Margot Douaihy

Chattman Photography

Margot Douaihy's debut mystery, "Scorched Grace," won the Pinckley Prize for Crime Fiction and was named one of the Best Crime Novels of the Year by The New York Times, The Guardian, and CrimeReads. Her second mystery, "Blessed Water," was also named a New York Times Best Crime Novel in 2024 and won the Publishing Triangle Award for LGBTQ Fiction. The third mystery in her series, "Divine Ruin" was released this year. She is an assistant professor with the Popular Fiction MFA at Emerson College in Boston. 

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Awards: Publishing Triangle Award for LGBTQ+ Crime Fiction, Pinckley Prize for Debut Crime Fiction, Mass Cultural Council Grant, F. Lammot Belin Award

Communities: LGBTQ+

Misfits, Meddlers and Murder

Authors Margot Douaihy, Mariah Fredericks, and Joshua Moehling have come to the festival with characters who surprise us, delight us, and take us down unexpected roads. How do they begin developing the characters who live in their books?

UA Campus Store Stage (Seats 250)  
Sat, Mar 14, 1:00 pm - 1:55 pm
Mystery / Thrillers
Signing area: Sales & Signing Area - UA Campus Store Lower Level (following presentation)  

Panelists: Margot Douaihy, Mariah Fredericks, Joshua Moehling
Moderator: Pamela Schuster
Sponsors: Session made possible courtesy of Pi Beta Phi Fraternity - Arizona Alpha Chapter, UA Campus Store

Workshop: Compelling Characters

In this session, author Margot Douaihy will explore various ways she and other well-known authors are able to shape characters we'll all remember for awhile.

Integrated Learning Center Room 125AB (Seats 40, Wheelchair accessible)  
Sat, Mar 14, 4:00 pm - 4:55 pm
Mystery / Thrillers

Panelist: Margot Douaihy
Sponsor: Session made possible courtesy of Words, Women, and Wine Book Club

Faithfully Dead

William Kent Krueger, Linda Castillo and Margot Douaihy have come to the festival with tales that touch on faith and the murky middle ground between belief and deadly self-interest. The endings are to die for.

UA Mall Tent (Seats 250)  
Sun, Mar 15, 1:00 pm - 1:55 pm
Mystery / Thrillers
Signing area: Sales & Signing Area - Central Mall (following presentation)  

Panelists: Linda Castillo, Margot Douaihy, William Kent Krueger
Moderator: Anne Hillerman
Sponsors: Session made possible courtesy of Pepper Viner Homes, Stephen Golden and Susan Tarrence, Sally and Wade Monroe

Books:

Divine Ruin

A Sister Holiday Mystery
Mystery / Thrillers
Dark Horse Comics
January 2026
ISBN 9781638931980
288 pages
Buy now

Scorched Grace

A Sister Holiday Mystery
Mystery / Thrillers
Zando
January 2024
ISBN 9781638930983
320 pages
Buy now