The Macavity Awards are nominated and voted on by members of Mystery Readers International, subscribers to Mystery Readers Journal, and friends of MRI.
Best Mystery Novel
A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
Best First Mystery
The Maid by Nita Prose (Ballantine)
Best Mystery Short Story
“Beauty and the Beyotch” by Barb Goffman (Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, Jan 2022)
Best Mystery Critical/Biographical The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and Their Creators by Martin Edwards (Collins Crime Club)
Sue Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Mystery
The Macavity Nominations 2023 (for works published in 2022)
The Macavity Awards are nominated and voted on by members of Mystery Readers International, subscribers to Mystery Readers Journal, and friends of MRI. The winners will be announced at opening ceremonies at the San Diego Bouchercon in late August.
Best Mystery Novel
Back to the Garden by Laurie R. King (Bantam)
Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone (MCD)
A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
A Heart Full of Headstones by Ian Rankin (Little, Brown)
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn (Berkley)
Secret Identity by Alex Segura (Flatiron Books)
Best First Novel
Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz (Atria/EmilyBestler)
Shutter by Ramona Emerson (Soho Crime)
Devil’s Chew Toy by Rob Osler (Crooked Lane Books)
The Verifiers by Jane Pek (Vintage Books)
The Maid by Nita Prose (Ballantine)
Best Mystery Short Story
“The Landscaper’s Wife” by Brendan DuBois (Mystery Tribune, Aug/Sep 2022) “Beauty and the Beyotch” by Barb Goffman (Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, Jan 2022)
“First You Dream, Then You Die” by Donna Moore (in Black is the Night, Titan Books)
“Schrödinger, Cat” by Anna Scotti (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Mar/Apr 2022)
“Stockholm” by Catherine Steadman (Amazon Original Stories)
“The Angel of Rome” by Jess Walter (in The Angel of Rome and Other Stories, Harper)
“My Two-Legs” by Melissa Yi (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Sep/Oct 2022)
Best Mystery Critical/Biographical
The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and Their Creators by Martin Edwards (Collins Crime Club)
The Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie edited by Mary Anna Evans & J.C. Bernthal (Bloomsbury Academic)
The Crime World of Michael Connelly: A Study of His Works and Their Adaptations by David Geherin (McFarland)
Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman by Lucy Worsley (Pegasus Crime)
Sue Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Mystery
The Lindbergh Nanny by Mariah Fredericks (Minotaur)
In Place of Fear by Catriona McPherson (Hodder & Stoughton)
Anywhere You Run by Wanda M. Morris (William Morrow)
The Secret in the Wall by Ann Parker (Poisoned Pen Press)
Quarterly crime-fiction and mystery magazine The Strand has announced its list of nominees for the annual Strand Magazine Critics Awards.
Authors Louise Penny, Michael Connelly, and John Searles headline this year’s nominees for best novel, while Dan Smetanka of Counterpoint Press receives the Publisher of the Year Award. James Lee Burke and Lee Child are both honored with Strand Lifetime Achievement awards.
Recognizing excellence in the field of mystery fiction and publishing, The Strand Critics Awards are judged by an ever-changing group of book critics and journalists. This year’s judges were chosen from The Boston Globe, National Public Radio, The Washington Post, USA TODAY, and The Associated Press.
The 2022 Strand Critics Awards nominees for Best Novel and Best Debut are …
BEST NOVEL
Anywhere You Run by Wanda M. Morris (William Morrow)
Back to the Garden by Laurie R. King (Bantam)
Desert Star by Michael Connelly (Little Brown)
Her Last Affair by John Searles (Mariner Books)
A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
Secret Identity by Alex Segura (Flatiron Books)
BEST DEBUT
Jackal by Erin E. Adams (Bantam)
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham (Minotaur)
Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz (Atria/Emily Bestler)
Don’t Know Tough by Eli Cranor (Soho)
Shutter by Ramona Emerson (Soho)
Past recipients of The Strand Critics Awards include Michael Connelly, Laura Lippman, Richard Price, John Banville, Megan Abbot, Sheena Kamal, and William Landay.
