Gwen Florio is a distinguished American author, best known for her crime fiction books and the Lola Wicks series. Born and raised in a 250-year-old brick farmhouse in Delaware, Florio's childhood was filled with a variety of animals and many books, as her parents banned television. Her love for reading led her to major in English at the University of Delaware, where she discovered a passion for journalism. This discovery set her on a path of over three decades in the journalism field.
Florio's journalism career took her to major cities in the United States and more than a dozen countries. She covered a wide range of stories, from the mass shooting at Columbine High School and the Oklahoma City bombing trials, to the glamour of the Miss America pageant and the more practical Miss Navajo contest. In addition to reporting from major cities, Florio also reported from war-torn countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia, as well as small towns like Lost Springs, Wyoming (population three).
In 2013, Florio turned to fiction and published her first novel, MONTANA, which won the Pinckley Prize for Debut Crime Fiction and a High Plains Book Award. The novel marked the beginning of the Lola Wicks series, which was described as "gutsy" by the New York Times. Florio's standalone novel, SILENT HEARTS, was published in 2018 by Atria, and her new crime series starts in November 2020 with the publication of Best Laid Plans by Severn House. Florio currently resides in Missoula, Montana, with her partner, Scott Crichton, and an exuberant, manuscript-chewing bird dog named Nell. She is a member of various organizations, including International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and Great Old Broads for Wilderness. Florio is represented by Richard Curtis Associates.