Margaret Coel
Margaret Coel is a fourth-generation Coloradoan, a member of a large, pioneer family, and a Boulder resident since 1964. A prolific writer, she is the New York Times bestselling author of fourteen Wind River mystery novels set among the Arapahos on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, including the most recent novel, The Silent Spirit. She is also the author of Blood Memory, a suspense novel set in Denver. Her work has received statewide and national recognition. She is a five-time winner of the Colorado Book Award for The Spirit Woman, The Thunder Keeper, Eye of the Wolf, Wife of Moon and The Girl with Braided Hair. The Spirit Woman was also awarded the Willa (Cather) Award for Best Novel of the West, and The Girl With Braided Hair was named the 2007 Best Mystery of the West by the Left Coast Crime Conference.
Coel is also the author of the acclaimed history/biography, Chief Left Hand, which recounts the life and times of an Arapaho chief in Colorado in the mid-1800s, culminating in the infamous Sand Creek Massacre. Published in 1981, the book was named the Best Non-Fiction Book of the year by the National Association of Press Women. Coel is the author of four other nonfiction books on the history of Colorado, including Goin' Railroading, an account of her family's involvement with early Colorado railroads.
Her articles have appeared in numerous national publications, including The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor and American Heritage, and her short stories have been published in many anthologies. An anthology of her short stories will be published in March 2010.
Coel has taught writing courses at the University of Colorado Continuing Education and at Red Rocks and Arapahoe Community Colleges, and continues to give writing workshops around the country. She is a sought-after speaker who has delivered keynote addresses at conferences across the country and as far away as Australia.
Coel is the wife of George Coel, a practicing dentist in Boulder for forty years. They are the parents of three children: Bill, deceased, Kristin, Lisa and have six grandchildren.
To learn about more about Boulder's 'New Pioneers', check out our previous Award Winners page.
