P.D. Workman is a USA Today Bestselling author, winner of several awards from Library Services for Youth in Custody and the InD’tale Magazine’s Crowned Heart award. With over 100 published books, Workman is one of Canada’s most prolific authors. Her mystery/suspense/thriller and young adult books, include stand alones and these series: Auntie Clem’s Bakery cozy mysteries, Reg Rawlins Psychic Investigator paranormal mysteries, Zachary Goldman Mysteries (PI), Kenzie Kirsch Medical Thrillers, Parks Pat Mysteries (police procedural), and YA series: Medical Kidnap Files, Tamara’s Teardrops, Between the Cracks, and Breaking the Pattern.
Workman has been praised for her realistic details, deep characterization, and sensitive handling of the serious social issues that appear in all of her stories, from light cozy mysteries through to darker, grittier young adult and mystery/suspense books.
P. D. Workman does not shy from probing the deep psychological scars of childhood trauma, mental illness, and addiction. Also characteristic of this author, these extremely sensitive issues are explored with extensive empathy, described with incredible clarity, and portrayed with profound insight.
—Kim, Goodreads reviewer
Some of Workman’s titles have been translated into Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, and Italian.
Workman began writing at an early age and is a prolific reader as well as writer. She is also passionate about teaching and learning, expresses her creativity through art and cooking, and loves exploring the Calgary parks and green spaces where the Parks Pat Mysteries are set. She was a legal assistant for many years and has done extensive charitable work.
Workman was born and raised in Alberta, Canada, and is married with one adult son.
Long Form Biography
Workman was born in Fort McMurray, Alberta in 1972 and moved to Calgary, Alberta at the age of seven. She wrote her first novel-length fiction at the age of twelve. She continued to write novels for her own enjoyment, but did not publish her debut novel, Looking Over Your Shoulder until 2013. She has now published over 100 novels. In the early part of her career as an author, Workman focused on young adult literature, but for the latter part has written mostly mystery and suspense novels. She is best known for her cozy mystery series Auntie Clem’s Bakery and Reg Rawlins, Psychic Investigator, and her P.I. series Zachary Goldman Mysteries. She is an independent publisher.
With her nomination and win of the In the Margins Committee Top Ten Books for Teens award for her second published book, Ruby, Between the Cracks, Workman’s young adult fiction books began to be recognized for their frank and insightful treatment of issues facing BIPOC youth and youth on the street or in restrictive custody.
In addition to receiving additional In the Margins and other niche awards, Workman has placed on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list, along with several other authors of Do No Harm, a special collection of medical thriller novels that includes Workman’s Unlawful Harvest (book #1 in her Kenzie Kirsch Medical Thriller series).
Workman is one of Canada’s most prolific authors, publishing her one hundredth book in June 2023.
Awards & Nominations
Ruby, Between the Cracks
Ruby, Between the Cracks, book #1 in the Between the Cracks series, won the “In The Margins” Top Ten Best Books for Teens Award 2015, awarded to “relevant books for our communities that validate, illuminate and humanize those living in the margins.” The In the Margins award was then under the umbrella of School Library Journal
“We are thrilled with the second year of this important work finding relevant books for our communities that validate, illuminate and humanize those living in the margins. We have a great list, bringing to national attention books that add to diversity in our collections and world,” said Amy Cheney, Chair of ITM. “The committee members and I are excited to share these books with you for those living and interested in the margins of society.”
In the Margins Book Committee
…fans of Ellen Hopkins’s books will love the soap opera that is Ruby’s troubled life, including pregnancies, gang and drug involvement, and post-traumatic stress issues.
Relevancy Trumps All for Reluctant Readers | YA Underground, School Library Journal
Questing for a Dream
Questing for a Dream was a contender in What’s Up Yukon’s “Literary Fisticuffs” in January 2016.
This book is a compelling, well-written story… It fills a void in the today’s literature and creates a discourse regarding a marginalized part of the fabric of Canada. The book resonated with me as it is about being brave and knowing… what it means to be resilient. The book will appeal and will provide insight to a wider audience. This book is a winner because it is not a long book and it is a perfect cure for cabin fever: as an avid reader you get a sense of accomplishment when you finish a book!”