“It’s great to see new faces for the best novel award this year,” said Andrew F. Gulli, managing editor of The Strand Magazine. “And Counterpoint Press is an unstoppable publishing house, always releasing interesting and eclectic books. It’s also wonderful to see James Lee Burke and Lee Child getting the recognition they deserve. Both have contributed to the genre in a way that’s unparalleled, and on a personal level they are among the most generous and supportive authors around.”
Adding to an already impressive list of awards, James Lee Burke receives The Strand’s Lifetime Achievement Award. After finding early publishing success in the 1960s and early 70s, Burke’s works were largely ignored for over a decade. However, thanks to his undeniable versatility and talent, and the persistence of his legendary literary agent, Philip Spitzer, Burke’s 1986 novel The Lost Get-Back Boogie was finally published to critical acclaim and a Pulitzer Prize nomination. Since then, he hasn’t looked back. In a career spanning six decades, he has received continuous praise and comparisons to an illustrious set of authors ranging from Sartre to Hemingway.
“I’m very honored to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Strand and its publisher Andrew F. Gulli,” Burke said in response to the news. “The term ‘light bearer’ may seem a reach, but it is not. Every good writer has one raison d’etre for his or her art. It is the compulsion to describe a piece of the firmament in a perfect way, one that the reader will never forget. … I cannot tell you how nice it is to receive such a fine award from such a nice group of literary people.”
After writing for television for many years, Lee Child turned his talents to novels. The result? A highly successful career as one of the most popular thriller authors of the last 25 years. His very first novel, The Killing Floor (1997), hit the best-sellers lists and marked the debut of Jack Reacher, who quickly became one of the most iconic action heroes of the thriller genre. The Jack Reacher books have sold millions of copies in dozens of languages around the world and have been successfully adapted into blockbuster films.
“The Strand Magazine has been an absolute icon in our genre since its first issue in 1890,” Child said. “Its history is our history. To be recognized by it for my body of work is an unparalleled honor, which I accept with gratitude—and, to be honest, a touch of imposter syndrome.”
Past lifetime achievement award-winners include Walter Mosley, Heather Graham, Joyce Carol Oates, J.A. Jance, Sandra Brown, Nelson DeMille, Jeffery Deaver, Alexander McCall Smith, and Elmore Leonard.
This year’s recipient of The Strand Magazine’s Publisher of the Year Award is Dan Smetanka, Vice President and Editorial Chief of Counterpoint Press. During his tenure with Counterpoint Press, Smetanka has presided over record growth and distribution, launched critically acclaimed books by authors such as Tod Goldberg, Peter Houlahan, Dana Johnson, and John Verdon, and has also been instrumental in reviving the works of Eve Babitz. Based in Southern California and describing themselves as “an author-driven publishing house” centering on new literary voices, the team at Counterpoint is part of a movement of publishers like Blackstone, Sourcebooks, Bancroft Press, and Camcat Books that are helping to transform and diversify the industry. Moreover, Smetanka has been described as an editor’s editor. Unafraid to take risks, he is beloved by his authors for his hands-on approach and sharp attention to even the smallest details.
“Thank you so much for this incredible recognition of our work here at Counterpoint,” Smatenka said.
“We are all so grateful to you and the Strand for your support of writers and their work and I look forward to celebrating with the finalists this year.”
Past recipients of the Strand Publisher of the Year Award include Tom Doherty, Morgan Entrekin, Josh Stanton, and Bronwen Hruska.
The Strand Critics Awards will be held virtually in September 2023.
Last year the crime writing world lost one of its very finest: Peter Robinson, author of the bestselling Inspector Banks series. In this special online event, three leading crime writers – Ian Rankin, Louise Penny and Michael Connelly – will pay tribute to Peter’s life and body of work, which spanned over three decades.
