Agatha Awards - Malice Domestic 2026

 

The  2026 Agatha Award winners were announced during Malice Domestic 38 on April 25, 2026. The Agatha Awards honour the “traditional mystery,” books typified by the works of Agatha Christie and others. Congratulations to all.

The Agatha Award Winners (for works published in 2025)

Best Contemporary Mystery Novel

At Death’s Dough, by Mindy Quigley (Minotaur)

Best Historical Mystery Novel

The Case of the Christie Conspiracy, by Kelly Oliver (Boldwood)

Best Non-fiction

Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover’s Travel Guide to the Mid-Atlantic States, by Dawn M. Barclay (Level Best)

Best First Mystery Novel

Whiskey Business, by Adrian Andover (Chestnut Avenue Press)

Best Children’s/Young Adult Mystery Novel

Death in the Cards, by Mia P. Manansala (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)

Best Mystery Short Story

 “Six-Armed Robbery,” by Ashley Ruth-Bernier (from Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Humorous)

 

Malice Domestic Agatha Award Winners 2024

 Best Contemporary Novel

The Weekend Rereat by Tara Laskowski

Best Historical Novel

The Mistress of Bhatia House by Sujata Massey

Best First Novel

Crime and Parchment by Daphne Silver

Best Short Story

"Ticket to Ride' by Dru Ann Love and Kristopher Zgorski, Happiness is a Warm Gun

Best Non-Fiction

Finders: Justice, Faith and Idenity in Irish Crime Fiction by Anjili Babbar

Best Children's/YA Mystery

The Sasquatch Hawthourne Elementary by K B Jackson

Congratulations to all the winners.



The Agatha Award Winners

The Agatha Award Winners were announced at Malice Domestic on Saturday 28 April 2023. 

Best Contemporary Novel

A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny (Minotaur)

Best Historical Novel

Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Amanda Flower (Berkley)

Best First Novel

Cheddar Off Dead by Korina Moss (St. Martin’s)

Best Short Story

"Beauty and the Beyotch," by Barb Goffman (Sherlock Holmes Magazine, Feb. 2022)

Best Non-Fiction 

Promophobia: Taking the Mystery Out of Promoting Crime Fiction by Diane Vallere Ed. (Sisters in Crime)

Best Children's/YA Mystery

Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade by Nancy Springer (Wednesday Books)

Congratulations to all winners and nominated authors.

Agatha Award Nominations

 

Best Contemporary Novel

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.

2021 Malice Domestic Agatha Awards Winners

 

The 2021 Malice Domestic Agatha Awards Winner were announced tonight at More Than Malice, the Virtual Malice Domestic Festival this year.

Best Contemporary Novel

All the Devils are Here by Louise Penny (Minotaur)

Best Historical Novel

The Last Mrs. Summers by Rhys Bowen (Berkeley)

Best First Novel

Murder at the Mena House by Erica Ruth Neubauer (Kensington) 

Best Short Story

"Dear Emily Etiquette" by Barb Goffman (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Sep/Oct)

Best Non-Fiction

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!

Register Now for MORE THAN MALICE

More Than Malice Programme Schedule of Events

 

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 Crime                                       Women Across The Years

1:00pm to 2:00pm                                           4:00pm 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

Saturday, July 17th

11:30 to 12:30                                        2:30pm to 3:30pm

Past as Prologue                                        Nice Work of You Can Get It

Voices Carry                                                Keep it Short

1:00pm to 2:00pm                              4:00pm to 5:00pm

Come On- A My House                              Can't Get Here from There 

It Takes A Village                                        League of Lisas

5:30 - 6:30 Agatha Awards Presentation

2019 Agatha Award Winners

Malice Domestic have announced the 2019 Agatha Award winners. 

The full list of nominated authors can be found here.

They are as follows -

Best Contemporary Novel

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves (Minotaur)

Best First Mystery Novel

One Night Gone by Tara Laskowski (Graydon House, a division of Harlequin)

Best Historical Mystery

Charity’s Burden by Edith Maxwell (Midnight Ink)

Best Nonfiction

The Mutual Admiration Society: How Dorothy L. Sayers and her Oxford Circle Remade the World for Women by Mo Moulton (Basic Books)

Best Children/Young Adult

The Last Crystal by Frances Schoonmaker (Auctus Press)

Best Short Story

"The Last Word" by Shawn Reilly Simmons, Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible (Wildside Press)

The Zoom Award ceremony can be watched here.

Congratulations to all the winners and nominated authors.