Tattooed Teardrops
Tattooed Teardrops, book #1 in the Tamara’s Teardrops series, won the In the Margins Committee Top Fiction Award, 2016,
The In the Margins Book Award and Selection Committee, (ITM) a committee under the umbrella of Library Services for Youth in Custody (LYSC) selected their top fiction book, Tattooed Teardrops by PD Workman and non-fiction book, America’s Massacre: The Audacity of Despair and a Message of Hope by Tewhan Butler as well as a list of Top Ten, an official list of books by, for and about kids living in the margins. ITM strives to find the best books for teens living in poverty, on the streets, in custody, or a cycle of all three. Many people in the margins choose to self-publish. We are dedicated to finding the best of the best of these titles that fit our charge. This is our third year of highlighting self and small press published books that validate, illuminate and humanize those living in the margins. We bring true diversity to bookshelves and libraries by reading, reviewing, debating, soliciting teen feedback and awarding honors for these titles. The majority of our list may be unknown to you or have gotten little attention in traditional reviews, but are hits with our teens. This is a statement for the need for more of us to look for and highlight diverse books. … We are proud to contribute to bringing these voices out of the underground and into your libraries, and hope more and more librarians and awards committees will see the value and necessity of including self-published and small press published books.
The 2016 In the Margins Book Awards Are Unveiled, In the Margins Committee
Readers will appreciate the realistic details about Tamara’s release, her issues dealing with a foster family, her emotional triggers, and the challenges facing someone trying to maintain the conditions of parole. For those teens who love books where all that can go wrong does go wrong (isn’t that almost all of them?), this is a winner.
All About the Girls: Titles Featuring Young Women in Peril | In the Margins
Additional In the Margins Nominations, 2016
June and Justin, book #2 in the Between the Cracks series, and Michelle, book #3 in the Between the Cracks series, were also nominated for the In the Margins Committee literary awards in 2016.
In the Margins awards, 2018
Endless Change and Chloe, book #4 in the Between the Cracks series, both placed on the In the Margins Committee Recommended Reads, 2018 by Library Services for Youth in Custody. Endless Change also won InD’tale Magazine’s Crowned Heart award in March 2018.
A contemporary take on one of the darker sides of life, “Endless Change” addresses homelessness, abuse, molestation, abandonment, and a myriad of other issues. Parker is a Fixer, while Dakota is a user. The plot is well done, keeping the reader guessing the truth about Dakota for a while, and leaving them torn between how Parker sees her, and the reality. The depth and complexity of the tale set it apart from most contemporary tales
USA Today Best-seller
Do No Harm, a multi-author collection including Workman’s Unlawful Harvest, placed on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list on August 8, 2019.
Ronnie
Ronnie, book #5 in the Between the Cracks series, won the In the Margins Fiction Award 2019, Recommended Reading.
Gem, Himself, Alone
Gem, Himself, Alone won the In the Margins Committee Recommended Reads 2020.
About In the Margins Literary Awards
In the Margins Book Award selections are inclusive of stories written for youth between the ages of 9 and 21, in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, and advocacy. Many books considered for this award are self-published and from smaller independent publishers. The committee’s charge is inclusive of youth living a marginalized existance, with specific focus on narratives and informational text that address the disproportionality of injustices experienced by BIPOC youth from the historical impact of cultural irrelevance and structural exclusion which often finds them living in poverty, in the streets, in custody, or a cycle of all three.
In addition to reading and discussing a multitude of book titles published over the previous 18 months of the award year, a unique selection experience of the committee is the input received from young adults who have also read and directly shared their opinions on the same book titles. Incorporating the enthusiastic response from youth who live the experiences of our charge is a vital component to generating this annual reading list which was originally intended as a selection tool for librarians who service youth in juvenile detention facilities throughout the North American continent, and has since spread to community outreach programs and schools throughout North America.
From In the Margins
Selected Works
Gluten-Free Murder, book #1 in the Auntie Clem’s Bakery series, pd workman (2017), ISBN 9781988390819
What the Cat Knew, book #1 in the Reg Rawlins, Psychic Investigator series, pd workman (2019), ISBN 9781989080580
She Wore Mourning, book #1 in the Zachary Goldman Mysteries series, pd workman (2017), ISBN 9781988390765
Out with the Sunset, book #1 in the Parks Pat Mystery series, pd workman (2021), ISBN 9781774680605
Ruby, Between the Cracks, book #1 in the Between the Cracks series, pd workman (2014), ISBN 9781926500249
Tattooed Teardrops, book #1 in the Tamara’s Teardrops series, pd workman (2014), ISBN 9781989080016
Questing for a Dream, pd workman (2015), ISBN 9781989080085
Downloadable Media Kit
There is a downloadable media kit available here.
