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Best Local Authors In Baltimore

When you walk a mile in another person's shoes, you tend to see the same scenery. But when you already share the city of Baltimore, the works of local authors become even more cherished. Learn more of those renowned authors who were born, raised or currently live in Charm City.
LauraLippman
(credit: harpercollins.com)

Laura Lippman
www.lauralippman.com

Not only was Laura Lippman raised in Baltimore and Columbia, this award-winning author worked as a reporter for the Baltimore Sun for 20 years. No wonder her famous Tess Monaghan series follows a private investigator with a backdrop of the Baltimore crime scene. In addition to the series, Lippman has written stand-alone novels and short stories. Her suspense novel, "Every Secret Thing," is being made into an all-star film with Diane Lane, Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Banks as Detective Nancy Porter. You can look forward to her next book "And When She Was Good" this August, and Lippman will be making an appearance at the annual Baltimore Book Festival in September. She currently lives with her husband, fellow writer David Simon, in Federal Hill and teaches at Goucher College.

Thomas F. Monteleone
credit:https://twitter.com/TomMonteleone

Thomas F. Monteleone

This Baltimore native has gone out into the world with a vision of intriguing supernatural and science-fiction thrillers. Thomas Monteleone knew he wanted to be a writer since he was a child and dealt with more than 200 rejections after graduating college. Today, he can boast more than 30 published books, 100 short stories and writings for both the stage and television. Most significantly, he has won the Bram Stoker award four times with "The Blood of the Lamb," "The Mothers and Fathers Italian Association," "Fearful Symmetries" and book five from the Borderlands series. Yet Monteleone offers humor and guidance with two editions of "Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing a Novel." Monteleone most recently attended a horror discussion event in April in Towson.

Related: 5 Must-Read Books By Baltimore Authors

NoraRoberts

Nora Roberts
www.noraroberts.com

This author of more than 200 romance and suspense books was born in Silver Spring and currently lives in Keedysville. An avid reader, Nora Roberts was already a wife and mother before ever putting pen to paper to write her first novel. A week-long blizzard in 1979 gave Roberts the need for a creative outlet to take a break from entertaining her young children. A few years later, and her first novel, "Irish Thoroughbred," was published, setting her on the path to write more than 10 separate book series, becoming "America's favorite novelist" according to the New Yorker. Her latest novels, "Whiskey Beach" and "Calculated in Death," were released earlier this year.

Tom Clancy
(Photo by Robert Mora/Getty Images)

Tom Clancy
www.TomClancy.com

It is easy to take pride in the fellow Baltimorean who has written 16 No.1 New York Times best sellers, both fiction and non-fiction, but knowing the story of his roots makes Tom Clancy's accomplishments that much more significant. Born in Baltimore County, Clancy dreamed of a military life though he inevitably failed an ROTC eye exam while attending Loyola College. The determined Clancy refused to put his dreams on hold, instead merging international events with carefully researched facts to write on that which gave him inspiration. His persistence paid off as multiple books from Clancy's Jack Ryan series were made into movies, including "The Hunt for Red October" (1990), "Patriot Games" (1992), "Clear and Present Danger" (1994) and "The Sum of All Fears" (2002). His latest book in the series, "Threat Vector," was released late in 2012. Not one to forget his hometown, Clancy has been a part-owner of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team since 1993.

Laura Amy Schlitz

Thoroughly ingrained in Baltimore, Laura Schlitz attended Goucher College, lives in Loch Hill and is both a librarian and storyteller at the Park School in Brooklandville. A children's author, Schlitz has captured the essence of one's imagination, taking readers to faraway places, such as a fairy land in "The Night Fairy." Both "Good Masters!, Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village" and "Splendors and Glooms" have won Newberry awards. Schlitz has also worked as a playwright, costumer and actress.

Pam Smith graduated from Penn State with a B.A. in English and a passion for writing. Her adaptive nature led her to work in the scientific, energy supply, and business industries while writing on a multitude of topics for various online media. Pam currently resides in Baltimore County. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.

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