Valerie Wilson Wesley (born November 22, 1947) is an Americanauthor ofmysteries, adult-themenovels, andchildren's books,^[1] and a former executive editor ofEssence magazine. She is the author of the Tamara Hayle mystery series. Her writings, both fiction and non-fiction, have also appeared in numerous publications, includingEssence,Family Circle,TV Guide,Ms.,The New York Times, and the Swiss weekly magazineDie Weltwoche.

Wesley grew up inAshford, Connecticut.^[2] She isAfrican-American. She graduated fromHoward University and earned master's degrees from theBank Street College of Education and theColumbia Graduate School of Journalism. A former resident ofEast Orange, New Jersey, she now lives inMontclair, New Jersey, with her two daughters and playwright husbandRichard Wesley.^[3]

• Afro-Bets Book of Black Heroes from A to Z: An introduction to important Black achievers for young readers, with Wade Hudson (1988, Orange, New Jersey: Just Us Books,ISBN 0-940975-02-5)
• When Death Comes Stealing, a Tamara Hayle mystery (1994, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons,ISBN 0-399-13949-4)
• Devil's Gonna Get Him, a Tamara Hayle mystery (1996, New York: Avon Books,ISBN 0-380-72492-8)
• Where Evil Sleeps, a Tamara Hayle mystery (1996, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons,ISBN 0-399-14145-6)
• Freedom's Gifts: A Juneteenth story, illustrated by Sharon Wilson (1997, New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers,ISBN 0-689-80269-2)
• No Hiding Place, a Tamara Hayle mystery (1997, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons,ISBN 0-399-14318-1)
• Easier to Kill, a Tamara Hayle mystery (1998, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons,ISBN 0-399-14445-5)
• Ain't Nobody's Business if I Do (1999, New York: Avon Books,ISBN 0-380-97703-6)
• The Devil Riding, a Tamara Hayle mystery (2000, New York: Putnam,ISBN 0-399-14617-2)
• Always True to You in My Fashion (2002, New York: William Morrow,ISBN 0-06-018883-9)
• How to Lose Your Class Pet, illustrated by Maryn Roos (2003, New York: Jump at the Sun,ISBN 0-7868-1322-9)
• Dying in the Dark: A Tamara Hayle mystery (2004, New York: One World Ballantine Books,ISBN 0-345-46806-6)
• How to Fish for Trouble, illustrated by Maryn Roos (2004, New York: Jump at the Sun,ISBN 0-7868-1807-7)
• How to Lose Your Cookie Money, illustrated by Maryn Roos (2004, New York: Jump at the Sun,ISBN 0-7868-5146-5)
• 23 Ways to Mess up Valentine's Day (2005, New York: Jump at the Sun,ISBN 0-7868-5524-X)
• How to (almost) Ruin Your School Play, illustrated by Maryn Roos (2005, New York: Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children,ISBN 1-4155-7357-3)
• Playing My Mother's Blues (2005, New York: William Morrow,ISBN 0-06-018882-0)

• 1993 – Griot Award from the New York Chapter of theNational Association of Black Journalists
• 1995 – Nominee forShamus Award for Best First P.I. Novel (When Death Comes Stealing)
• 2000 – Excellence in Adult Fiction award from the Black Caucus of theAmerican Library Association

• "Biography', Valerie Wilson Wesly web site (Retrieved October 23, 2006)
• Brizak, Rosemarie Louise, Tiesha Renee Cooper, Rachel Elizabeth Feller, and Wanda Michelle Raynes."Valerie Wilson Wesley",VG: Voices from the Gaps, University of Minnesota, December 5, 2004 (Retrieved October 22, 2006).
• "Valerie Wilson Wesley" on the dust jacket ofAin't Nobody's Business if I Do, New York: William Morrow, 1999.ISBN 0-380-97703-6.

• Valerie Wilson Wesley web site
• "BIBR talks to Valerie Wilson Wesley – Interview", interview by Linda Jones inBlack Issues Book Review, November–December, 2002.

• 20th-century American novelists
• 21st-century American novelists
• American children's writers
• African-American children's writers
• African-American novelists
• People from Ashford, Connecticut
• Writers from East Orange, New Jersey
• Writers from Montclair, New Jersey
• Howard University alumni
• Bank Street College of Education alumni
• American women journalists
• American women children's writers
• 20th-century American women novelists
• 21st-century American women novelists
• African-American women journalists
• African-American journalists
• American women mystery writers
• Novelists from New Jersey
• 20th-century American non-fiction writers
• 21st-century American non-fiction writers
• 1947 births
• Living people
• 20th-century African-American women writers
• 20th-century African-American writers
• 21st-century African-American women writers
• 21st-century African-American writers

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