Twist Phelan

Twist Phelan
Occupation	Writer, former trial lawyer
Alma mater	Stanford University

Twist Phelan is an American writer of crime fiction.^[1] She is known for her Finn Teller Corporate Spy mystery series, Pinnacle Peak mystery series, and her short stories, which have won numerous awards (including two International Thriller Writers Awards and the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Short Story of the Year).

Biography

Phelan attended Stanford University for both undergraduate and law school. She was a trial lawyer before becoming a writer. In March 2013, Phelan married Jack Chapple in Denver.^[2]

Awards

• Thriller Award for Best Short Story of the Year for A Stab in the Heart (2010; won)^[3]
• Thriller Award for Best Short Story of the Year for Footprints in Water (2014; won)^[4]
• Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Short Story of the Year for Footprints in Water (2014; won)^[5]
• Mystery Writers of America Six-Word Mystery Contest/Thriller (2022,2024; won)^[6]

Bibliography

Finn Teller

1. Fake (2016)^[7]
2. Exit (2016)^[8]
3. Doubt (2016)
4. Splice (2016)^[9]
5. Coin (2017)^[10]

Pinnacle Peak

1. Heir Apparent (2002)^[11]
2. Family Claims (2004)^{[12][13][14][15]}
3. Spurred Ambition (2006)^{[16][17][18][19]}
4. False Fortune (2007)^[20][21][22]

Stand-alone novels

• The Target (2018)^[23]
• Snowed (2024)^[24]

Short stories

• For the Good of the Game, published in Red Herring Mystery Magazine; The Mystery Review
• A Trader's Lot (2005), published in Wall Street Noir
• Crime Wave (2006), published in Crimespree Magazine
• Floored (2007), published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine
• Strange Bedfellows (2008), published in Politics Noir
• A Stab in the Heart (2009), published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine
• Talk to Me (2009), published in ACWL Murder Past, Murder Present
• Time Will Tell (2009), published in MWA Presents The Prosecution Rests and republished in By Hook or By Crook and 30 More of the Best Crime and Mystery Stories of the Year
• The Peahen (2010), published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine
• Happine$$ (2012), published in MWA Presents the Rich and the Dead
• I’m Learning (2012), published in ACWL Murder Here, Murder There, reprinted (2024) as Good Shoes in Coolest American Stories 2025
• The Fourteenth Juror (2012), published in MWA Presents Vengeance^[25]
• Footprints in Water (2013), published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
• Game (2018), published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
• Fathers-in-Law (2019), published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
• Rude Awakening (2019), published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
• Used To Be (2020), published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
• The Bridge (2022), published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
• The Kindness of Strangers (2022), published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
• It’s a Small World (After All) (2023), published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
• List of Contributors (2023), published in The Dark City Crime & Mystery Magazine
• Judge Not (2023), published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
• Soon It'll Be Over (2023), published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
• Sorry Sorry (2024), published in Mystery Tribune^[26]
• Aim (2024), published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
• Artificial Hearts (2024), published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
• An Ounce of Prevention (2024), published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine
• Bertha (2024), published in Friend of the Devil: Crime Fiction Inspired by Songs of the Grateful Dead^[27]
• Double Parked (2024), published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine

Short Story Collection

• Criminal Record (2017)^[28]

Articles

• Cowboy Up (2002), published in Mystery Scene Magazine
• Queen of the Road (2004), published in Mystery Scene Magazine
• The Writer's Life...From the Other Side of the Breakfast Table (2005), published in Mystery Scene Magazine
• Climb Every Mountain...and Building, Too (2006), published in Mystery Scene Magazine
• Paddle Up! (2007), published in Mystery Scene Magazine

Essays

• Twist Phelan on Bootlegger's Daughter by Margaret Maron (2006), published in Mystery Muses: 100 Classics that Inspire Today's Mystery Writers
• Writing Novels Versus Stories: It’s Not About the Word Count (well, just a little) (2013) published in Something is Going to Happen^[29]
• The "Art" of Writing (2022) published in Something is Going to Happen^[30]
• Writing Is More than Output: Why Writers Shouldn’t Fear AI (2023) published in Something is Going to Happen^[31]

References

1. MALLOZZI, VINCENT M. (5 April 2013). "The First 100 Dates Were Just a Warm-Up". New York Times. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
2. Mallozzi, Vincent M. (April 5, 2013). "The First 100 Dates Were Just a Warm-Up". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
3. Vey, Barbara. "Thrillerfest: Ken Follett Thrillmaster". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
4. "2014 Thriller Award Winners!". Thriller Writers. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
5. "2014 Arthur Ellis Award winners announced". CBC.ca. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
6. "6 Word Mystery Contest Archive | Rocky Mountain Mystery Writers of America". Retrieved 2023-02-03.
7. "Fake by Twist Phelan". Twist Phelan. 2016-06-03. Retrieved 2016-07-04.
8. Phelan, Twist (2016-06-27). Exit by Twist Phelan. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1-5348-5893-0. Retrieved 2016-07-04. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
9. Phelan, Twist (21 October 2016). Splice. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1-5396-7752-9. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
10. Phelan, Twist (6 December 2016). Coin. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1-5408-9163-1. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
11. "Heir Apparent (review)". RT Book Reviews. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
12. "Family Claims (review)". Booklist. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
13. "Family Claims (review)". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
14. Adler, Dick. "Sleuthing through the centuries". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
15. "Family Claims (review)". RT Book Reviews. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
16. Adler, Dick. "A grand master shows how to write a Chicago police novel". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
17. "Spurred Ambition (review)". Booklist. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
18. "Spurred Ambition (review)". RT Book Reviews. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
19. Montgomery, David J. (January 22, 2006). "Sex, Booze and Stiffs". Chicago Sun-Times (subscription required). Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
20. "False Fortune (review)". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
21. "False Fortune (review)". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
22. "False Fortune (review)". Booklist. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
23. "The Target by Twist Phelan". Amazon. October 21, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
24. Phelan, Twist (September 17, 2024). Snowed by Twist Phelan. Bronzeville Books. ISBN 978-1952427411.
25. "Mystery anthology sports old hands, gifted newcomers". Post and Courier. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
26. Tribune, Mystery (2024-01-02). "Sorry Sorry: Hard-Boiled Flash Fiction By Twist Phelan". MysteryTribune. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
27. "FRIEND OF THE DEVIL edited by Josh Pachter". Down & Out Books. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
28. Phelan, Twist (17 February 2017). Criminal Record. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1-5428-9001-4. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
29. somethingisgoingtohappen (2013-06-26). ""Writing Novels Versus Stories: It's Not About the Word Count (well, just a little)" (by Twist Phelan)". SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
30. somethingisgoingtohappen (2022-09-15). ""The 'Art' of Writing" (by Twist Phelan)". SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
31. Phelan, Twist (August 3, 2023). "Writing Is More than Output: Why Writers Shouldn't Fear AI (by Twist Phelan)". Something is Going to Happen. Retrieved August 4, 2023.

External links

• Official website
• Twist Phelan at the Crime Writers of Canada
• Experience: I dated 100 men in 100 days at The Guardian
• The First 100 Dates Were Just a Warm-Up at The New York Times