The 2016 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year

On 21 May 2016, at the Gala Dinner at CrimeFest, Bristol, Petrona Award judges Barry Forshaw,  Katharina Hall and Sarah Ward announced the winner of the 2016 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year.

The winner was THE CAVEMAN by Jorn Lier Horst translated by Anne Bruce and published by Sandstone Press.

The trophy was presented by last year's winner Yrsa Sigurdardottir to Jorn Lier Horst's representative, Robert Davidson of Sandstone Press. Mr Davidson read out the following remarks from Jorn Lier Horst:

This is the fourth Petrona Award and I feel highly honoured to follow Liza Marklund, Leif GW Persson, and Yrsa Sigurdardottir. I am also very grateful to the jury for the trouble they have taken, for their expert knowledge and their commitment over the years. They pay great tribute to their late colleague, Maxine Clarke, whose memory is perpetuated in this most suitable of ways.

Our present time will be referred to in future as the ‘Golden Age of Scandinavian Crime Literature’. Never before have so many Scandinavian authors written so many good crime novels, with a vitality and quality that not only attracts readers worldwide but also enhances the whole crime genre. In such a time it is especially an honour to receive the Petrona Award, particularly gratifying and a source of great pride. Thank you.

Mr Davidson added: This is yet another recognition of a very fine author. More than just a crime writer, Jorn Lier Horst is a novelist who has extended beyond his genre. I would like also to pay tribute to his translator, Anne Bruce. All of us at Sandstone Press are very proud to be the publishers of this great series.

As well as the trophy, Jorn Lier Horst receives a pass to and a guaranteed panel at next year's CrimeFest.

The judges's comments on THE CAVEMAN:

THE CAVEMAN is a gripping police procedural drawing on Jorn Lier Horst’s experiences as a murder detective. All the books in the 'William Wisting' series have had compelling narratives and THE CAVEMAN is no exception, exploring a Norwegian society where, in a supposedly close-knit community, a man can lie dead at home unnoticed and unmourned for weeks. Excellent plotting, well-drawn characters and writing of the highest quality make this book a worthy winner of the 2016 Petrona Award.

The Petrona Award for Scandinavian Crime Fiction

Introducing a New Annual Award for Scandinavian Crime Fiction:

The Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year

The Petrona Award has been established to celebrate the work of Maxine Clarke, one of the first online crime fiction reviewers and bloggers, who died in December 2012. Maxine, whose online persona and blog was called Petrona, was passionate about translated crime fiction but in particular that from the Scandinavian countries.

The shortlist for the 2013 award, which is based on Maxine's reviews and ratings is as follows:

PIERCED by Thomas Enger, tr. Charlotte Barslund (Faber and Faber)

BLACK SKIES by Arnaldur Indridason, tr. Victoria Cribb (Harvill Secker)

LAST WILL by Liza Marklund, tr. Neil Smith (Corgi)

ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER LIFE by Leif GW Persson tr. Paul Norlen (Doubleday)

The winning title will be announced at the annual international crime fiction event CrimeFest, held 30 May to 2 June 2013. The winning author will receive a full pass for the 2014 CrimeFest event plus a guaranteed panel at the 2014 event.

From 2014 onwards a team of judges will, as well as drawing on their own expertise, apply the criteria that Maxine considered essential in a well-written crime novel: quality of plot, strength of characterisation and the consideration of contemporary social issues.

The judges are:

Barry Forshaw – Writer and journalist specialising in crime fiction and author of two books on Scandinavian crime fiction: ‘Death in a Cold Climate’ and ‘Nordic Noir’ and a biography of Stieg Larsson.

Dr Kat Hall – Academic and international crime fiction reviewer/blogger at Mrs Peabody.

Sarah Ward – Online crime fiction reviewer and blogger at Crimepieces.

Leading Scandinavian crime fiction expert Barry Forshaw said “I’m delighted to be judging an award that is unique in recognising the influence of Scandinavian crime fiction in both the UK and abroad”.

The award is open to crime fiction in translation, either written by a Scandinavian author or set in Scandinavia and published in the UK in the previous calendar year.

Details on eligibility and how to enter for the 2014 Petrona Award can be found on the Petrona Award page of Petrona Remembered, a tribute website where fans of crime fiction can contribute by writing about a favourite book.

Farewell Maxine Clarke aka Petrona

We were shocked this morning to learn of the passing of Maxine Clarke, one of most insightful book reviewers we have had the fortune to have known, and shared smiles with over the years.

We always enjoyed her erudite book reviews, her enthusiasm as well as her insight into the genre and her championing of work that she saw merit in. We met her many times at Crimefest Bristol [where she won the quiz with her team on more than one occasion], and she too was an early advocate of Roslund and Hellstrom as well as Jo Nesbo and Stieg Larsson [attending the launch party in London on 15th January 2008] among many other authors she championed.

The Shots collective wish her family our sincere condolences and best wishes during this difficult time. We however acknowledge that her work and insight lives on, as does the memory of her presence in our lives.

The Rap Sheet reports –

Rhian Davies (aka CrimeFicReader) first brought us the sad news that Maxine Clarke, an editor of the British scientific journal Nature who also--over the last seven years--wrote the excellent blog Petrona, died yesterday after what’s being described as a “lengthy” battle with cancer. But online tributes have been rolling in ever since. Her friend Karen Meek of Euro Crime, to which Clarke often contributed “peerless” book critiques, describes her as “a fast reader” who, “even when ill could read and review a book I’d given her before I’d get back to Birmingham! I can’t imagine how many books have been bought as a result of her well-written reviews, and that is legacy worth leaving.” Norman Price of Crime Scraps Review adds: “She tempted so many inexperienced bloggers to dip their toe in the blogging water and then jump in with her helpful comments and encouragement, that we all owe Maxine a great debt of gratitude.

Read more from The Rap Sheet here with further commentary available here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Photos of Maxine Clarke © 2008 - 2009 Ali Karim

Top - With Karen Meek and Adrian Magson at Crimefest 2009

[Below] with Karen Meek of Eurocrime at the Launch in London of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo on 15^th January 2008 in London

With her quiz team at Crimefest 2009 winning the Pub Quiz featuring Karen Meek, Rik Shepard, Ann Cleeves and Martin Edwards - in Bristol

With her quiz team at Crimefest 2008 with Karen Meek and Rhian Davies in Bristol

A personal message from Ali Karim –

Though personally not religious, there are passages in the Bible that are worth quoting, worth reflecting upon, and sometimes they provide insight, other times they don’t. When I heard about Maxine’s passing this morning, the line “It rains on the just and the unjust, alike” came to mind from Matthew 5:45, used also in Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s Watchmen as well in many philosophical work. It is an interesting line that resonates contextually in both the reality we see around us, as well as thematically in the crime fiction we read; the same fictional world that Maxine explored, reviewing and commenting upon. She will be missed dearly by the crime fiction community, rest in peace Maxine Clarke.