Crime Writers of Canada 2024 Awards of Excellence Shortlist & Grand Master Award Recipient

 

Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) announced the Shortlists for the 2024 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing. 

Since 1984, Crime Writers of Canada has recognized the best in mystery, crime, suspense fiction, and crime nonfiction by Canadian authors, including citizens abroad and new residents. 

Winners will be announced on Wednesday 29 May 2024.

Maureen Jennings is this year’s recipient of the 2024 Grand Master Award. Established in 2014, the Grand Master (GM) Award recognizes a Canadian crime writer with a substantial body of work that has garnered national and international recognition.

THE 2024 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE SHORTLISTS

The Peter Robinson Award for Best Crime Novel sponsored by Rakuten Kobo, with a $1000 prize

The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding, Grand Central Publishing

Everyone Here is Lying by Shari Lapena, Doubleday Canada

Middlemen by Scott Thornley, House of Anansi Press

Sunset and Jericho by Sam Wiebe, Harbour Publishing

The Maid's Diary by Loreth Anne White, Montlake

Best Crime First Novel, sponsored by Melodie Campbell, with a $1000 prize

The Bittlemores by Jann Arden, Random House Canada 

Adrift by Lisa Brideau, Sourcebooks

The End Game by Charlotte Morganti, Halfdan Press 

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters, Harper Perennial 

Perfect Shot by Steve Urszenyi, Minotaur

The Howard Engel Award for Best Crime Novel Set in Canada, sponsored by Charlotte Engel and Crime Writers of Canada, with a $500 prize

The Almost Widow by Gail Anderson-Dargatz, Harper Avenue/HarperCollins

Elmington by Renee Lehnen, Storeyline Press

Cruel Light by Cyndi MacMillan Crooked Lane

Wild Hope by Joan Thomas, Harper Perennial/HarperCollins

Shapes of Wrath by Melissa Yi, Windtree Press

The Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery sponsored by Jane Doe, with a $500 prize

The Legacy by Gail Bowen ECW Press

Steeped in Malice by Vicki Delany, Kensington Books

The Game is a Footnote, by Vicki Delany, Crooked Lane Books 

 The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose, Viking

 To Track a Traitor by Iona Whishaw, TouchWood Editions

Best Crime Short Story

Wisteria Cottage, by M.H. Callway, Wildside Press (for Malice Domestic) 

Reversion by Marcelle Dubé Mystery Magazine

The Canadians by Mary Keenan, (Killin' Time in San Diego), Down & Out Books 

Troubled Water by Donalee Moulton, Black Cat Weekly (Wildside Press) 

American Night by Zandra Renwick, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine

The Best French Language Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction)

La Punition by Jean-Philippe Bernié, Glénat Québec

Le Mois Des Morts, by Chrystine Brouillet, Éditions Druide

Le Dernier Souffle Est Le Plus Lourd by Catherine Lafrance, Éditions Druide 

La Sainte Paix, by André Marois, Héliotrope

Rien by Jean-Jacques Pelletier, Alire

Best Juvenile/YA Crime Book, sponsored by Shaftesbury Films with a $500 prize (Fiction and Nonfiction)

Someone is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong, Tundra Books 

Funeral Songs for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimaline,Tundra Books 

The Big Sting by Rachelle Delaney, Tundra Books

Catfish Rolling by Clara Kumagai,  Penguin Teen Canada

Champions of the Fox by Kevin Sands, Puffin Canada

The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book sponsored by David Reid Simpson Law Firm (Hamilton), with a $300 prize

The Survivor: How I Survived Six Concentration Camps and Became a Nazi Hunter by Josef Lewkowicz and Michael Calvin,  HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

The Human Scale by Michael Lista Véhicule Press

Jukebox Empire by David Rabinovitch, Rowman & Littlefield

Cheated by Bill Waiser and Jennie Hansen, ECW Press

Clara at the Door with a Revolver, by Carolyn Whitzman, UBC Press, On Point Press

