Shawn Reilly Simmons is the author of nine novels in the Red Carpet Catering mystery series featuring Penelope Sutherland, chef-owner of a movie set catering company. She’s also written several short stories which have been published in various anthologies, including “Burnt Orange” in Passport to Murder: the 2017 Bouchercon Anthology; “The Prodigy” in Mystery Tour, the Crime Writers' anthology.

Shawn’s story “The Last Word,” appearing in Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible, won the Agatha Award for Best Short Story of 2019. Shawn also won the Anthony Award as editor of the Best Anthology or Collection for the same anthology the same year. Her story “The Red Herrings at Killington Inn,” appearing in Masthead: Best New England Crime Stories, received an Agatha Nomination in 2020 for Best Short Story. The following year, "Bay of Reckoning," appearing in the anthology Murder at Sea, published by Destinaiton Murders, won the Agatha Award for Best Short Story in 2021. 

Shawn was born in Indiana, grew up in Florida, and began her professional career in New York City as a sales executive for an international airline after graduating from the University of Maryland with an English Lit degree. She has worked as a line cook, bartender, marketing executive, and bookstore manager, sold fine wine, written radio commercials, organized an annual mystery convention, and cooked for the cast and crew on movie sets. 

In addition to her own writing, Shawn is President and Managing Editor at Level Best Books, a crime fiction press with a roster of roughly two hundred authors. She hosts a weekly podcast, Five Compelling Questions with Shawn, where she chats with writers across all genres about writing.  She is also a co-host of the YouTube series We Are What We Read, which features authors highlighting books that have inspired and influenced them and their careers.

She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, the International Thriller Writers, and the Crime Writers’ Association in the UK, and a founding member of The Dames of Detection. Shawn served on the Board of Malice Domestic for over twenty years (2002-2023), where she welcomed hundreds of mystery writers and fans to the Washington, D.C. area each spring to celebrate the genre of Traditional Mystery and Agatha Christie. She currently serves on Bouchercon's national board and will co-chair the event in Washington, D.C. in 2027.  

Shawn lives in historic downtown Frederick, Maryland, with her husband, son, and their very huggable French Bulldog, Dino. 

​Shawn's Publications

Novels

The Red Carpet Catering Mysteries
MURDER ON A SILVER PLATTER
MURDER ON THE HALF SHELL
MURDER ON A DESIGNER DIET
MURDER IS THE MAIN COURSE
MURDER ON THE ROCKS
MURDER WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS
MURDER ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK

Upcoming Titles!
MURDER ON THE SIDE
MURDER À LA CARTE

Short Stories
​
2016
"A Gathering of Great Detectives" - published in MALICE DOMESTIC 11: Mystery Most Conventional
"Look Away" – published in WINDWARD: The Best New England Crime Stories
2017
 "The Prodigy" - published in MYSTERY TOUR: Crime Writers' Association Anthology
"Burnt Orange" - published in PASSPORT TO MURDER: The 2017 Bouchercon Anthology
"Play Dead" – published in BUSTED: Arresting Stories from the Beat
"Farm to Table" – published in SNOWBOUND: The Best New England Crime Stories
 "You Always Hurt the One You Love" – published in MALICE DOMESTIC 12: Mystery Most Historical
 "Humble Pie" – published in NOIR AT THE SALAD BAR: Culinary Tales with a Bite
2018
"Death on the Beach" – published in MALICE DOMESTIC 13: Mystery Most Geographical
"Downcity Detective" - published in LANDFALL: The Best New England Crime Stories
2019
**"The Last Word" – published in MALICE DOMESTIC 14: Mystery Most Edible***
"Sweet Tawny Breeze" - published in AFTER MIDNIGHT: The Writers' Police Academy Anthology
"Stolen Moments" – published in SEASCAPE: The Best New England Crime Stories
2020
"Now is the Hour" - published in WRITERS CRUSHING COVID-19
"Dance on Fire" - published in MALICE DOMESTIC 15: Mystery Most Theatrical
*"The Red Herrings at Killington Inn" - published in MASTHEAD: The Best New England Crime Stories
2021
*"Bay of Reckoning" - published in MURDER ON THE BEACH: A Destination Murders Short Story Collection
"From Whiskey to Wine" - published in MURDER BY THE GLASS
2022
"A Perfect Climb" - published in MURDER IN THE MOUNTAINS: A Destinations Murder Short Story Collection
"A Death in Four Parts" - published in MUSIC OF THE NIGHT: The Crime Writers' Association Anthology
"The Devil's in the Details" - published in MALICE DOMESTIC 17: Mystery Most Diabolical
​2023
"Two If By Sea" - published in MURDER AT SEA: A Destinations Murder Short Story Collection
"Killer Cupcakes" - published in MALICE DOMESTIC 18: Mystery Most Traditional
​2024
"Death Comes to Coakley" - published in MYSTERY MOST INTERNATIONAL: The Mystery Patrons Present
"For the Love of Virgil" - published in FIRST COMES LOVE THEN COMES MURDER
"Airlift" - published in MURDER IN THE AIR
"Ride Overshare" - published in SHAMUS & ANTHONY COMMIT CAPERS
"An Invitation to Murder" - published in AGATHA & DERRINGER GET COZY

*Nominated for the Agatha Award for Best Short Story
**Winner of the Agatha Award for Best Short Story
**Anthony Award Finalist for Best Anthology or Collection