Art Taylor

Assistant Director

Professor

short stories; crime, mystery, and suspense fiction; book reviews.

Art Taylor teaches creative writing and literature, and for many years he helped to coordinate marketing for the annual Fall for the Book Festival.

Art is the author of two short story collections—The Adventure of the Castle Thief and Other Expeditions and Indiscretions and The Boy Detective & The Summer of '74 and Other Tales of Suspense—and of the novel in stories On the Road with Del & Louise, winner of the Agatha Award for Best First Novel. He has won three additional Agatha Awards, an Edgar Award, an Anthony Award, four Macavity Awards, and four Derringer Awards for his short fiction. His work has also appeared in Best American Mystery Stories, and he edited Murder Under the Oaks: Bouchercon Anthology 2015, winner of the Anthony Award for Best Anthology or Collection; California Schemin': Bouchercon Anthology 2020; Lawyers, Guns, and Money: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Warren Zevon; and School of Hard Knox; the latter three have all been finalists for the Anthony Award for Best Anthology or Collection.

His short fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and in various other journals and anthologies. He contributes frequently to the Washington Post, Washington Independent Review of Books, and Mystery Scene.

For more information, visit his website at http://www.arttaylorwriter.com or like his author page at Facebook here.

Selected Publications

BOOKS

The Adventure of the Castle Thief and Other Expeditions and Indiscretions, Crippen & Landru, 2023.
The Boy Detective & The Summer of '74 and Other Tales of Suspense, Crippen & Landru, 2020.
On The Road with Del & Louise: A Novel in Stories, Henery Press, Fall 2015: winner, Agatha Award, Best First Novel, 2015; finalist, Anthony Award and Macavity Award, Best First Novel, 2016

SHORT STORIES

“The Look of Love,” untitled anthology of crime fiction inspired by the songs of Burt Bacharach (Level Best Books, forthcoming 2026).
“Dalliances,” Double-Crossing Van Dine (Crippen & Landru, 2025)
“Tuesday Night Teas,” Agatha and Derringer Get Cozy (Down & Out Books, 2024).
“The Gained Ground,” Midsummer Mysteries (Flame Tree Press, 2024).
“After Their Convictions, Six Murderers Reflect on How Killing Mr. Boddy Changed Their Lives,” co-written with Tara Laskowski, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, Issue 15, Fall 2024.
“Dark Threads, Loose Strands,” Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, April/May 2024: selected for Best American Mystery & Suspense 2025 (Mariner Books).
“Two for One,” Murder Neat, a SleuthSayers anthology (Level Best Books, 2024).
“We Keep The Wall Between Us As We Go,” Mystery Tribune, Winter 2024.
“Ordeals,” School of Hard Knox (Crippen & Landru, 2023)
“The Invisible Band,” Edgar and Shamus Go Golden: Twelve Tales of Murder, Mystery, and Master Detection (Down & Out Books, 2023): finalist, Agatha Award for Best Short Story
“We Are All Strangers Here,” Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, September/October 2022
“Love Me or Leave Me,” Music of the Night: The Crime Writers’ Association (Flame Tree Press, 2022)
“Little Martha,” Trouble No More: Crime Fiction Inspired by Southern Rock and the Blues (Down & Out Books, 2021)
“Ornamental, My Dear Watson,” standalone pamphlet (Crippen & Landru, 2021)
“All Tomorrow’s Parties,” Chesapeake Crimes: Invitation to Murder (Wildside Press, 2020)
“Both Sides Now,” co-written with Tara Laskowski, The Beat of Black Wings: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Joni Mitchell (Untreed Reads, 2020)
“A Close Shave,” Morning of the Killers, edited by E.A. Aymar and Sarah M. Chen (Down & Out Books, 2020)
“Hard Return,” Crime Travel, edited by Barb Goffman (Wildside Press, December 2019)
“Better Days,” Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, May/June 2019
“English 398: Fiction Writing Workshop: Notes from Class & A Partial Draft by Brittany Wallace, Plus Feedback, Conference & More,” Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, July/August 2018: finalist, Edgar Award for Best Short Story, 2019; finalist, Agatha Award for Best Short Story, 2018
“Sunday Morning, Saturday Night,” Down & Out: The Magazine, Spring 2018
“Fairy Tales,” Black Cat Mystery Magazine, Fall 2017
“A Necessary Ingredient,” Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea, Down & Out Books, 2017: finalist, Agatha Award for Best Short Story, 2017; finalist, Anthony Award for Best Short Story, 2018; finalist, Macavity Award for Best Short Story, 2018
“The Great Detective Reflects,” Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, November 2016
“Parallel Play,” Chesapeake Crimes: Storm Warning, Wildside Press, 2016: winner, Agatha Award for Best Short Story, 2016; finalist, Anthony Award for Best Short Story, 2017; winner, Macavity Award for Best Short Story, 2017; finalist, Thriller Award for Best Short Story, 2017
“Commission,” Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, May 2015
“The Odds Are Against Us,” Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, November 2014: winner, Agatha Award, Best Short Story, 2014; winner, Anthony Award, Best Short Story, 2015; finalist, Macavity Award, Best Short Story, 2015
“Premonition,” Chesapeake Crimes: Homicidal Holidays. Wildside Press, 2014: finalist, Agatha Award, Best Short Story, 2014
“Precision,” Gargoyle, Summer 2014
“Ithaca 37,” Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, September/October 2013
“The Care and Feeding of Houseplants,” Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, March/April 2013: winner, Agatha Award, Best Short Story, 2013; winner, Macavity Award, Best Short Story, 2014; finalist, Anthony Award for Best Short Story, 2014
“When Duty Calls,” Chesapeake Crimes: This Job Is Murder, Wildside Press, 2012: Derringer Award, Best Long Story, 2013; finalist, 2012 Agatha Award for Best Short Story and 2013 Macavity Award for Best Short Story; reprinted in The Crooked Road, Volume 3 (2013)

Education

MFA, George Mason University, 2006

MA, North Carolina State University, 2003

BA, Yale University, 1990