It's that time of year again, already.
For 2012 I am including the nominees as well as the winners. And since it is so interesting to have a writer's point of view on these awards, I am quoting some of the thoughts that scilicet included in her comment on last year's diary. Winners are indicated by ❃
The Edgar Awards
The Edgar Awards are named in honor of Edgar Allen Poe and are awarded by the Mystery Writers of America, whose membership includes “mystery and crime writers, professionals allied to the crime writing field, aspiring crime writers, and folks who just love to read crime fiction.” Although membership is open to all, only Active Members, those who are published writers, are allowed to judge the entries for the Edgar Awards.
Some insight into these awards was provided last year by scilicet:
The Edgar is the biggest deal--it's the mystery genre's Hugo Award. The incoming president of Mystery Writers of America selects committee heads who then put together 5-writer committees to decide the nominees and the winner. I've been on a few of those committees. Publishers send every committee member every qualifying book--a couple of hundred, in the big categories. Committee members spend the year reading & winnowing and then decide as a group on nominees and winners. The winner tends to be everyone's 2nd or 3rd choice because consensus on #1 picks is rare. So if you're looking for recommendations, it's worth a glace at some non-winner nominees.
BEST NOVEL
The Ranger by Ace Atkins (Penguin Group USA - G.P. Putnam's Sons)
❃
Gone by Mo Hayder(Grove/Atlantic - Atlantic Monthly Press)
The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino (Minotaur Books)
1222 by Anne Holt (Simon & Schuster - Scribner)
Field Gray by Philip Kerr (Penguin Group USA - G.P. Putnam's Sons - Marion Wood Books)
BEST FIRST NOVEL
Red on Red by Edward Conlon (Random House Publishing Group - Spiegel & Grau)
Last to Fold by David Duffy (Thomas Dunne Books)
All Cry Chaos by Leonard Rosen (The Permanent Press)
❃ Bent Road by Lori Roy (Penguin Group USA - Dutton)
Purgatory Chasm by Steve Ulfelder (Minotaur Books - Thomas Dunne Books)
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
❃ The Company Man by Robert Jackson Bennett (Hachette Book Group - Orbit Books)
The Faces of Angels by Lucretia Grindle (Felony & Mayhem Press)
The Dog Sox by Russell Hill (Pleasure Boat Studio - Caravel Mystery Books)
Death of the Mantis by Michael Stanley (HarperCollins Publishers - Harper Paperbacks)
Vienna Twilight by Frank Tallis (Random House Trade Paperbacks)
BEST FACT CRIME
The Murder of the Century: The Gilded Age Crime That Scandalized a City and Sparked the Tabloid Wars by Paul Collins (Crown Publishing)
The Savage City: Race, Murder, and a Generation on the Edge by T.J. English (HarperCollins - William Morrow)
❃ Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard (Random House - Doubleday)
Girl, Wanted: The Chase for Sarah Pender by Steve Miller (Penguin Group USA - Berkley)
The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Imposter by Mark Seal (Penguin Group USA - Viking)
BEST CRITICAL BIOGRAPHICAL
The Tattooed Girl: The Enigma of Stieg Larsson and the Secrets Behind the Most Compelling Thrillers of our Time by Dan Burstein, Arne de Keijzer & John-Henri Holmberg (St. Martin's Griffin)
Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making by John Curran (HarperCollins)
❃ On Conan Doyle: Or, the Whole Art of Storytelling by Michael Dirda (Princeton University Press)
Detecting Women: Gender and the Hollywood Detective Film by Philippa Gates (SUNY Press)
Scripting Hitchcock: Psycho, The Birds and Marnie by Walter Raubicheck and Walter Srebnick (University of Illinois Press)
BEST SHORT STORY
"Marley's Revolution" - Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by John C. Boland (Dell Magazines)
"Tomorrow's Dead" - Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by David Dean (Dell Magazines)
"The Adakian Eagle" - Down These Strange Streets by Bradley Denton (Penguin Group USA - Ace Books)
"Lord John and the Plague of Zombies" - Down These Strange Streets by Diana Gabaldon (Penguin Group USA - Ace Books)
"The Case of Death and Honey" - A Study in Sherlock by Neil Gaiman (Random House Publishing Group - Bantam Books)
❃ "The Man Who Took His Hat Off to the Driver of the Train" - Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Peter Turnbull (Dell Magazines)
The Anthony Awards
The Anthony Awards are given each year at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention. Named for the critic and writer who helped to create the Mystery Writers of America, Anthony Boucher, the winners are determined by the attendees at the convention:
Bouchercon is the world mystery convention and has been taking place annually since 1970. It is open to anyone and is a place for fans, authors and professionals to gather and celebrate their love of the mystery genre. It is named for a famed mystery critic Anthony Boucher. During the convention there are panels and discussions and interviews with authors and people from the mystery community covering all parts of the genre. There are signing events for people to meet their favorite authors face-to-face and get books signed.
