Crime Fiction Awards Season

Crime fiction awards season is in full swing. Even J.K. Rowling’s pseudonymous work took one home. So did James Sallis, once a New Wave sff author with two stories in Again, Dangerous Visions, who long ago moved on from writing sff.

CRIMEFEST. The winners of seven separate prizes were announced at CrimeFest in Bristol, UK held May 7-10.

Audible Sounds of Crime Award (for the best unabridged crime audiobook)

  • Lethal White, by “Robert Galbraith,” aka J.K. Rowling; read by Robert Glenister (Hachette Audio)

eDunnit Award (“for the best crime fiction e-book first published in both hardcopy and in electronic format”)

  • Sunburn, by Laura Lippman (Faber and Faber)

Last Laugh Award (for the best humorous crime novel)

  • A Shot in the Dark, by Lynne Truss (Bloomsbury)

H.R.F. Keating Award (for the best biographical or critical book related to crime fiction)

  • Difficult Lives–Hitching Rides, by James Sallis (No Exit Press)

Best Crime Novel for Children (aged 8-12)

  • Kat Wolfe Investigates, by Lauren St. John (Macmillan Children’s Books)

Best Crime Novel for Young Adults (aged 12-16)

  • Run, Riot, by Nikesh Shukla (Hodder Children’s Books)

Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year

  • The Katharina Code, by Jørn Lier Horst, translated by Anne Bruce (Michael Joseph; Norway)

LINDISFARNE. The winner of the inaugural Lindisfarne Prize for Debut Crime Fiction has been announced

  • The Roll Bearer’s Daughter by Cressida Downing

ELLERY QUEEN. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine posted the winners of their 2018 Readers Awards:

  • “Duty, Honor, Hammett” by Stacy Woodson
  • “50” by Josh Pachter
  • “Sofee” by David Dean

STRAND. The Strand Magazine has announced the nominees for its 2019 Strand Critics Awards.

Best Mystery Novel

  • Lullaby Road by James Anderson (Crown)
  • Transcription by Kate Atkinson (Little, Brown and Company)
  • November Road by Lou Berney (William Morrow)
  • Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown and Company)
  • The Witch Elm by Tana French (Viking)
  • Sun Burn by Laura Lippman (HarperCollins)

Best Debut Novel

  • Dodging and Burning by John Copenhaver (Pegasus)
  • Star of the North by D.B. John  (Crown)
  • The Other Side of Everything by Lauren Doyle Owens (Touchstone)
  • The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (Sourcebooks Landmark)
  • Beautiful Bad by Annie Ward (Park Row Books)

Lifetime Achievement Awards

  • Heather Graham
  • Donna Leon

Publisher of the Year

  • Dominique Raccah of Sourcebooks

[Thanks to Cora Buhlert for the story.]

11 thoughts on “Crime Fiction Awards Season

  1. Sallis is not completely unconnected to SF even now; he’s written an occasional column that appeared in my local paper. (Don’t know if that was local writing, or the NYTimes umbrella, or syndication.)

    I despised A Shot in the Dark; the first line in my notes is “Past silly and way into downright stupid.” and the stupid got worse as the book went on; IMO Truss doesn’t know the difference between funny and ridiculously absurd. I may try one of the other winners in the hope that it’s better.

  2. Addendum: the Truss may be a marmite instance, as my notes also say the book’s end matter claimed that there were four radio series. OTOH, this is from the nation that gave us everything from Yes, Minister to Benny Hill, so I’m not sure the idea’s lasting through four series is a recommendation.

  3. Hmm. I’ve read four of the six Strand nominees for Best Novel, and while I wasn’t thrilled by all of them, they were all creditable and readable books. I guess I should try the other two…

  4. Years ago, I knew James Sallis was going to be at a Bouchercon, a mystery convention, so I dug up my copy of his sf collection, A Few Last Words. I figured that a new wave short story collection, hardcover, from a writer who had no novels out at the time, probably had sold about 27 copies and he’d be pleased to see that someone had it, remembered it, liked it. I got in his signing line and the guy in front of me had a copy.

  5. @Kurt Busiek:

    Do I correctly guess that you’ll be traveling on a couple roads?

  6. @Jeff Smith
    Well, he was probably surprised to see two of the approximately 27 copies sold in the same place.

    @Kurt Busiek
    November Road by Lou Berney is very good. I haven’t travelled the other road yet.

  7. There was a Books column by Sallis in the May/June 2018 F&SF, and a short story in the July/August issue.

  8. Do I correctly guess that you’ll be traveling on a couple roads?

    Already traveled both of those. NOVEMBER ROAD was quite readable, but somehow less than I was hoping for, and LULLABY ROAD was well-written and engaging, but I thought the first book in the series, THE NEVER-OPEN DESERT DINER, was a better book. Still, neither was a bad book; they were both a pleasure to read.

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