Daniel Stanford Woodrell

1953 - 2025

Daniel Woodrell, acclaimed American author whose books have been translated into more than 15 languages, died early Friday morning at his home in West Plains, Mo. Known for his innovative, vigorous prose, which the Washington Post once described as "explosively original," Woodrell authored nine novels: "Under the Bright Lights" (1986), "Woe to Live On" (1987), "Muscle for the Wing" (1988), "The Ones You Do" (1992), "Give Us A Kiss" (1996), "Tomato Red" (1998), "The Death of Sweet Mister" (2001), "Winter's Bone" (2007), "The Maid's Version" (2013) and a short story collection: "The Outlaw Album" (2011).

Much of Woodrell's work is set in the Missouri Ozarks, home to his family for many generations. He once coined the term "country noir" to describe his unique brand of crime fiction, which gave voice to the raw humanity and frustrations of those who found themselves living outside "square law." He was particularly adept at creating empathetic portrayals of troubled teens, such as Ree Dolly from "Winter's Bone," Shug Akins from "The Death of Sweet Mister" and Jamalee Merridew from "Tomato Red." His stories were tragic, brutal and funny.

Noted for invigorating and transcending the crime fiction genre, Woodrell received many awards for his fiction, including the Chicago Tribune's Heartland Prize, the Clifton Fadiman Medal from the Center for Fiction, N.Y.C., the Missouri Library Association Literary Award, the 2001 Prix Du Meilleur Polar Award, the Edgar Wolfe Award, the Quill Award from the Missouri Ozarks chapter of the Writers Hall of Fame of America and the PEN West Award. He was twice a finalist for the Los Angeles Times' Novel of the Year, and in 2010 Esquire magazine listed him as one of "The Brightest: Sixteen Geniuses Who Give Us Hope."

In his early career, Woodrell struggled to find a sizable reading audience, but the cinematic nature of his novels captured the attention of film makers, who adapted three of his works. In 1999, his Missouri Civil War-era novel "Woe to Live On" was made into the film "Ride With the Devil," directed by Ang Lee, and "Tomato Red" came to the screen in 2017 as "Tomato Red: Blood Money," directed by Juanita Wilson. But best known is the film version of "Winter's Bone," directed by Debra Granik, which was the only movie adaptation shot in the Ozarks, employing regional and local talent, including musicians Dennis Crider and Marideth Sisco, both former writers for the West Plains Daily Quill. "Winter's Bone" won the 2010 Sundance Best Film Award and was nominated for four Academy Awards in 2011 to become the breakout film for actress Jennifer Lawrence.

While three of Woodrell's first four books were set in a bayou river town, his decision to place "Give Us A Kiss" in the fictional hamlet of West Table, Missouri, was a pivotal point in his career that catapulted his fiction to a new level, and thereafter he set his novels in West Table (based largely upon his generational hometown of West Plains) and Howl County. From that point on, his work increased in reach and power, and he is likely to be remembered not only for rendering society's luckless and downtrodden with compassion, but also for focusing the lens of his fiction so intently upon the local as to capture the universal.

Daniel Stanford Woodrell was born on March 4, 1953, in Springfield, Mo. His father, Robert L. Woodrell, was a metal distributor and his mother, Jeananne (Daily) Woodrell, a registered nurse. The family with three young sons Patrick "Rick," Daniel and Frederick "Ted" left West Plains for St. Charles, Mo, to find work. After another move to Kansas City, Woodrell dropped out of high school and joined the Marines when he turned 17. He earned his GED in Guam, his B.A. from The University of Kansas at the age of 27 and received a Master of Fine Arts degree from The University of Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1983. In 2016, The University of Missouri-Kansas City awarded him an honorary doctorate.

Woodrell met his wife, Katie Estill-Woodrell, fellow writer, at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and they married in 1984. In the 1990s they settled in West Plains, living until his death in a house where, as a child, his mother played in the yard, and when the leaves were down, he could see his grandfather's house from the kitchen door.

Daniel Woodrell will be profoundly missed. Survivors include his wife Katie Estill-Woodrell; his brother Ted Woodrell and wife Brenda; his brother-in-law Jim Estill and wife Diana; his nieces and nephews Sarah Papa, Dr. Grace Woodrell, Evan Woodrell, Rob Woodrell, Laura Estill and Sarah Pennington; and his grand-nieces and nephews Erick, Sean and Adalyn Papa, Mathew Woodrell, Zane Bhatti and Veronica and Jose Buenrostro.

Memorial arrangements at Robertson-Drago Funeral Home in West Plains to be announced.