Daniel Woodrell, who coined the term “country noir” for his rural crime fiction and was known for his novel, “Winter’s Bone,” died on Nov. 28. He was 72.
Woodrell died at his home in West Plains, Missouri. According to his wife of 41 years, Katie Estill-Woodrell, the cause of death was pancreatic cancer.
Many of Woodrell’s works were set in the Ozark Mountains area of his native state. He originally came up with the term “country noir” in his 1996 novel, “Give Us a Kiss.”
In a 1994 New York Times Book Review article, Woodrell defined the term as one that portrays “The allegedly folksy and bucolic heartland as the frequently rude and savage and dark world those of us who’ve done our time there know it can be is to explode a happy myth of fantasy-America.”
The Kansas City Public Library is saddened to learn of Daniel Woodrell's death and is proud to have hosted him at author events throughout his career.
— KCMO Public Library (@KCLibrary) December 1, 2025
No one has captured the tragic, honest, proud beauty of the people living in the Missouri Ozarks the way native son, Woodrell,… pic.twitter.com/W2SviIdFJW
Woodrell’s best-known work, the 2006 novel “Winter’s Bone,” examined the plight of a girl in rural Missouri who must find her father -- a meth cook running from the law -- in order to save the family home.
The book was adapted into a film four years later and was nominated for four Academy Awards, including a young Jennifer Lawrence for Best Actress and John Hawkes for Best Supporting Actor.
Two other novels written by Woodrell were adapted onto the Silver Screen. His 1987 novel, “Woe to Live On,” was released in 1999 as “Ride With the Devil” (1999), a Civil War-era film featuring Tobey Maguire; his 1998 work, “Tomato Red” was released in 2017 as “Tomato Red: Blood Money” and starred Julia Garner.
Woodrell’s other novels included “The Death of Sweet Mister” (2001) and “The Maid’s Version” (2013), inspired by a catastrophic fire in the rural Ozarks during the late 1920s.
Woodrell was born on March 4, 1953, in Springfield, Missouri. He grew up in a small town before his family moved to Kansas City when he was a teenager.
We are saddened to share the passing of Little, Brown author Daniel Woodrell, whose beloved, award-winning books—including WINTER’S BONE, THE MAID’S VERSION, WOE TO LIVE ON, and TOMATO RED—inspired a generation of writers and readers. https://t.co/AM0kjOQApC
— Little, Brown and Co (@littlebrown) December 1, 2025
After a stint in the military, Woodrell hitchhiked to Tijuana, Mexico. While eating, he was approached by a man who offered to trade a copy of Ernest Hemingway’s novel, “A Moveable Feast” for his last two tacos.
It was a signature moment, one he recalled in an essay he wrote in The Atlantic.
“I needed very much to devote myself to something demanding, something I would give everything to, all the while knowing my everything might not be enough,” he wrote.
Woodrell earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Kansas and then a master’s degree from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. That is where he met Katie Estill, a fellow student. They were married in 1984.
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