Michael Newton

Michael Newton, a California native living in Nashville, Indiana, has published over 330 books under his own name and various pseudonyms since 1977. He began his professional writing career as a ghostwriter for author Don Pendleton on the best-selling Executioner series, and continues his work on that series today.

Newton's first book published under his own name was Monsters, Mysteries and Man (1979), a survey of unexplained phenomena for younger readers. Despite the majority of Newton's published books include western, political thrillers and psychological suspense novels, he is best known for his nonfiction, primarily true crime and reference books.

His list of accolades is long. Newton's Encyclopedia of Serial Killers (2000) is currently in its second edition. The Invisible Empire (2001) won the Florida Historical Society's 2002 Rembert Patrick Award for Best Book in Florida History. His Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology (2005) was named as one of twelve books on the American Library Association's 2006 List of Outstanding Reference Sources. His western, Hanging Judge, was a finalist in the 2010 Western Writers of America's Spur Awards. His western, Manhunt, won the 2010 Peacemaker Award from the Western Fictioneers, and his novel, Avenging Angels, was a finalist in the same category, and was also a finalist for the 2011 Best Original Mass Market Paperback for the Western Writers of America's Spur Awards. His western, Blood Trails, was nominated for the 2011 WF Spur Awards for Best Western Novel.