Beloved Story Writer William Tapply Dies
Author of Mystery Stories and Fishing Essays Passed July 28, 2009
Sep 23, 2009
William Tapply was a prolific and talented writer. Five of his fiction and non-fiction books are due to be published in the next several months, including his novel, Dark Tiger: A Stoney Calhoun Story, which will be released September 29, 2009.
Born in Waltham, Massachusetts in 1940, Tapply graduated from Lexington High School. He received his B.A. in American Studies from Amherst College in 1962, followed by an MAT from Harvard. He taught Social Studies at Lexington high school, where he also served as an administrator for almost 25 years. In 1980, the high school teacher became a novelist. A prolific writing career followed. Tapply wrote several mystery novels featuring Brady Coyne, a Boston lawyer turned detective.. He wrote over 40 books in 25 years, and turned in the twenty-fourth Brady Coyne novel to his publisher before his death.
Fishing Stories
William Tapply was also well known for his fishing stories. He wrote a regular column for American Angler, and his work appeared in Gray’s Sporting Journal, Field & Stream, Fly Tyer, and Warmwater Fishing. His books on fishing include Pocket Water (Lyons Press, 2001), The Orvis Pocket Guide to Fly Fishing for Bass (Lyons Press, 2003), Bass Bug Fishing (Globe Pequot, 1999), and Gone Fishin’ (Lyons Press, 2004).
Upland Bird Hunting Stories
Tapply was also an enthusiastic grouse hunter and the author of Upland Days (Lyons Press, 2000). He wrote in a folksy, yet literary style that was both entertaining and deeply comforting. The son of fishing writer and outdoorsman H.G. “Tap” Tapply, William grew up surrounded by his father’s famous fishing and hunting companions. Both Upland Days and Gone Fishin’ include wonderful stories of times the father and son spent in the field and on the water.
Tapply Taught Writing
In later years, Tapply taught English at Emerson College and at Clark University in Worchester, where he also served as a writer-in-residence. In 1995, he published The Elements of Mystery Fiction, a book about the process of writing and publishing mysteries. A revised edition was released by Poisoned Pen Press in 2004.
In his quarter century as a writer, William Tapply became well-known to millions of readers. His mysteries and outdoor essays gave great enjoyment to his followers. He will be greatly missed, but his wonderful works will live on and continue to inform and delight.
Tapply ended Gone Fishin’ with a epilogue in which he scatters his father’s ashes on the stream where they had fished together. Reliving in his memory the times they spent there together, he says a bittersweet goodbye.
“Dad’s ashes swirl and disappear in the dark currents, mingling with our stream and with our memories.
‘You’re on your own this time,' I tell him. I lift my hand. 'Tight lines.’”
Goodbye, William G. Tapply. Tight lines.
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