Maureen Milliken

Maureen Milliken is the award-winning author of the Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery series, which draws on her three-plus decades working for newspapers, as well as her deep connection to her home state, Maine. Dying For News, the fourth book in the series, won the 2025 Maine Literary Award for Crime Fiction. While she is mostly retired from journalism, she was also named Columnist of the Year by the New Hampshire Press Association in June 2025. She grew up in Augusta, Maine, and returned to central Maine to live after a 35-year career working for newspapers in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire as a reporter and editor. She co-hosts a podcast, Crime & Stuff, with her sister, Maine artist Rebecca Milliken. She is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. She blogs with the Maine Crime Writers at mainecrimewriters.com.