From the perspective of a writer, scilicet;
The second biggest deal is the Anthony Award, equivalent to the Nebula Award. Everyone who signs up for the genre's biggest fan/writer convention of the year, Bouchercon, gets a ballot. Bouchercon is a very big con so a lot of ballots come in. As with the Edgars, the winners are announced at a banquet, in this case, after a couple of days of panels and events.
BEST NOVEL
The End of Everything - Megan Abbott [Reagan Arthur/Little, Brown]
Hurt Machine - Reed Farrel Coleman [Tyrus]
The Drop - Michael Connelly [Little, Brown]
❃
A Trick of the Light - Louise Penny [Minotaur]
One Was a Soldier - Julia Spencer-Fleming [Thomas Dunne/Minotaur]
BEST FIRST NOVEL
❃ Learning to Swim - Sara J. Henry [Crown]
Nazareth Child - Darrell James [Midnight Ink]
All Cry Chaos - Leonard Rosen [The Permanent Press]
Who Do, Voodoo? - Rochelle Staab [Berkley Prime Crime]
The Informationist - Taylor Stevens [Crown]
Purgatory Chasm - Steve Ulfelder [Thomas Dunne/Minotaur]
Before I Go to Sleep - S.J. Watson [HarperCollins]
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
The Company Man - Robert Jackson Bennett [Orbit/Hachette]
Choke Hold - Christa Faust [Hard Case Crime/Titan]
❃ Buffalo West Wing - Julie Hyzy [Berkley Prime Crime/Tekno]
Death of the Mantis - Michael Stanley [HarperCollins]
Fun & Games - Duane Swierczynski [Mulholland]
Vienna Twilight - Frank Tallis [Random House]
BEST SHORT STORY
❃ "Disarming" - Dana Cameron, EQMM June'11, p.24
"The Case of Death and Honey" - Neil Gaiman, A Study In Sherlock, p.167 [Bantam]
"Palace on the Lake" - Daryl Wood Gerber, Fish Tales: The Guppy Anthology, p.184 [Wildside]
"Truth and Consequences" - Barb Goffman, Mystery Times Ten, p.121 [Buddhapuss Ink]
"The Itinerary" - Roberta Isleib, MWA Presents The Rich and The Dead, p.189 [Grand Central]
"Happine$$" - Twist Phelan, MWA Presents The Rich and The Dead, p.276 [Grand Central]
BEST CRITICAL NONFICTION WORK
Books, Crooks and Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law and Courtroom Procedure - Leslie Budewitz [Quill Driver/Linden]
Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making: More Stories and Secrets from Her Notebooks - John Curran [HarperCollins]
On Conan Doyle: or, The Whole Art of Storytelling - Michael Dirda [Princeton University Press]
Detecting Women: Gender and the Hollywood Detective Film - Philippa Gates [SUNY Press]
❃ The Sookie Stackhouse Companion - Charlaine Harris, ed. [Ace]
It used to be that there were only two other awards that mattered much to American readers and, to a lesser extent, publishers. One is the Macavity, also awarded by reader ballots available from a Mystery Readers group. It skews cozy because that's the dedicated voter base there. The other is the Shamus Award, given by Private Eye Writers of America. It's awarded by committees, same process as the Edgars. Winners tend to be harder boiled because PI fiction grew out of that tradition. Dedicated readers care about these awards, of course, but most haven't heard of them, and publishers don't really publicize it when their writers win. (More full disclosure, gulp. I've been nominated for a few Anthonys and Macavitys, and I won a Shamus for a short story.)
- scilicet
The Macavity Awards
The Macavity Awards, named for T.S. Eliot's Macavity: The Mystery Cat, are nominated and voted on by members of Mystery Readers International.
