Nixon, Joan Lowery (1927–2003)
Nixon, Joan Lowery (1927–2003)
American children's writer. Born Feb 3, 1927, in Los Angeles, California; died July 5, 2003, in Houston, TX; dau. of Joseph Michael (accountant) and Margaret (Meyer) Lowery; University of Southern California, BA, 1947; California State College, certificate in elementary education, 1949; m. Hershell H. Nixon (petroleum geologist), Aug 6, 1949; children: Kathleen Nixon Brush, Maureen Nixon Quinlan, Joseph Michael Nixon, Eileen Marie McGowan.
Was an elementary schoolteacher in Los Angeles(1947–50); instructor in creative writing at Midland College in Texas(1971–73) and University of Houston (1974–78); wrote more than 140 books, mostly mysteries, for children and young adults; won Edgar Allan Poe and Mystery Writers of America awards for The Mysterious Red Tape Gang (1975), The Kidnapping of Christina Lattimore (1980), The Seance (1981), The Ghosts of Now: A Novel of Psychological Suspense (1985), The Other Side of Dark (1987) and The Name of the Game Was Murder (1993); won Steck-Vaughn Award for The Alligator under the Bed (1975); also wrote the "Holiday Mystery" series.