Sad news to report. Author Tim Dorsey has passed away. He was beloved by librarians, patrons, and fellow writers. He was funny and engaging and he loved speaking at libraries. He’d draw a huge crowd, entertain them, make them laugh, and at the end of his presentations, he’d stand on a chair, take a selfie with attendees and post the pictures on his social media! He will be greatly missed but he leaves this world a happier place with his words, written and spoken.
—Virginia
Here is his full obituary:
Tim Dorsey passed away on Sunday, November 26th, 2023. Dorsey wrote the New York Times bestselling Serge A. Storms series hailed as “wickedly funny” (Entertainment Weekly), “rollicking” (NYT), and “laugh-out-loud” (Newsweek). He is survived by his daughters, mother, sister, and brother.
Tim Dorsey was born in Indiana, moved to Florida at the age of 1, and grew up in a small town about an hour north of Miami called Riviera Beach. He graduated from Auburn University in 1983. While at Auburn, he was editor of the student newspaper, The Plainsman.
From 1983 to 1987, he was a police and courts reporter for The Alabama Journal, the now-defunct evening newspaper in Montgomery. He joined The Tampa Tribune in 1987, as a general assignment reporter. He also worked as a political reporter in The Tribune’s Tallahassee bureau and a copy desk editor. From 1994 to 1999, he was The Tribune’s night metro editor. Tim left the paper in August 1999, to write full time about a deranged serial killer named Serge A. Storms who traveled across his beloved home state.
Over the course of his career, Tim published twenty-six novels: Florida Roadkill, Hammerhead Ranch Motel, Orange Crush, Triggerfish Twist, The Stingray Shuffle, Cadillac Beach, Torpedo Juice, The Big Bamboo, Hurricane Punch, Atomic Lobster, Nuclear Jellyfish, Gator A-Go-Go, Electric Barracuda, When Elves Attack, Pineapple Grenade, The Riptide Ultra-Glide, Tiger Shrimp Tango, Shark Skin Suite, Coconut Cowboy, Clownfish Blues, The Pope of Palm Beach, No Sunscreen for the Dead, Naked Came the Florida Man, The Tropic of Stupid, Mermaid Confidential, and The Maltese Iguana..
“It was a privilege and honor to work with Tim Dorsey. His easy wit and deep knowledge of Florida-lore made his satirical crime capers as entertaining as they were timely. But his greatest gift was the boundless joy and escape that Serge A. Storms brought to readers on every page. Tim was smart, kind, and loved his family and his fans. He will be missed.” said Emily Krump, Tim’s editor at William Morrow.
At this time, the Dorsey family has requested privacy.