The event will be available to view, free of charge, from Thursday 8th June, to mark the publication day of the twenty-eighth and final book in the Banks series, Standing in the Shadows.
Last year the crime writing world lost one of its very finest: Peter Robinson, author of the bestselling Inspector Banks series. In this special online event, three leading crime writers – Michael Connelly, Louise Penny and Ian Rankin – will pay tribute to Peter’s life and body of work, which spanned over three decades.
The event will be available to view, free of charge, from Thursday 8th June, to mark the publication day of the twenty-eighth and final book in the Banks series, Standing in the Shadows.
More information including how to watc h/ take part in the event can be found here.
The Lefty Awards will be voted on at the Left Coast Crime Convention and presented at a banquet on Saturday, March 18, at the El Conquistador Resort in the Oro Valley of Tucson, Arizona. Congratulations to all the nominees.
Lefty Nominees for Best Humorous Mystery Novel
Bayou Book Thief by Ellen Byron (Berkley Prime Crime)
Death by Bubble Tea by Jennifer J. Chow (Berkley Prime Crime)
Five Moves of Doom by A.J. Devlin (NeWest Press)
A Streetcar Named Murder by T.G. Herren (Crooked Lane Books)
Scot in a Trap by Catriona McPherson (Severn House)
Lefty Nominees for Best Historical Mystery Novel
(The Bill Gottfried Memorial) for books set before 1970
A Bride’s Guide to Marriage and Murder by Dianne Freeman (Kensington Books)
In Place of Fear by Catriona McPherson (Severn House)
Anywhere You Run by Wanda M. Morris (William Morrow)
Under a Veiled Moon by Karen Odden (Crooked Lane Books)
The Secret in the Wall by Ann Parker (Poisoned Pen Press)
Framed in Fire by Iona Whishaw (Touchwood)
Lefty Nominees for Best Debut Mystery Novel
Jackal by Erin E. Adams (Bantam Books)
Don’t Know Tough by Eli Cranor (Soho Crime)
Shutter by Ramona Emerson (Soho Crime)
Other People’s Secrets by Meredith Hambrock (Crooked Lane Books)
The Bangalore Detectives Club by Harini Nagendra (Pegasus Crime)
Devil’s Chew Toy by Rob Osler (Crooked Lane Books)
The Verifiers by Jane Pek (Vintage Books)
Lefty Nominees for Best Mystery Novel (not in other categories)
Like a Sister by Kellye Garret (Mulholland Books)
Back to the Garden by Laurie R. King (Bantam Books)
Dead Drop by James L’Etoile (Level Best Books)
Under Lock & Skeleton Key by Gigi Pandian (Minotaur Books)
A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books)
Secret Identity by Alex Segura (Flatiron Books)
Thanks to Gabriel Valjan for the collage of nominees.
Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) have announced the Shortlists for the 2022 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing. Started in 1984, the annual Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, then known as the Arthur Ellis Awards, recognizes the best in mystery, crime, and suspense fiction, and crime nonfiction by Canadian authors.
Winners will be announced Thursday 26 May 2022.
Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) have announced the Shortlists for the 2022 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing. Started in 1984, the annual Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, then known as the Arthur Ellis Awards, recognises the best in mystery, crime, and suspense fiction, and crime nonfiction by Canadian authors.
Winners will be announced Thursday 26 May 2022.
Best Crime Novel sponsored by Rakuten Kobo, with a $1000 prize
Find You First by Linwood Barclay (William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.)
Lost Immunity by Daniel Kalla, (Simon & Schuster)
Under the Outlaw Moon by Dietrich Kalteis (ECW Press)
Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena (Doubleday Canada)
The Hunted by Roz Nay (Simon & Schuster)
Best Crime First Novel sponsored by Writers First, with a $500 prize
The Push by Ashley Audrain (Viking Canada)The Captive by Fiona King Foster (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.)
