Mystery-loving group to honor Blade writer

4/27/2001

Blade staff writer Mildred Benson has been selected to receive the lifetime achievement award from an organization that celebrates traditional mystery stories - such as the Nancy Drew mysteries, for which Mrs. Benson is renowned.

The award from the group, Malice Domestic, will be presented at its annual convention next week in Arlington, Va., at which 700 people are expected to attend, Lisa Merman of the group's board of directors said.

Mrs. Benson is the author of more than 130 books for young people, 23 of the first Nancy Drew mysteries among them. She has been a reporter for the former Toledo Times and The Blade since 1944 and writes a weekly column for the Saturday Blade.

Malice Domestic's niche is mystery novels “that do not have excessive gore, sex, or violence,” Ms. Merman said. Those mysteries typically feature amateur sleuths in the manner of writer Agatha Christie.

Mrs. Benson is a member of the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame, and she has received an honorary doctor of letters degree from Adrian College. She became the first recipient of The Blade Lifetime Achievement Award for an Outstanding Journalist in 1998.