2007  AML Award: Smith-Pettit Foundation Award for Outstanding Contribution to Mormon Letters

Presented to:
Anne Perry

For:

From the beginning of her career, Anne Perry has set the standard for LDS writers publishing in the international market. She was born in October of 1938 at Blackheath, London, England, but she didn’t sell her first novel until she was in her late 30s. Since then, she has published 24 books in the Thomas Pitt series, which started in 1979, with the 25th coming out at the end of March 2008; 15 books in the William Monk series, which started in 1990; five in her World War I series, which started in 2003; five Christmas novellas, starting in 2003, with a sixth coming out this Christmas; two fantasy novels; four other novels; six anthologies, two as editor; a nonfiction collection, and two more novels scheduled for 2009—over 60 books in 30 years, most of them mysteries, with over 20 million copies sold worldwide.

Why mysteries? In her own words: "I found that I was totally absorbed by what happens to people under pressure of investigation, how old relationships and trusts are eroded, and new ones formed."

Mysteries or not, her work emphasizes the effort involved in discovering truth. Her characters continually worry about whether what they are doing is the right, best thing to do, and they agonize over the consequences for the innocent as truth is pursued. Her settings are painstakingly researched, her characters are strong and believable--people her readers care deeply about—and her plots are clever and incisive as well as thought-provoking and heart-wrenching.

The Association for Mormon Letters would like to recognize Anne Perry for her outstanding contribution to Mormon letters and express our hope that she will continue to influence and inspire readers and writers for many years yet.