The Bedford Library Foundation is pleased to host author Paul Doiron for this spring's Leen Lecture.

Paul Doiron is the author of the crime novel series featuring Maine game warden Mike Bowditch. The first book in the series, The Poacher's Son, won the the Barry Award and the Strand Critics Award for Best First Novel and was nominated for an Edgar Award, an Anthony Award, a Macavity Award, and a Thriller Award for Best First Novel, and the Maine Literary Award for "Best Fiction of 2010." His second book, Trespasser, won the Maine Literary Award, was an American Booksellers Association Indie Bestseller, and has been called a "masterpiece of high-octane narrative" by Booklist. The eleventh book in the series, Dead by Dawn, won Paul his second Maine Literary Award and the 2002 New England Society Book Award for Fiction and was a finalist for the Barry Award for Best Thriller. Hatchet Island, the thirteenth, and most recent, novel was named one of the Best Books of 2022 by Amazon.com. His novels have been translated into 11 languages.

Paul is Editor Emeritus of Down East: The Magazine of Maine. He is a former member of the Maine Arts Commission and past chair of the Maine Humanities Council. He is also a Registered Maine Guide specializing in fly fishing.

In 2002, a memorial fund was established by Todd Leen in honor of the memory of his deceased brother Russell. Russell Ian Leen had been a dedicated user of the Bedford Library, both as a community library and cultural center. Todd endowed a fund at the NH Charitable Foundation to provide for a yearly lecture at the Library.