2019 Agatha Award Nominees

The 2019 Agatha Award nominees have been announced.  The winners will be announced at Malice Domestic 32 which will be taking place between 1 – 3 May at the Agatha Awards Banquet.

Best Contemporary Novel
Fatal Cajun Festival by Ellen Byron (Crooked Lane Books)
The Long Call by Ann Cleeves (Minotaur)
Fair Game by Annette Dashofy (Henery Press)
The Missing Ones by Edwin Hill (Kensington)
A Better Man by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
The Murder List by Hank Philippi Ryan (Forge)

Best First Mystery Novel
A Dream of Death by Connie Berry (Crooked Lane Books)
One Night Gone by Tara Laskowski (Graydon House, a division of Harlequin)
Murder Once Removed by S. C. Perkins (Minotaur)
When It’s Time for Leaving by Ang Pompano (Encircle Publications)
Staging for Murder by Grace Topping (Henery Press)

Best Historical Mystery 

Love and Death Among the Cheetahs by Rhys Bowen (Penquin)
Murder Knocks Twice by Susanna Calkins (Minotaur)
The Pearl Dagger by L. A. Chandlar (Kensington)
Charity’s Burden by Edith Maxwell (Midnight Ink)
The Naming Game by Gabriel Valjan (Winter Goose Publishing)

Best Nonfiction
Frederic Dannay, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and the Art of the Detective Short Story by Laird R. Blackwell (McFarland)
Blonde Rattlesnake: Burmah Adams, Tom White, and the 1933 Crime Spree that Terrified Los Angeles by Julia Bricklin (Lyons Press)
Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep (Knopf)
The Mutual Admiration Society: How Dorothy L. Sayers and her Oxford Circle Remade the World for Women by Mo Moulton (Basic Books)
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold (Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt)

Best Children/Young Adult
Kazu Jones and the Denver Dognappers by Shauna Holyoak (Disney Hyperion)
Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen MacManus (Delacorte Press)
The Last Crystal by Frances Schoonmaker (Auctus Press)
Top Marks for Murder (A Most Unladylike Mystery)
by Robin Stevens (Puffin)
Jada Sly, Artist and Spy by Sherri Winston (Little Brown Books for Young Readers)

Best Short Story
"Grist for the Mill" by Kaye George in A Murder of Crows (Darkhouse Books)
"Alex’s Choice" by Barb Goffman in Crime Travel (Wildside Press)
"The Blue Ribbon" by Cynthia Kuhn in Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible (Wildside Press)
"The Last Word" by Shawn Reilly Simmons, Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible (Wildside Press)
"Better Days" by Art Taylor in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

 

 

2019 Agatha Award Winners

Malice Domestic announced the winners the Agatha Awards on Saturday 4 May 2019. The winners are as follows:-

Best Contemporary Novel Mardi Gras Murder by Ellen Byron (Crooked Lane Books)

Best Historical Novel 
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey (Soho Crime)

Best First Novel Tie: A Lady's Guide to Etiquette and Murder by Dianne Freeman (Kensington)
Curses Boiled Againby Shari Randall (St. Martin's)

Best Short Story 
Tie: "All God's Sparrows" by Leslie Budewitz (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine)
"The Case of the Vanishing Professor" by Tara Laskowski (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine)

Best Children's/Young Adult Mystery 
Potion Problems(Just Add Magic) by Cindy Callaghan (Aladdin)

Best Nonfiction Mastering Plot Twists: How to Use Suspense, Targeted Storytelling Strategies, and Structure to Captivate Your Readers by Jane Cleland (Writer's Digest Books)

Congratulations to all the winners and nominated authors.

Agatha Award Winners 2018

Malice Domestic announced the Agatha Award Winners on Saturday 28^th April 2018 in Bethesda, MD. 

Best Contemporary Novel 
Glass Houses: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books)

Best Historical Novel 
In Farleigh Field by Rhys Bowen (Lake Union Publishing)

Best First Novel 
Hollywood Homicide: A Detective by Day Mystery by Kellye Garrett (Midnight Ink)

Best Nonfiction 
From Holmes to Sherlock: The Story of the Men and Women Who Created an Icon by Mattias Boström (Mysterious Press)

Best Short Story 
“The Library Ghost of Tanglewood Inn” by Gigi Pandian (Henery Press)

Best Children’s/Young Adult 
Sydney Mackenzie Knocks 'Em Dead by Cindy Callaghan (Aladdin)

Congratulations to all!

2016 Agatha Award Nominees

2016 Agatha Nominees. Congratulations to all of the nominees. The Agatha Awards will be presented on April 29, 2017, at the Malice Banquet. Winners in each category will be decided via onsite ballot by the attendees of Malice Domestic 29.

