Nevada Barr is a highly acclaimed American author, best known for her mystery series featuring the character Anna Pigeon. Contrary to popular belief, Barr was not named after the state of Nevada, but after a book that her father appreciated. She was born in Yerington, Nevada, and spent her childhood in the Sierras on a mountain airport. Both of her parents were pilots and mechanics, and her sister followed in their footsteps by becoming a pilot for USAir.
Barr initially pursued a career in theatre, but later decided to become a park ranger. She published her first novel, Bittersweet, in 1983, a bleak lesbian historical novel set in the days of the Western frontier. It was while working at the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas that Barr created the Anna Pigeon character. Pigeon is a law enforcement officer with the United States National Park Service, and each book in the series takes place in a different National Park, where Pigeon solves a murder mystery, often related to natural resource issues.
Barr's love for the wilderness and her writing skills are beautifully combined in the Anna Pigeon series. The first book, Track of the Cat, was published in 1993 and won both the Agatha and Anthony awards for best first mystery. The series has been well received, with each book taking place in a different National Park. Barr's writing is known for its wit, satire, and exploration of environmental issues. She currently resides in New Orleans, Louisiana, and continues to write and publish popular mystery novels.