How a sailing enthusiast turned a family relic into a literary empire
In short: Stuart Woods didn't set out to be a novelist. Driven by the high costs of competitive sailing, the Georgia native turned to writing to fund his passion for the sea. What began as a way to pay for yachts eventually produced 44 novels and nearly 30 consecutive New York Times bestsellers.
Woods' literary career was born from necessity. After moving to Ireland in 1973, he took up sailing and joined the Galway Bay Sailing Club. The expense of racing—including competing in the 1975 Multihull Offshore Cruising and Racing Association Azores Race—provided the financial incentive to write for publication. His first successful book, Blue Water, Green Skipper, was published in 1977 and documented his OSTAR experience.
His breakthrough came with the 1981 novel Chiefs, a story inspired by a blood-stained police chief's badge belonging to his grandfather. Despite being initially rejected by three publishers, W. W. Norton purchased the rights for $7,500. The novel was a significant success, earning the Edgar Award for Best First Novel and being adapted into a television miniseries starring Charlton Heston and John Goodman.
Woods became a prolific force in the publishing world, at one point writing up to four novels a year to meet publisher demands. His work often featured interconnected characters across different series, such as the Stone Barrington detective-lawyer saga. His ability to maintain a high output—including 29 consecutive New York Times hardback bestsellers—cemented his status as a major American novelist until his death in July 2022.
Beyond the page, Woods lived the adventurous lifestyle his characters often inhabited. He was an accomplished sailor and a licensed, instrument-rated private pilot who even served as the launch customer for the Cessna Citation M2 in December 2013.
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