 

Best Contemporary Novel
Body on the Bayou by Ellen Byron (Crooked Lane Books)
Quiet Neighbors by Catriona McPherson (Midnight Ink)
A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books)
Fogged Inn by Barbara Ross (Kensington)
Say No More by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge Books)

Best Historical Novel
Whispers Beyond the Veil by Jessica Estevao (Berkley)
Get Me to the Grave on Time by D.E. Ireland (Grainger Press)
Delivering the Truth by Edith Maxwell (Midnight Ink)
The Reek of Red Herrings by Catriona McPherson (Minotaur Books)
Murder in Morningside Heights by Victoria Thompson (Berkley)

Best First Novel
Terror in Taffeta by Marla Cooper (Minotaur)
Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon (Henery Press)
The Semester of Our Discontent by Cynthia Kuhn (Henery Press)
Decanting a Murder by Nadine Nettmann (Midnight Ink)
Design for Dying by Renee Patrick (Forge Books)

Best Nonfiction
Mastering Suspense, Structure, and Plot: How to Write Gripping Stories that Keep Readers on the Edge of Their Seats by Jane K. Cleland (Writer's Digest Books)
A Good Man with a Dog: A Game Warden's 25 Years in the Maine Woods by Roger Guay with Kate Clark Flora (Skyhorse Publishing)
Sara Paretsky: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction by Margaret Kinsman (McFarland

Books)

Best Short Story
"Double Jinx: A Bellissimo Casino Crime Caper Short Story" by Gretchen Archer (Henery Press)
"The Best-Laid Plans" by Barb Goffman in Malice Domestic 11: Murder Most Conventional (Wildside Press)
"The Mayor and the Midwife" by Edith Maxwell in Blood on the Bayou: Bouchercon Anthology 2016 (Down & Out Books)
"The Last Blue Glass" by B.K. Stevens in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine
"Parallel Play" by Art Taylor in Chesapeake Crimes: Storm Warning (Wildside Press)

Best Children/Young Adult
Trapped: A Mei-hua Adventure by P.A. DeVoe (Drum Tower Press)
Spy Ski School by Stuart Gibbs (Simon & Schuster)
Tag, You're Dead by J C Lane (Poisoned Pen Press)
The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos (Balzer & Bray)
The Secret of the Puzzle Box: The Code Busters Club by Penny Warner (Darby Creek)

H/T Mystery Fanfare

Malice Domestic - Agatha Award Winners

Malice Domestic announced the Agatha Award Winners on Sunday 1^st May 2016.

Congratulations to all! The full list of nominees can be found here!

Best Contemporary Novel

Long Upon the Land by Margaret Maron (Grand Central Publishing)

Best Historical Novel

Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King (Bantam)

Best First Novel

On the Road with Del and Louise by Art Taylor (Henery Press)

Best Non-Fiction
The Golden Age of Murder: The Mystery of the Writers Who Invented the Modern Detective Story by Martin Edwards (HarperCollins)

Best Short Story,

“A Year Without Santa Claus?”  by Barb Goffman (AHMM)

Best Children’s/Young Adult

Andi Unstoppable  by Amanda Flower (Zonderkidz) -

2015 Agatha Award Nominations

The 2015 Agatha Award nominations have been announced by Malice Domestic and the winners will be announced at the 2015 Agatha Awards banquet to be held on Saturday, 30 April 2016.

Best Contemporary Novel:
Burned Bridges by Annette Dashofy (Henery Press)
Long Upon the Land by Margaret Maron (Grand Central Publishing)
The Child Garden by Catriona McPherson (Midnight Ink)
Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books)
What You See by Hank Phillipi Ryan (Forge Books)

Best Historical Novel:
Malice at the Palace by Rhys Bowen (Berkley)
The Masque of a Murderer by Susanna Calkins (Minotaur Books)
Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King (Bantam)
Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante by Susan Elia Macneal (Bantam)
Murder on Amsterdam Avenue by Victoria Thompson (Berkley)

Best First Novel:
Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman by Tessa Arlen (Minotaur Books)
Macdeath by Cindy Brown (Henery Press)
Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron (Crooked Lane Books)
Just Killing Time by Julianne Holmes (Berkley)
On the Road with Del and Louise by Art Taylor (Henery Press)

