from the University of Washington. His work included stints as a wrangler, horseshoer, mill worker, and trail crew foreman.

John later married Janice (Morrison) Straley, now a prominent marine biologist. Her career took them to Sitka, Alaska, where John became a private investigator and wrote The Woman Who Married a Bear, the first novel in the acclaimed Cecil Younger mystery series, published in 1992.

Since then, John has continued the Cecil Younger series, written four books in the Cold Storage, Alaska series, and published five collections of poetry. His work has earned multiple honors, including the Shamus Award for Best First Mystery and the Spotted Owl Award for Best Northwest Mystery. In 2006, he was appointed Writer Laureate of Alaska and later received an honorary Ph.D. from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

After retiring from the Alaska Public Defender Agency in 2017, John and Jan moved to Carmel, California, in 2022 to be closer to family and quality healthcare. After more than forty years in Sitka, John remains—at heart—an Alaskan.