APRIL HENRY, WRITER
  • Home
  • Past News
  • Bio
    • Goodbye, 2021
    • How my Apple watch saved my life
    • Masks for Covid-19
    • In the name of research
    • Why I write scary things
    • Roald Dahl Made Me a Writer
    • Fun Facts about April
    • Questions teachers often assign
    • 10 Reasons I Love Martial Arts
    • Learning to Fight Back
    • Dear Teen Me
    • My Parents >
      • My Dad, Hank Henry >
        • Witnessing Nat King Cole's Greatest Hit
      • My Mom, Nora Henry >
        • My Mom and the Round Rock
    • My great-grandfather, the killer
    • I come from a long line of criminals
  • Books
    • For Teens (and Adults) >
      • Future books
      • Stay Dead
      • Girl Forgotten
      • Two Truths and a Lie
      • Eyes of the Forest
      • Playing with Fire
      • The Girl in the White Van
      • Run, Hide, Fight Back
      • The Lonely Dead
      • Count All Her Bones
      • The Girl I Used to Be
      • Blood Will Tell (2nd in the Point Last Seen series)
      • The Body in the Woods (1st in the Point Last Seen series)
      • The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die
      • The Night She Disappeared
      • Girl, Stolen
      • Torched
      • Shock Point
    • For Adults (and Teens) >
      • Lethal Beauty (3rd in the Mia Quinn series)
      • A Deadly Business (2nd in the Mia Quinn mystery series)
      • Matter of Trust (1st in Mia Quinn series)
      • Face of Betrayal (1st in the Triple Threat series)
      • Hand of Fate (2nd in the Triple Threat series)
      • Heart of Ice (3rd in the Triple Threat series)
      • Eyes of Justice (4th in the Triple Threat series)
      • Learning to Fly
      • Circles of Confusion (1st in Claire Montrose series)
      • Square in the Face (2nd in the Claire Montrose series)
      • Heart-Shaped Box (3rd in the Claire Montrose series)
      • Buried Diamonds (4th in the Claire Montrose series)
    • Foreign Covers
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • About My School Visits
    • A Sneak Peek at a School Visit
  • Fun
    • FAQ
    • Does Your Character Need a Job?
    • Girl, Stolen Alternative Covers
    • I Get Letters
    • Blob on the Side of the Filing Cabinet
    • Books I Like
    • JB's Cinnamon Rolls
    • Vanity Plates
    • Diary of My First Book Tour (From 2000)
    • 1999 Interview with James Lee Burke
    • 1997 Interview with Carol Shields
    • Oregon, the Writer's Toronto
    • Stealing From Myself to Create A Character
    • Panties in a Twist
    • Heteronyms
  • Write
    • How to get an agent
    • Videos with writing tips
    • Writers writing during Covid-19
    • Tips for writers
    • Story starters
    • Write what you know?
    • What if you get stuck?
    • More tips about writing
    • Need to create a fake social media profile?
    • How to start a new book
    • My daughter is 14 - how can she be published?
    • I'm a teen writer-can you give me feedback?
    • Publications for teen writers
    • Student Writing
    • How to get it right
    • Questions about writing from two teens
    • Should I pay to be published?
  • Blog
  • Contact

I kill people, but only on paper. 

"Henry has become a leading light in YA mystery." - Booklist
"April Henry’s crime dramas are consistently smart and satisfying.” - Kirkus
​"Sure to delight fans of mystery, suspense, and a little horror."
- School Library Journal 
"Legendary mystery author Henry is back at it again" - Barnes & Noble blog 
"Another one to add to the collection of Henry's fast-paced thrillers." - YALSA 
Picture

Signed books make great gifts! 

Want to buy a signed book with a personal dedication for yourself or someone else?  Just contact my local bookstore: AnnieBlooms.com.  They'll contact me and I'll come down to sign (in a socially-distanced choreographed way).  

Girl Forgotten is racking up wards

Picture
My 2023 release, Girl Forgotten, has already appeared on some award lists:
  • ​JLG Gold Standard Selection 
  • 2023-2024 Tome Student Literacy Society It List
  • Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award list 
  • ​Delaware Diamonds Award Finalist 

I love to do school visits 

Picture
I have already visited two dozen schools this school year, and would love to add your school to the list! School visits are a great way to get students interested in reading and writing. For the 2022-23 school year, I visited 39 schools and spoke to thousands of students (and dozens of teachers and librarians).  

 I love to visit schools and share with students the joys of reading, writing, and research. I also talk about the vital importance of tenacity. 

To learn more, check out my school visit page.  I book all my speaking engagements through TheBookingBiz.com.  

I also love to go to teen book cons, literacy conferences, and to programs at libraries and for librarians.  

How to feel like a rock star

School visits to the Blue Valley School District in the Kansas City area

Behold the cover for my May 28 book, Stay Dead

Picture
  • Sometimes, the only way to live is to make sure the world thinks you’re dead . . . 

In the aftermath of a car accident that claimed the life of her senator father, sixteen-year-old Milan finds herself adrift, expelled from her third boarding school. Milan’s mother, who has assumed the senate seat, diverts her private plane to pick up her daughter. But on their way home, a bomb rips off a wing and the plane crashes in the mountains. In her final moments, Milan’s mother entrusts her with a key. She reveals it will unlock the evidence that so many people have already died for—including Milan’s father. The only way Milan can survive, her mom tells her, is to let everyone believe she died with the other passengers.

