Barr, Nancy
1972—
Place of Birth: Springfield, IL
Place of Principal Residence: Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan.
Biography
Nancy Barr is the only child of a working class couple. Her father, Harry, has always been supportive or her and encourages her to dream big. Her mother, Patricia, died when she was nine. After her mother’s death, Barr and her father moved to the Michigan Upper Peninsula. There they lived in the small town of Rapid River, which is at the top of Little Bay de Noc. As a child, Barr dreamed of being many things—such as a doctor, a police officer, and a fighter pilot—but writing never crossed her mind. She didn’t consider it until her freshman year of college. Following the path of journalism, Barr obtained an associates degree with honors from Bay de Noc Community College. She went on to graduate cum laude from Lake Superior State University, with a bachelor’s degree. She began a career as a newspaper journalist, covering police, courts, schools, and local governments for the Daily Press in Escanaba, Michigan. Later, Barr became the news editor for the Daily Mining Gazette in Houghton, Michigan. After working for three years there she took a job at Michigan Technological University, where she currently works. Nancy Barr is engaged to be married and has three cats.
Selected Works
- Page One: Hit and Run (2006)
- Page One: Vanished (2007)
Critical Reception
Nancy Barr is new to the world of fiction. She has written two mystery novels, which have received very positive reviews from newspapers. Major review publications (such as Publishers Weekly and Library Journal) generally don’t review books put out by small publishers, so that has been a problem since reviews by such publications are necessary for strong nationwide sales.
Relevance of Place to Author’s Work
Nancy Barr writes about what she knows. “The U.P. is a character in my books.” She says, “I made a point to use real towns as settings because this is a special area…It takes a certain kind of person to really embrace the U.P….I love the lifestyle.” Her work also stems form her experience as a journalist and the people she has encountered over the years.