Neely stated, 'she started pointing to people, and when she turned and pointed to me, it seemed to me that she was saying, 'Do it today, because today is all you have.'' Soon after, Neely had her first piece of fiction, a short story called 'P*ing the Word', published in Essence magazine. The program was developed through her position with Pennsylvania's Department of Corrections and was the state's first community based correctional center for women.ĭuring a trip to San Francisco in 1978, Neely witnessed a woman dancing in front of a band which she says inspired her to take her work in activism even farther.

ActivismĪfter earning her degree, she became thoroughly involved in local activism and created a community-based housing program for female felons in an area of Pittsburgh called Shady Side. In 1971, she moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she was awarded a master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Pittsburgh. She attended a Roman Catholic elementary school and was the only child in her cl* of Pennsylvania German dialect (popularly known as Pennsylvania Dutch) students to speak English fluently and was the only student of African-American descent to attend her elementary and high school. Biography Early life and educationīarbara Neely was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1941, was the oldest of three children born to Ann and Bernard Neely who lived in a rural Pennsylvania Dutch community in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. The Mystery Writers of America named her their 2020 Grand Master winner. Her first novel, Blanche on the Lam (1992), introduced the protagonist Blanche White, a middle-aged mother, domestic worker and amateur detective. Barbara Ann Neely (often self-stylized as BarbaraNeely Novem– March 2, 2020) was an African-American novelist, short story writer and activist who wrote murder mysteries.

Blanche on the lam by barbara neely