Nancy Drew and the Mystery of the Great Beyond

RIP Mildred Wirt Benson, creator of Nancy Drew, dead of cancer at 96.
Benson was a journalist for 58 years and wrote more than 130 books, including the Penny Parker mystery series. She also penned countless short stories, but is best known for creating Nancy Drew, who inspired and captivated generations of girls...

She wrote children's stories when she was in grade school and won her first writing award at 14.

Benson was the first person to receive a master's degree in journalism at the University of Iowa in 1927, according to the school.

She was introduced to journalism through her first husband, Asa Wirt, who worked with The Associated Press. In 1944, Benson 1944 began working at the former Toledo Times and later at The Blade.

She covered city hall, federal and courthouse beats and wrote a weekly column in The Blade from 1990 until January, when she reluctantly retired.

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Cory Doctorow

Upcoming appearances

* Feb 9, 2012, DeKalb, IL: Day of Doctorow, NIU
* Feb 10-12, 2012, Chicago, IL: Capricon 32
* Feb 13, 2012, Arlington, TX: UT Arlington College of Engineering Distinguished Speaker Series
* Feb 16, 2012, Victoria, BC: 13th Annual Privacy and Security Conference

Recent books:
* Context (essays)
* With a Little Help (short stories)
* For the Win (YA novel)
* Makers (adult novel)

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