American author Stuart Woods (January 9, 1938 – July 22, 2022) is most known for his first book Chiefs and the Stone Barrington series of books.
Stuart Woods, who was born in Manchester, Georgia, earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from the University of Georgia in 1959.
Following graduation, he joined the Air National Guard and had two months of basic training before relocating to New York and starting a job in advertising.
After three years in London, Woods traveled to Ireland and made the decision to create a book based on an old family tale that had been given to him as a youngster.
Except for two days a week spent in Dublin creating print and television advertising, he lived in a renovated barn on the grounds of Lough Cutra Castle near Gort, County Galway.
Stuart Woods obituary
The late Stuart Woods produced more than 90 novels, many of which starred the private eye Stone Barrington. He was 84.
Woods died quietly on Friday, July 22, at his home in Litchfield County, Connecticut, according to his publicist Katie Grinch.
After graduating from the University of Georgia in his home state, Woods moved to New York in 1960 to seek a career in journalism.
Instead, he decided to go into advertising. He finally made his home in London before relocating to Galway, Ireland, to pursue his sailing education.
He participated in the 1976 Observer Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race, which had Newport, Rhode Island as its final line and Plymouth, England as its starting point. “Blue Water, Green Skipper,” his debut book, was a nonfiction description of the journey.
W.W. Norton & Company acquired the American rights to Woods’ debut book and agreed to publish it. This 1981 publication, “Chiefs,” was the subject of a CBS miniseries starring Charlton Heston, Danny Glover, Billy Dee Williams, and John Goodman.
It was the recipient of literary honors. It dealt with the murder of a youngster in a small southern town and three generations of law enforcement.
The publication of the book sparked Woods’ prodigious literary career as a novelist, which saw him write five volumes year for G.P.
“I write every day from 11 a.m. to noon, about one chapter a day,” Woods told The Hartford Courant in 2015. “And I answer my emails. The other 23 hours I do anything but write — boating, lots of reading, watching old movies.”
For his book “Imperfect Strangers,” Woods won the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, France’s highest honor in the field of crime and detective fiction.
An Extravagant Life, Woods’ autobiography, was released in June. The 62nd book in the Stone Barrington series, “Black Dog,” will be published by Putnam on August 2, and the 63rd book in the series, “Distant Thunder,” will be published on October 11.
Woods, a certified pilot who also had houses in New York, Florida, and Maine, traveled with his own private plane while promoting his books.
His ex-wife, Jeanmarie Cooper of Key West, Florida, is the only person left to care for him.