John Dunning, bookseller and novelist, 1942-2023

"I was terribly saddened to learn of the death of John Dunning," writes Nick Basbanes, "a consummate bookman in every respect. Collector, co-owner of the Old Algonquin Book Shop in Denver, one-time newspaper reporter, radio personality, creator of the incomparable, two-time Edgar Award-nominated Cliff Janeway bibliomystery series Booked to Die, The Bookman's Wake, The Bookman's Promise, notably among them."

"To that, he was a thoroughly good and decent man who I had the pleasure of hanging out with for a couple days at the Colorado Antiquarian Book Fair in 2003, appearing together on a panel and flogging each other's books. He threw one heck of a party, too, in his home for the assembled booksellers. A delightful man who will be missed."

John Dunning was born January 9, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Charleston, South Caroline. After a series of jobs, he worked in the library at The Denver Post where he later became a reporter and then part of its investigative team. After a stint as a campaign press secretary to candidates in Colorado, he taught college writing and journalism until in 1984 he opened the Old Agonquin Bookstore in East Denver with his wife Helen. After a decade, it became an online operation which continues to thrive. He also enjoyed a career as a crime novelist including Booked to Die, the first in his Cliff Janeway series of five bibliomysteries, which won the Nero Award and also garnered a nomination for the Anthony Award.

John died on May 22, 2023. A celebration of his life can be found at The Denver Gazette.