BEST MYSTERY NOVEL
❃ Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead - Sara Gran (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
1222 - Anne Holt (translated by Marlaine Delargy) (Scribner)
The House of Silk - Anthony Horowitz (Mulholland Books)
The Ridge - Michael Koryta (Little, Brown)
A Trick of the Light - Louise Penny (Minotaur)
The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes - Marcus Sakey (Dutton)
Hell & Gone - Duane Swierczynski (Mulholland Books)
BEST FIRST MYSTERY NOVEL
❃ All Cry Chaos - Leonard Rosen (Permanent Press)
Learning to Swim - Sara J. Henry (Crown)
Nazareth Child - Darrell James (Midnight Ink)
Turn of Mind - Alice LaPlante (Atlantic Monthly)
The Informationist - Taylor Stevens (Crown)
Before I Go To Sleep - S.J. Watson (Harper)
BEST MYSTERY-RELATED NONFICTION
❃ The Sookie Stackhouse Companion - Charlaine Harris (Ace)
Books, Crooks and Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law and Courtroom Procedure - Leslie Budewitz (Linden)
Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making: More Stories and Secrets from Her Notebooks - John Curran (HarperCollins)
Wilkie Collins, Vera Caspary and the Evolution of the Casebook Novel - A.B. Emrys (McFarland)
The Savage City: Race, Murder, and a Generation on the Edge - T.J. English (William Morrow)
BEST MYSTERY SHORT STORY
❃ "Disarming" - Dana Cameron (EQMM, June 2011)
"Facts Exhibiting Wantonness" - Trina Corey (EQMM, Nov. 2011)
"Palace by the Lake" Daryl Wood Gerber (Fish Tales: The Guppy Anthology, Wildside Press)
"Truth and Consequences" - Barb Goffman (Mystery Times Ten, Buddhapuss Ink)
"Heat of Passion" - Kathleen Ryan (A Twist of Noir, Feb. 14, 2011)
"The Man Who Took His Hat Off to the Driver of the Train" - Peter Turnbull (EQMM, March/April 2011)
SUE FEDER HISTORICAL MYSTERY AWARD
❃ Dandy Gilver and the Proper Treatment of Bloodstains - Catriona McPherson (Thomas Dunne/Minotaur)
Naughty in Nice - Rhys Bowen (Berkley)
Narrows Gate - Jim Fusilli (AmazonEncore)
Mercury's Rise - Ann Parker (Poisoned Pen)
Troubled Bones - Jeri Westerson (Minotaur)
A Lesson in Secrets - Jacqueline Winspear (Harper)
The Shamus Awards
The Shamus Awards are awarded by the Private Eye Writers of America. Membership is open to fans, writers, and publishing professionals.
A private eye is defined as “as any mystery protagonist who is a professional investigator, but not a police officer or government agent.” So, “private investigators (licensed and unlicensed), lawyers and reporters who do their own legwork, and other hired agents are eligible; works centering on law enforcement officers or amateur sleuths are not.”
Judging is done by "committee members of PWA [who] select nominees and winners, much in the same way as the Edgars are chosen."
THE HAMMER AWARD (Best Series P.I. Character)
Nate Heller by Max Allan Collins.
BEST HARDCOVER P.I. NOVEL
❃ A Bad Night's Sleep by Michael Wiley (Joe Kozmarski)
Bye Bye Baby by Max Allan Collins (Nate Heller)
1222 by Anne Holt (Hanne Wilhelmsen)
When the Thrill is Gone by Walter Mosley (Leonid McGill)
The Highly Effective Detective Crosses the Line by Richard Yancey (Teddy Ruzak)
BEST FIRST P.I. NOVEL
❃ The Shortcut Man by P.G. Sturges (Dick Henry)
The Plot Against Hip Hop by Nelson George (D Hunter)
Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran (Claire DeWitt)
The Ocean Forest by Troy D. Nooe (Frankie McKeller)
The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle Williams (Keye Street)
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL P.I. NOVEL
❃ Fun & Games by Duane Swierczynski (Charlie Hardie)
Quarry's Ex by Max Allan Collins (Quarry)
Threat Warning by John Gilstrap (Jonathan Grave)
Serial by John Lutz (Frank Quinn)
Long Pig by James L. Ross (Hayes Rutherford)
BEST P.I. SHORT STORY
❃ "Who I Am" by Michael Z. Lewin (December 2011, EQMM; Albert Samson)
"A Bullet from Yesterday" by Terence Faherty (January 2011, EQMM; Scott Elliott)
"Mr. Monk & the Sunday Paper" by Lee Goldberg (July 2011, EQMM; Adrian Monk)
"Vampire Slayer Murdered in Key West" by Michael Haskins (October 2011, EQMM; "Mad Mick" Murphy)
"Dancer in a Storm" by L. A. Wilson (January/February 2011, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine; Memphis Red)
The Hammett Award
From their website:
"The International Association of Crime Writers is an organization of professional writers who have formed national branches in order to encourage communication among writers of all nationalities and to promote crime writing as an influential and significant art form. We support the translation of crime writing into other languages and we speak with a strong voice to defend authors against censorship and other forms of tyranny."