Best Nonfiction:
The Great Detective: The Amazing Rise and Immortal Life of Sherlock Holmes by Zack Dundas (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
The Golden Age of Murder: The Mystery of the Writers Who Invented the Modern Detective Story by Martin Edwards (HarperCollins)
A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie by Kathryn Harkup (Bloomsbury USA)
Unsolved Murders and Disappearances in Northeast Ohio by Jane Ann Turzillo (Arcadia Publishing)
The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook: Wickedly Good Meals and Desserts to Die For, by  Kate White (Editor), Harlan Coben (Contributor) and Gillian Flynn (Contributor) (Quirk Books)

Best Short Story:
“A Year Without Santa Claus?” by Barb Goffman (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Jan./Feb. 2015)
“A Questionable Death” by Edith Maxwell, History & Mystery, Oh My (Mystery & Horror, LLC)
“A Killing at the Beausoleil” by Terrie Farley Moran (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Nov. 2015)
“Suffer the Poor” by Harriette Sackler, History & Mystery, Oh My (Mystery & Horror, LLC)
“A Joy Forever” by B.K. Stevens (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, March 2015)

Best Children’s/Young Adult:

Pieces and Players by Blue Balliett (Scholastic Press)
Need by Joelle Charbonneau (HMH Books for Young Readers)
Andi Unstoppable by Amanda Flower (Zonderkidz)
Woof by Spencer Quinn (Scholastic Press)
Fighting Chance: A Martial Arts Mystery by B.K. Stevens (Poisoned Pen Press)

Congratulations to all the nominees.

Agatha Award Results

The Agatha Awards were given out recently.  These prizes, honouring “traditional mysteries” (those without explicit sex scenes, excessive gore, or unnecessary violence) were handed out during a banquet earlier this evening at the 27th annual Malice Domestic Conference, which is held the weekend of 1 - 3 May 2015 in Bethesda, Maryland.

*Winners

Best Contemporary: 

*Truth Be Told, by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge)
The Good, the Bad, and the Emus, by Donna Andrews (Minotaur); 

A Demon Summer, by G.M. Malliet (Minotaur); 

The Long Way Home, by Louise Penny (Minotaur);

Designated Daughters, by Margaret Maron (Grand Central)

Best Historical Novel: 

*Queen of Hearts, by Rhys Bowen (Berkley)
Hunting Shadows, by Charles Todd (Morrow); 

An Unwilling Accomplice, by Charles Todd (Morrow); 

Wouldn’t It Be Deadly, by D.E. Ireland (Minotaur);

Murder in Murray Hill, by Victoria Thompson (Berkley)

Best First Novel: 

*Well Read, Then Dead, by Terrie Farley 
Moran (Berkley)
Circle of Influence, by Annette Dashofy (Henery Press); 

Tagged for Death, by Sherry Harris (Kensington); 

Finding Sky, by Susan O’Brien (Henery Press); 

Murder Strikes a Pose, by Tracy Weber (Midnight Ink)

Best Non-fiction: 

*Writes of Passage: Adventures on the Writer’s Journey, edited by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Henery Press)
400 Things Cops Know: Street-Smart Lessons from a Veteran Patrolman, by Adam Plantinga (Quill Driver); 

Death Dealer: How Cops and Cadaver Dogs Brought a Killer to Justice, by Kate Flora (New Horizon Press); 

The Art of the English Murder, by Lucy Worsley (Pegasus);

The Poisoner: The Life and Crimes of Victorian England’s Most Notorious Doctor, by Stephen Bates (Overlook)

Best Short Story: 

*“The Odds Are Against Us,” by Art Taylor (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, November 2014)
“Premonition,” by Art Taylor (from Chesapeake Crimes: Homicidal Holidays, edited by Barb Goffman and Marcia Talley; Wildside Press);

“The Shadow Knows,” by Barb Goffman (from Chesapeake Crimes: Homicidal Holidays);

“Just Desserts for Johnny,” by Edith Maxwell (Kings River Life Magazine, January 4, 2014);

“The Blessing Witch,” by Kathy Lynn Emerson (from Best New England Crime Stories 2015: Rogue Wave, edited by Mark Ammons, Katherine Fast, Barbara Ross, and Leslie Wheeler; Level Best)

Best Children’s/Young Adult: 

*The Code Buster’s Club, Case #4, The Mummy’s Curse, by Penny Warner (Egmont USA)
Andi Under Pressure, by Amanda Flower (ZonderKidz);

Greenglass House, by Kate Milford (Clarion); 

Uncertain Glory, by Lea Wait (Islandport Press);

Found, by Harlan Coben (Putnam Juvenile)

In addition, Sara Paretsky was presented with Malice Domestic’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her many contributions to the mystery-fiction genre.

Congratulations to all the winners!