Nancy Pickard is an American crime novelist born on September 19, 1945, in Kansas City, Missouri. She has won several prestigious awards, including five Macavity Awards, four Agatha Awards, an Anthony Award, and a Shamus Award. Notably, she is the only author who has won all four awards. Nancy served on the board of directors of the Mystery Writers of America.

She received a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri and began her writing career at the age of 35. Nancy is also a frequent panelist at the Great Manhattan Mystery Conclave, a convention for mystery writers and fans in Manhattan, Kansas.