Windfall: A Henry Lysyk Mystery by Byron TD Smith (Shima Kun Press)
All Is Well by Katherine Walker (Thistledown Press)
Seven Down by David Whitton (Rare Machines an imprint of Dundurn Press)
The Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery sponsored by Jane Doe, with a $500 prize
What’s the Matter with Mary Jane? By Candas Jane Dorsey (ECW Press)
Three Dog Knight by Alice Bienia (Cairn Press)
Hell's Half Acre by Jackie Elliott (Joffe Books)
So Many Windings by Catherine Macdonald (At Bay Press)
Murder in a Teacup by Vicki Delany (Kensington Publishing Corp)
The Howard Engel Award for Best Crime Novel Set in Canada sponsored by The Engel Family, with a $500 prize
Beneath Her Skin by C. S. Porter (Vagrant Press / Nimbus Publishing Inc.)
Corpse with an Iron Will by Cathy Ace (Four Tails Publishing Inc.)
Death on Darby’s Island by Alice Walsh (Vagrant Press / Nimbus Publishing Inc.
Hell and Gone by Sam Wiebe (Harbour Publishing Co. Inc.)
Three for Trinity by Kevin Major (Breakwater Books)
Best Crime Novella sponsored by Mystery Magazine, with a $200 prize
Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction) sponsored by Shaftesbury, with a $500 prize
Blood Donor by Karen Bass (Orca Book Publishers)
Alice Fleck's Recipes for Disaster by Rachelle Delaney (Puffin Canada)
Hunting By Stars, by Cherie Dimaline (Penguin Teen)
The Traitor's Blade by Kevin Sands (Aladdin (Simon & Schuster))
Don't Breathe a Word by Jordyn Taylor (HarperTeen (HarperCollins Publishers))
The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book sponsored by Simpson & Wellenreiter LLP, Hamilton, with a $300 prize
Don't Call it a Cult, by Sarah Berman (Viking Canada)
Vancouver Vice: Crime and Spectacle in the City's West End, by Aaron Chapman (Arsenal Pulp Press)
Murder on the Inside: The True Story of the Deadly Riot at Kingston Penitentiary by Catherine Fogarty (Biblioasis)
The Beatle Bandit by Nate Hendley (Dundurn Press)
The Don: The Story of Toronto's Infamous Jail by Lorna Poplak (Dundurn Press)
The Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript sponsored by ECW Press, with a $500 prize
The Strength to Rise by Delee Fromm
Captives by Pam Isfeld
Elmington by Renee Lehnen
Ken's Corner by Katie Mac
Part Time Crazy by Mark Thomas
CWC announces the 2022 Grand Master Award recipient Louise Penny.
Louise Penny’s debut novel, Still Life, not only won CWC Award for Best First Novel but also the New Blood Dagger, Anthony and Barry awards. Since then, Louise Penny has penned over sixteen Inspector Gamache novels, won many more awards, become an International Bestseller and Canadian icon. Inspector Gamache is being adapted for television by Left Bank Productions with Alfred Molina playing the beloved detective. Her most recent book, State of Terror, was written with 2016 U.S. Presidential candidate Hilary Clinton, a literary coup and another bestseller.
About Crime Writers of Canada
Crime Writers of Canada was founded in 1982 as a professional organization designed to raise the profile of Canadian crime writers. Our members include authors, publishers, editors, booksellers, librarians, reviewers, and literary agents as well as many developing authors. Past winners of the Awards have included such major names in Canadian crime writing as Mario Bolduc, Gail Bowen, Stevie Cameron, Howard Engel, Barbara Fradkin, Louise Penny, Peter Robinson and Eric Wright. We would like to thank ECW Press, Rakuten Kobo, Mystery Magazine, Shaftesbury, Simpson and Wellenreiter LLP (Hamilton), Writers First, Jane Doe and the Howard Engel family for their sponsorship, and the many participating publishers for their continued support.
