Michael Bracken

Michael Bracken serves as Instructor for the Crime Writing Workshop at Newberry College, bringing decades of professional experience in crime fiction to academic instruction.

His creative focus centers on crime fiction and mystery writing, specializing in short story composition and anthology curation. Bracken's work demonstrates mastery of genre conventions while innovating within the mystery tradition through nearly thirteen hundred published stories.

Bracken's accolades include:

• Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement (2024)
• Texas Institute of Letters induction (2024)
• Three Derringer Awards including winner for 'Murder, Neat'
• Multiple Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony Award nominations

As workshop instructor, Bracken provides students direct access to publishing industry insights through his dual role as prolific author and editor of 'Black Cat Mystery Magazine.' His mentorship focuses on practical storytelling techniques refined through thousands of published works, with emphasis on market-ready manuscript development. Students benefit from his extensive network within the mystery writing community and firsthand knowledge of award-winning narrative structures.

Bracken maintains professional engagement through his website www.CrimeFictionWriter.com, where emerging writers can study his evolving craft and industry commentary.