Mystery novelist, Oklahoma native, wins award

TULSA, Okla. (AP) Oklahoma native and mystery novelist Tony Hillerman is the winner of the 2005 Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award. <br/><br/>The award given by the Tulsa Library Trust will

Wednesday, March 30th 2005, 11:39 am

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) Oklahoma native and mystery novelist Tony Hillerman is the winner of the 2005 Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award.

The award given by the Tulsa Library Trust will be presented to Hillerman on December second.

Selection committee chairman Scott Filstrup says Hillerman was chosen for the contribution he's made to literature and for his body of work that includes 19 novels. His best known work is his mystery books about two Navajo police officers in which he tried to blend Navajo tradition with modern culture.

Hillerman is the second Oklahoman to win the Helmerich award, joining historian John Hope Franklin. Other past winners include Joyce Carol Oates, Neil Simon and Norman Mailer.