The shortlist presentation can also been seen on YouTube below.
Cajun Kiss of Death by Ellen Byron (Crooked Lane Books) Watch Her by Edwin Hill (Kensington) The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny (Minotaur) Her Perfect Life by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge) Symphony Road by Gabriel Valjan (Level Best Books)
Best Historical Novel
Murder at Mallowan Hall by Colleen Cambridge (Kensington) Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara (Soho Crime) The Bombay Prince by Sujata Massey (Soho Crime) Death at Greenway by Lori Rader-Day (HarperCollins) The Devil's Music by Gabriel Valjan (Winter Goose Publishing)
Best First Novel
The Turncoat's Widow by Mally Becker (Level Best Books) A Dead Man's Eyes by Lori Duffy Foster (Level Best Books) Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala (Berkley) Murder in the Master by Judy L. Murray (Level Best Books) Mango, Mambo, and Murder by Raquel V. Reyes (Crooked Lane Books)
Best Short Story
"A Family Matter" by Barb Goffman (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine Jan/Feb 2021) "A Tale of Two Sisters" by Barb Goffman in Murder on the Beach (Destination Murders) "Doc's at Midnight" by Richie Narvaez in Midnight Hour (Crooked Lane Books) "The Locked Room Library" by Gigi Pandian (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine July/Aug 2021) "Bay of Reckoning" by Shawn Reilly Simmons in Murder on the Beach (Destination Murders)
Best Non-Fiction
The Combat Zone: Murder, Race, and Boston's Struggle for Justice by Jan Brogan (Bright Leaf Press) Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter by Chris Chan (Level Best Books) The Irish Assassins: Conspiracy, Revenge, and the Phoenix Park Murders that Stunned Victorian England by Julie Kavanaugh (Atlantic Monthly Press) How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America by MWA with editors Lee Child and Laurie R. King (Simon & Schuster)
Best Children's/YA Mystery
Cold-Blooded Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Algonquin Young Readers) The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur (Fiewel and Friends/Macmillan) I Play One on TV by Alan Orloff (Down & Out Books) Leisha's Song by Lynn Slaughter (Fire and Ice/Melange Books) Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer (Wednesday Books)
Congratulations to all of the nominees! And thanks to everyone who took part in the nomination process.
Phantom Lady: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, the Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock by Christina Lane (Chicago Review Press)
Best Children's/YA
Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco by Richard Narvaez (Piñata Books)
Congratulations to all of the winners!
The Agatha Awards were presented during MORE THAN MALICE, an online virtual crime festival this weekend. All the panels and special events have been recorded and will be available to registered participants for a few weeks. You can still register to view the great panels!
Please Note: Registration for individual panels is not required. All of the panels will be accessible to everyone who is registered for More Than Malice. The panels will also be recorded and available for viewing at any time during the Festival, and for a designated amount of time afterwards. Registering for More Than Malice grants access to all of the panels and discussions.
All times below are EASTERN
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Wednesday, July 14th
6:00 - 6:30: OPENING CEREMONIES
6:30 - 7:00: LOUISE PENNY and VERENA ROSE In Conversation
7:00 - 8:00: Author Speed Dating (Round 1)
Thursday, July 15th
5:00 - 6:30: READING THE COZY MYSTERY
7:00 - 8:00: Author Speed Dating (Round 2)
Friday, July 16th Panels
11:30 to 12:30 2:30pm to 3:30pm
Seeking Agatha Read What You Like
It happened: True CrimeWomen Across The Years
1:00pm to 2:00pm4:00pm to 5:00pm
Culture Clash Diamonds of Detection
Keep it Confidential Adrenaline Junkie
6:00 - 7:00: Will Dean and Val McDermid In Conversation
8:00 - 9:00: Alafair Burke and Laura Lippman In Conversation