​Milan is forced to navigate a perilous descent in freezing conditions while outwitting everything from a drone to wild animals. With relentless assassins on her trail, she must untangle the web of deceit and save herself and countless others. Will she piece together the truth in time?



School visits in Quad Cities, Iowa

School visits in Nashua, New Hampshire 

Celebrating my 29th and 30th books!

Picture
This summer I finished final edits on my May 2024 book, Stay Dead. It's about Milan, who is the only survivor of a plane crash meant to hide evidence of bigger crimes. The only way she can stay alive is to stay dead.  

A few weeks later, I turned the first draft of my 2025 book, When We Were Missing, into my editor. That book, which will be my 30th, is about a girl who finds a camera card filled with photos of hundreds of teen girls. 

Wanting to do something fun to celebrate, I dyed my hair purple with Overtone, which will eventually wash out.  I'm also thinking of trying blue. And it certainly beats the last time I finished a project, when I "treated" myself by deep-cleaning the kitchen. 

School visits in El Paso, Texas

School visits in Arkansas

School visits in Beaverton, Oregon

School visits in Orland Park, Illinois

Six District Compact Reading & Writing Festival ​

Ohio school visits

Texas Library Association Conference

School visits in St. Louis

Missouri Association of School Librarians (MASL) Conference

Library and school events in the greater Omaha area


Taking my Brazilian jiujitsu on the road

Picture
Picture
Picture
I love to do Brazilian jujitsu (think wrestling plus chokes plus joint locks) and try to roll at a local school whenever I do school visits. Every school has its own special way of doing things - and with luck I can pick up a trick or two to try at my regular schools in Portland.  
Picture
Picture

The things I do for research! 

Best Note Ever from a Middle School Teacher

Just wanted to let you know for a 3rd year in a row you are making my life easy – and creating a bunch of new readers.  I am still lucky enough to teach an advanced reading class along with my Intensive class and across the board your books are the motivators.  Here is one of the book projects done by one of my 7th graders!  I can’t keep enough copies of your books on my shelf.  ​
Picture

Fan art

My life as a mystery writer

  • Home
  • Past News
  • Bio
    • Goodbye, 2021
    • How my Apple watch saved my life
    • Masks for Covid-19
    • In the name of research
    • Why I write scary things
    • Roald Dahl Made Me a Writer
    • Fun Facts about April
    • Questions teachers often assign
    • 10 Reasons I Love Martial Arts
    • Learning to Fight Back
    • Dear Teen Me
    • My Parents >
      • My Dad, Hank Henry >
        • Witnessing Nat King Cole's Greatest Hit
      • My Mom, Nora Henry >
        • My Mom and the Round Rock
    • My great-grandfather, the killer
    • I come from a long line of criminals
  • Books
    • For Teens (and Adults) >
      • Future books
      • Stay Dead
      • Girl Forgotten
      • Two Truths and a Lie
      • Eyes of the Forest
      • Playing with Fire
      • The Girl in the White Van
      • Run, Hide, Fight Back
      • The Lonely Dead
      • Count All Her Bones
      • The Girl I Used to Be
      • Blood Will Tell (2nd in the Point Last Seen series)
      • The Body in the Woods (1st in the Point Last Seen series)
      • The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die
      • The Night She Disappeared
      • Girl, Stolen
      • Torched
      • Shock Point
    • For Adults (and Teens) >
      • Lethal Beauty (3rd in the Mia Quinn series)
      • A Deadly Business (2nd in the Mia Quinn mystery series)
      • Matter of Trust (1st in Mia Quinn series)
      • Face of Betrayal (1st in the Triple Threat series)
      • Hand of Fate (2nd in the Triple Threat series)
      • Heart of Ice (3rd in the Triple Threat series)
      • Eyes of Justice (4th in the Triple Threat series)
      • Learning to Fly
      • Circles of Confusion (1st in Claire Montrose series)
      • Square in the Face (2nd in the Claire Montrose series)
      • Heart-Shaped Box (3rd in the Claire Montrose series)
      • Buried Diamonds (4th in the Claire Montrose series)
    • Foreign Covers
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • About My School Visits
    • A Sneak Peek at a School Visit
  • Fun
    • FAQ
    • Does Your Character Need a Job?
    • Girl, Stolen Alternative Covers
    • I Get Letters
    • Blob on the Side of the Filing Cabinet
    • Books I Like
    • JB's Cinnamon Rolls
    • Vanity Plates
    • Diary of My First Book Tour (From 2000)
    • 1999 Interview with James Lee Burke
    • 1997 Interview with Carol Shields
    • Oregon, the Writer's Toronto
    • Stealing From Myself to Create A Character
    • Panties in a Twist
    • Heteronyms
  • Write
    • How to get an agent
    • Videos with writing tips
    • Writers writing during Covid-19
    • Tips for writers
    • Story starters
    • Write what you know?
    • What if you get stuck?
    • More tips about writing
    • Need to create a fake social media profile?
    • How to start a new book
    • My daughter is 14 - how can she be published?
    • I'm a teen writer-can you give me feedback?
    • Publications for teen writers
    • Student Writing
    • How to get it right
    • Questions about writing from two teens
    • Should I pay to be published?
  • Blog
  • Contact