Gregg Olsen is a ew York Times]] and a USA Today bestselling author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 of eight nonfiction books and six novels, most of which are crime-related. The subjects of his true crime

True crime

True crime is a non-fiction literary and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people.The crimes most commonly include murder, but true crime works have also touched on other legal cases. Depending on the writer, true crime can adhere strictly to...

 books include convicted child rapist and school teacher Mary Kay Letourneau

Mary Kay Letourneau

Mary Kay Fualaau , formerly known as Mary Kay Letourneau, is an American schoolteacher who was imprisoned from 1997 to 2004 for having sexual intercourse with her 13-year-old student, Vili Fualaau. She gave birth to two of Fualaau's children while incarcerated...

, product tampering killer Stella Nickell

Stella Nickell

Stella Maudine Nickell is a Seattle-area woman who was sentenced to 90 years in prison for product tampering after she allegedly poisoned Excedrin capsules with lethal cyanide, which resulted in the deaths of her husband Bruce and of Susan Chapman Snow...

, fasting specialist Linda Burfield Hazzard

Linda Burfield Hazzard

Linda Hazzard was a fiery oratorand doctor, who was implicitly killing her patients by exhausting diets....

, and former Amishman and convicted murderer Eli Stutzman.

Olsen has received numerous awards and critical acclaim for his writing. The Deep Dark: Disaster and Redemption in America's Richest Silver Mine was selected as "Idaho Book of the Year" in 2006 by the Idaho Libraries Association and was a finalist for a Spur Award for best contemporary historical nonfiction book by the Western Writers of America

Western Writers of America

Western Writers of America, founded 1953, promotes literature, both fiction and non-fiction, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional western fiction, the more than five hundred current members also include historians and other non-fiction writers as well as authors...

. In 2007, The Deep Dark was also selected by Boise State University as its first year read for incoming freshmen. Starvation Heights was honored by Washington State Library and the Washington Secretary of State as a selection for its annual "Everybody Reads" literary program for books that contribute to the culture of the state.

Olsen has been a guest on "Good Morning America

Good Morning America

Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...

," "The Early Show

The Early Show

The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...

," Court TV

Court TV

truTV is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Time Warner. The network launched as Court TV in 1991, changing to truTV in 2008...

, "Entertainment Tonight

Entertainment Tonight

Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...

," CNN, FOX News, 48 Hours

48 Hours

48 Hours may refer to:* 48 Hours , a documentary and news television program* 48 Hrs., a 1982 comedy and action film, starring Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy* Another 48 Hrs., the sequel to the 1982 comedy/action film...

, and many other US and international TV programs discussing criminal cases. He lives in rural Olalla, Washington

Olalla, Washington

Olalla is a small unincorporated community in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is located on Colvos Passage on Puget Sound just north of the Pierce County county line. Olalla used to be larger than Port Orchard, county seat of Kitsap County...

, with his wife, a graphic designer.

Nonfiction

• A Twisted Faith, (2010) about a philandering minister who killed his wife
• The Deep Dark (2005), about the 1972 Sunshine mine
  Sunshine mine
  The Sunshine Mine is located between Kellogg and Wallace in northern Idaho. It has been one of the world's largest producers of silver, having produced over 360,000,000 ounces of silver since 1904...
  
   fire in Kellogg, Idaho
  Kellogg, Idaho
  Kellogg is a city in the Silver Valley of Shoshone County, Idaho, United States, in the Idaho Panhandle region. The city lies near the Coeur d'Alene National Forest and about east-southeast of Coeur d'Alene along Interstate 90...
  
  
• Starvation Heights, about Linda Burfield Hazzard
  Linda Burfield Hazzard
  Linda Hazzard was a fiery oratorand doctor, who was implicitly killing her patients by exhausting diets....
  
  
• Cruel Deception, aka, Mockingbird, the case of murderous mother Tanya Reid
• If Loving You is Wrong, the story of Mary Kay Letourneau
  Mary Kay Letourneau
  Mary Kay Fualaau , formerly known as Mary Kay Letourneau, is an American schoolteacher who was imprisoned from 1997 to 2004 for having sexual intercourse with her 13-year-old student, Vili Fualaau. She gave birth to two of Fualaau's children while incarcerated...
  
  
• Abandoned Prayers, about the Eli Stutzman case
• Bitter Almonds, the story of Stella Nickell
  Stella Nickell
  Stella Maudine Nickell is a Seattle-area woman who was sentenced to 90 years in prison for product tampering after she allegedly poisoned Excedrin capsules with lethal cyanide, which resulted in the deaths of her husband Bruce and of Susan Chapman Snow...
  
  
• Black Widow, about Sharon Lynn Nelson

Starvation Heights was adapted for the stage by Portland, Ore., playwright Ginny Foster and debuted as a part of the National New Play Festival in July 2008. It was announced in January 2009 that the book was optioned by producer Jason Fogelson and Pulitzer Prize-winner Tracy Letts for a film adaptation. Letts will write the script.

Novels

• A Wicked Snow (2007)
• A Cold Dark Place (2008)
• Heart of Ice (2009)
• Victim Six (2010)
• Closer Than Blood (2011)
• Envy (2011)