Best Unpublished Crime Novel manuscript written by an unpublished author

The Patient by Tom Blackwell, 

Requiem for a Lotus by Craig H. Bowlsby, 

Murder on Richmond Road: An Enquiry Bureau Mystery by Sheilla Jones and James Burns, 

The Forest Beyond William Wodhams, Thirty Feet Under by Nora Sellers

The Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence 2023 Shortlists

 

Best Crime Novel (Sponsored by Rakuten Kobo, with a $1000 prize)

Take Your Breath Away by Linwood Barclay (William Morrow)

Going to Beautiful by Anthony Bidulka (Stonehouse Publishing)

An Unthinkable Thing by Nicole Lundrigan (Viking Canada)

Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie Simon & Schuster Canada)

Daughters of the Occupation by Shelly Sanders (HarperCollins Canada)

Best Crime First Novel (Sponsored by Melodie Campbell, with a $1000 prize)

The Pale Horse by T. Lawrence Davis (Friesen Press)

Killer Time by Bill Edwards (Friesen Press)

The Damned Lovely by Adam Frost (Down and Out Books)

Citizens of Light by Sam Shelstad (TouchWood Editions)

The Man from Mittelwerk by M.Z. Urlocker (Inkshares, Inc)

 

The Howard Engel Award for Best Crime Novel Set in Canada (Sponsored by Charlotte Engel and CWC, with a $500 prize)

Five Moves of Doom by A. J. Devlin (NeWest Press)

Blood Atonement by S. M. Freedman (Dundurn Press)

A Snake in the Raspberry Patch by Joanne Jackson (Stonehouse Publishing)

Cold Snap by Maureen Jennings (Cormorant Books)

The Foulest Things by Amy Tector (Keylight Books)

 

The Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery (Sponsored by Jane Doe, with a $500 prize)

Knight in the Museum by Alice Bienia (Cairn Press)

Fenian Street by Anne Emery (ECW Press)

Deep House by Thomas King (HarperCollins Canada)

Death Plans a Perfect Trip by Mary Jane Maffini (Beyond the Page)

Framed in Fire by Iona Whishaw (Touchwood Editions)

 

Best Crime Novella (Sponsored by Mystery Magazine, with a $200 prize) 

Amdur's Ghost by M.H. Callway (In the Spirit of 13,Carrick Publishing)

Dangerous to Know by Hilary Davidson - In A Grifter's Song Vol. 8, (Down & Out Books)

Dead End Track by Julie Hiner (Julie Hiner)

The Emir's Falcon by Matt Hughes (Shadowpaw Press Premiere)

The Man Who Went Down Under by Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazines)

 

Best Crime Short Story (Sponsored by Mystery Magazine, with a $300 prize) 

The Girl Who Was Only Three Quarters Dead by Craig H. Bowlsby (Mystery Magazine)

Must Love Dogs - or You're Gone by M.H. Callway (Red Dog Press)

To Catch a Kumiho by Blair Keetch (In the Spirit of 13, Carrick Publishing)

The Natural Order of Things by Sylvia Maultash Warsh (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)

Swan Song by Donalee Moulton – In Cold Canadian Crime, (Crime Writers of Canada)

 

Best French Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction)

Le Mouroir des Anges by Geneviève Blouin (Éditions Alire)

Chaîne de Glace by Isabelle Lafortune (Éditions XYZ)

Le Dernier Manège by Guillaume Morrissette (Saint-Jean éditeur)

Modus operandi by Suzan Payne (Éditions Perce-Neige)

Monsieur Hämmerli by Richard Ste-Marie (Éditions Alire)

 

Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction) (Sponsored by Shaftesbury, with a $500 prize)

Lark Steals the Show by Natasha Deen (Orca Book Publisher)

Aggie Morton Mystery Queen: The Seaside Corpse by Marthe Jocelyn (Tundra Books)

Wrong Side of the Court by H.N. Khan (Penguin Teen)

Butt Sandwich & Tree by Wesley King (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)

Heartbreak Homes by Jo Treggiari (Nimbus Publishing Limited)

 

The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book (Sponsored by David Reid Simpson Law Firm, Hamilton, with a $300 prize)

