Patricia Cornwell

Patricia Cornwell is a highly accomplished American author, best known for her crime fiction novels. She has written a total of thirty-seven books, including fiction, non-fiction, and even a children's book, and has sold over 100 million copies worldwide. Cornwell has gained considerable fame for her series featuring the character of Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a female medical examiner from Virginia.

Cornwell's debut novel, Postmortem, was published in 1990 while she was still working as a computer analyst at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. The novel was a huge success, winning several awards such as the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity Awards, as well as the French Prix du Roman d’Aventure prize. This marked the first time a single book had won all these distinctions in a single year. The Scarpetta series has since become an international phenomenon, earning Cornwell the Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author, the Gold Dagger Award, the RBA Thriller Award, and the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contributions to literary and artistic development.

In addition to her work in fiction, Cornwell has also ventured into non-fiction, publishing a controversial book in 2002 in which she claimed to have evidence supporting the theory that British artist Walter Sickert was Jack the Ripper. She has also written cookbooks, a children's book, and a biography of Ruth Graham. Her latest series features the characters Win Garano and Andy Brazil.

When not writing, Cornwell is an avid researcher of cutting-edge forensic technologies and is committed to various charitable causes. She co-founded the Conservation Scientist Chair at the Harvard University Art Museums, advocates for psychiatric research, and has helped fund various law enforcement charities, scholarships, and literacy programs. Her advice to aspiring authors is simply, "Start writing. And don't take no for an answer."