More recently, an international group of crime writers formed an organization that, by committee, awards the Hammett. This group is the best if you're a writer because it organizes trips to exotic places. (E.g. I got to go to Cuba with Ross Thomas, Lawrence Block, Don Westlake, Robert Campbell, Stewart Kaminsky, Paco Taibo and other very interesting folks.) The prize mostly flies under the radar in this country. Winning books have a predictably international bent and generally some social commentary.
- scilicet
WINNER:
❃
The Killer is Dying: A Novel, by James Sallis
(Walker & Company)
NOMINEES:
Feast Day of Fools: A Novel, by James Lee Burke
(Simon & Schuster)
Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead, by Sara Gran
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
The Cat's Table, by Michael Ondaatje
(McClelland & Stewart)
The Informant, by Thomas Perry
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/An Otto Penzler Book)
The Agatha Awards
The Agatha Awards are voted on by the attendees at the
Malice Domestic, an annual “fun fan” convention in Washington DC. The awards are given to traditional mysteries that are best typified by the works of Agatha Christie.
“The genre is loosely defined as mysteries that:
- contain no explicit sex
- contain no excessive gore or gratuitous violence
Materials generally classified as ‘hard boiled' are not appropriate.”
scilicet's comment from last year gives a little more background:
At around the time that Sisters in Crime was formed (because back then, so few mystery books by women were getting reviewed), there was considerable annoyance that the big prizes kept going to men. It was attributed to systemic disregard for cozier books. A new convention, Malice Domestic, was created, with its own award, the Agatha. People who sign up for Malice Domestic, a smaller conference than Bouchercon but big enough to fill multi-track panels for a few days, are sent ballots first to nominate and then to vote for winners. This award matters to readers who enjoy this type of book but doesn't matter as much to readers with more generalized taste.
BEST NOVEL
The Real Macaw by Donna Andrews (Minotaur)
The Diva Haunts the House by Krista Davis (Berkley)
Wicked Autumn by G.M. Malliet (Minotaur)
❃
Three-Day Town by Margaret Maron (Grand Central Publishing)
A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
BEST FIRST NOVEL
Dire Threads by Janet Bolin (Berkley)
Choke by Kaye George (Mainly Murder Press)
❃ Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry (Crown)
Who Do, Voodoo? by Rochelle Staab (Berkley)
Tempest in the Tea Leaves by Kari Lee Townsend (Berkley)
BEST NON-FICTION
❃ Books, Crooks and Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law and Courtroom Procedure by Leslie Budewitz (Linden)
Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making: More Stories and Secrets from Her Notebooks by John Curran (Harper)
On Conan Doyle: Or, The Whole Art of Storytelling by Michael Dirda (Princeton University Press)
Wilkie Collins, Vera Caspary and the Evolution of the Casebook Novel by A. B. Emrys (McFarland)
The Sookie Stackhouse Companion by Charlaine Harris (Ace)
BEST SHORT STORY
❃ "Disarming" (PDF) by Dana Cameron, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine - June 2011
"Dead Eye Gravy" by Krista Davis, Fish Tales: The Guppy Anthology (Wildside Press)
"Palace by the Lake" by Daryl Wood Gerber, Fish Tales: The Guppy Anthology (Wildside Press)
"Truth and Consequences" by Barb Goffman, Mystery Times Ten (Buddhapuss Ink)
"The Itinerary" by Roberta Isleib, MWA Presents the Rich and the Dead (Grand Central Publishing)
So Many More Awards
These are not the only annual awards, others, which would make this diary too long to publish, include:
Lambda Literary Foundation, Gay and Lesbian mysteries
Thriller Awards
The Dagger Awards, Great Britain
Arthur Ellis Awards, Canadian
Swedish Crime Novels
Le Prix Mystère de la Critique
The Riverton Prize, Norwegian
The Falcon Award, best hard-boiled mystery published in Japan
The Vuoden Johtolanka (Clue) Award, Finnish
The Glass Key Award, "best crime novel written by a Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, or Swedish author."
The Ned Kelly Awards, Australian
The Davitt Award, Australian women writers
The Galaxy National Book Awards, British
The Harald Mogensen Award, Danish
The Ngaio Marsh Award, New Zealand
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