How to Solve a Cold Case: And Everything Else You Wanted to Know About Catching Killers by Michael Arntfield (HarperCollins Canada)

The Castleton Massacre by Sharon Anne Cook and Margaret Carson (Dundurn Press Ltd)

Lost in the Valley of Death by Harley Rustad (Knopf Canada - Penguin Random House Canada)

The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation by Rosemary Sullivan (HarperCollins Canada)

Scoundrel by Sarah Weinman (Knopf Canada - Penguin Random House Canada)

 

The Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript (Sponsored by ECW Press, with a $500 prize)

No Safe House by Jan Garnett

Snowed by Mary Keenan

Two Knots by Joanne Kormylo

The Broken Detective by Joel Nedecky

The Peaks by Michael Pennock, 

The Winners will be announced Thursday, 25 May 2023.

More information about the shortlist and the Crime Writers of Canada can be found here.

2020 Arthur Ellis Award Winners

Crime Writers of Canada have announced the Winners of the 2020 Arthur Ellis Awards. Congratulations to all!

Best Crime Novel sponsored by Rakuten Kobo with a $1000 prize
Greenwood by Michael Christie (MacClelland & Stewart)

The Best Crime First Novel sponsored by Maureen Jennings with a $500 prize , Nobody Move by Philip Elliott (Into the Void Press)

Best Novella sponsored by Mystery Weekly with a $200 prize 

The Red Chesterfield by Wayne Arthurson (University of Calgary Press)

Best Short Story sponsored by Mystery Weekly with a $300 prize,

Closing Doors by Peter Sellers (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine

Best French Book

Tempêtes by Andrée Michaud (Éditions Québec Amériques)

Best Juvenile or YA Book sponsored by Shaftesbury with a $500 prize
Keep This to Yourself by Tom Ryan (Albert Whitman & Company)

Best Nonfiction Book
Murdered Midas: A Millionaire, His Gold Mine, and a Strange Death on an Island Paradise by Charlotte Gray (HarperCollins)

The Unhanged Arthur Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript sponsored by Dundurn Press with a $500 prize
The Dieppe Letters by Liz Rachel Walker

The complete shortlist can be found here.

Arthur Ellis Awards Shortlists

Crime Writers of Canada is pleased to announce the shortlists for the 2020 Arthur Ellis Awards.

Best Crime Novel sponsored by Rakuten Kobo with a $1000 prize 
Greenwood by Michael Christie (MacClelland & Stewart)
Fate by Ian Hamilton (House of Anansi Press)
Hideaway by Nicole Lundrigan (Penguin Random House Canada)
The Last Resort by Marissa Stapley (Simon & Schuster Canada)
In the Dark by Loreth Anne White (Montlake Romance)

The Angela Harrison Memorial Award for Best Crime First Novel sponsored by Maureen Jennings with a $500 prize
Nobody Move by Philip Elliott (Into the Void Press)
Blindshot by Denis Coupal (Linda Leith Publishing)
Past Presence by Nicole Bross (Literary Wanderlust)

Best Crime Novella sponsored by Mystery Weekly with a $200 prize 
The Red Chesterfield by Wayne Arthurson (University of Calgary Press)

Blood Ties by Barbara Fradkin (Orca Book Publishers)
Too Close to Home by Brenda Chapman (Grass Roots Press)

The Goddaughter Does Vegas by Melodie Campbell (Orca Book Publishers)
The Woman in Apartment 615 by Devon Shepherd (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine)

Best Crime Short Story sponsored by Mystery Weekly with a $300 prize
In Plain Sight, Life is Short and Then You Die by Y.S. Lee (Macmillan Publishers)
Closing Doors by Peter Sellers (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine)
The Dead Man's Dog by Zandra Renwick (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine)

Best French Crime Book 

Les offrandes by Louis Carmain (VLB Éditeur)
Tempêtes by Andrée Michaud (Éditions Québec Amériques)
Ghetto X by Martin Michaud (Libre Expression)
Le tribunal de la rue Quirion by Guillaume Morrissette (Guy Saint-Jean Éditeur)
Le cercle de cendres by Félix Ravenelle-Arcouette (Héliotrope)

Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book sponsored by Shaftesbury with a $500 prize
Tank & Fizz: The Case of the Tentacle Terror by Liam O'Donnell & Mike Dean (Orca Book Publishers)
The Grey Sisters by Jo Treggiari (Penguin Teen)
Keep This to Yourself by Tom Ryan (Albert Whitman & Company)
Ghosts by David A. Robertson (HighWater Press)

Best Nonfiction Crime Book
The Missing Millionaire: The True Story of Ambrose Small and the City Obsessed with Finding Him by Katie Daubs (MacClelland & Stewart)

The Billionaire Murders by Kevin Donovan (Penguin Random House)
The Court of Better Fiction by Debra Komar (Dundurn Press)
The Forest City Killer: A Serial Murderer, a Cold-Case Sleuth, and a Search for Justice by Vanessa Brown (ECW Press)
Murdered Midas: A Millionaire, His Gold Mine, and a Strange Death on an Island Paradise by Charlotte Gray (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd)

The Unhanged Arthur Award for Best Unpublished Crime Manuscript sponsored by Dundurn Press with a $500 prize 

Bert Mintenko and the Serious Business by B.L. Smith
Henry's Bomb Max Folsom, One Bad Day After Another by K.P. Bartlett
The Dieppe Letters by Liz Rachel Walker

The River Cage by Pam Barnsley

The Crime Writers of Canada is pleased to announce its 2020 Grand Master Awards.


The Grand Master Award is presented biennially to recognize a Canadian crime writer with a substantial body of work who has garnered national and international recognition. This year, the Grand Master Award is presented to Peter Robinson.

2015 Arthur Ellis Awards

At the Arthur Ellis Gala in Toronto, The Crime Writers of Canada presented the 2015 Arthur Ellis Awards on 29 May 2015. * = winners

Best Novel
Cold Mourning by Brenda Chapman (Dundurn Press)
None so Blind by Barbara Fradkin (Dundurn Press)
*Plague by C.C. Humphreys (Doubleday Canada)
No Known Grave by Maureen Jennings (McClelland & Stewart), Killing Pilgrim by Alen Mattich (House of Anansi)

Best First Novel

A Quiet Kill by Janet Brons, (Touchwood Editions)
*Siege of Bitterns by Steve Burrows (Dundurn Press)

Windigo Fire by M.H. Callway (Seraphim Editions)
No Worst There Is None by Eve McBride (Dundurn Press)
Last of the Independents by Sam Wiebe (Dundurn Press)

Best Novella

The Boom Room by Rick Blechta, (Orca Book Publishers)
Juba Good by Vicki Delany (Orca Book Publishers)

*The Dragon Head of Hong Kong by Ian Hamilton (House of Anansi)

A Knock on the Door by Jas. R. Petrin (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine)

Best Short Story
* Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood (McClelland & Stewart)

Hook, Line and Sinker by Melodie Campbell (Your McMurray Magazine)
Therapy by Peter Clement (Belgrave House)
First Impressions by Madona Skaff -The Whole She-Bang 2, (Sisters in Crime)

Writers Block by Kevin P. Thornton - World Enough and Crime, (Carrick Publishing)

Best Book in French
*Bondrée by Andrée Michaud (Editions Québec Amérique)

Une enquête de Joseph Laflamme by Jack Hervé Gagnon (Expression noir / Groupe librex)

 Meurtre à l’hôtel Despréaux by Maryse Rouy (Édition Druide)
Repentirs by Richard Ste Marie (Alire)

Best Juvenile/YA Book
Dead Man’s Switch by Sigmund Brouwer (Harvest House)

Face-Off by Michael Betcherman (Penguin Canada)
The Voice Inside My Head by S.J. Laidlaw (Tundra Books)
About That Night by Norah McClintock (Orca Book Publishers)
The Bodies We Wear by Jeyn Roberts (Knopf Books for Young Readers)

Best Nonfiction Book,

Being Uncle Charlie by Bob Deasy (with Mark Ebner) (Penguin Random House)

*The Massey Murder by Charlotte Gray HarperCollins

Innocence on Trial: The Framing of Ivan Henry by Joan McEwen (Heritage House)

Life Real Loud: John Lefebvre, Neteller and the Revolution in Online Gambling by Bill Reynolds (ECW Press)
Extreme Mean by Paula Todd (McClelland & Stewart)

Unhanged Arthur for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel
*Strange Things Done by Elle Wild

Rum Luck by Ryan Aldred

Full Curl by Dave Butler
Crisis Point by Dwayne Clayden
Afghan Redemption by Bill Prentice

Arthur Ellis Awards 2015

The short list for the Arthur Ellis Awards have been announced by the Crime Writers of Canada. The winners will be announced on 28 May at the Arthur Ellis Award Gala at the Arts and Letters Club, Tornoto.

Best Novel

Cold Mourning by Brenda Chapman, Dundurn Press

None so Blind by Barbara Fradkin Dundurn Press

Plague by C.C. Humphreys, Doubleday Canada

No Known Grave, By Maureen Jennings, McClelland & Stewart

Killing Pilgrim by Alen Mattich, , House of Anansi

Best First Novel

A Quiet Kill by Janet Brons, Touchwood Editions

Siege of Bitterns by Steve Burrows, Dundurn Press

Windigo Fire,  by M.H. Callway  Seraphim Editions

No Worst, There Is None by Eve McBride Dundurn Press

Last of the Independents by Sam Wiebe, Dundurn Press

Best Novella *
The Boom Room by Rick Blechta, Orca Book Publishers

Juba Good by Vicki Delany, Orca Book Publishers

The Dragon Head of Hong Kong by Ian Hamilton, House of Anansi

A Knock on the Door by Jas. R. Petrin Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine

Best Short Story 

Stone Mattress,  by Margaret Atwood McClelland & Stewart

Hook, Line and Sinker by Melodie Campbell,  Your McMurray Magazine
Therapy by Peter Clement, Belgrave House

First Impressions  by Madona Skaff, The Whole She-Bang 2, Sisters in Crime

Writers Block by Kevin P. Thornton World Enough and Crime, Carrick Publishing

Best Book in French

Jack: Une enquête de Joseph Laflamme by Hervé Gagnon, Expression noir / Groupe librex

Bondrée, by Andrée Michaud, Editions Québec Amérique

Meurtre à l’hôtel Despréaux, by Maryse Rouy  Édition Druide

Repentirs by Richard Ste Marie, Alire

Best Juvenile/YA Book

Face-Off by Michael Betcherman, Penguin Canada

Dead Man's Switch by Sigmund Brouwer, Harvest House

The Voice Inside My Head by S.J. Laidlaw, Tundra Books

About That Night by Norah McClintock, Orca Book Publishers

The Bodies We Wear by Jeyn Roberts, Knopf Books for Young Readers

Best Nonfiction Book

Being Uncle Charlie  by Bob Deasy (with Mark Ebner), Penguin Random House

The Massey Murder  by  Charlotte Gray, HarperCollins

Innocence on Trial: The Framing of Ivan Henry by Joan McEwen, Heritage House

Life Real Loud: John Lefebvre, Neteller and the Revolution in Online Gambling by Bill Reynolds ECW Press

Extreme Mean by Paula Todd, McClelland & Stewart

Unhanged Arthur for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel

Rum Luck by Ryan Aldred

Full Curl by Dave Butler

Crisis Point by Dwayne Clayden

Afghan Redemption by Bill Prentice

Strange Things Done by Elle Wild

*CWC announces the Lou Allin Memorial Award of $250 for the Arthur Ellis Novella Category

Sponsored by the 2011 Bloody Words Conference Committee, this award will be given in honour of Lou Allin.  Lou was a board member of CWC, a co-chair of the 2011 Bloody Words Conference, an award-winning writer, and a mentor to many.  This award is particularly fitting, as she was the winner of the first Arthur Ellis Novella Award.