More Crime Fiction Awards

A flurry of crime fiction awards shortlists and winners:

OLD PECULIER. The 2019 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year shortlist was posted on May 19.

  • Snap by Belinda Bauer
  • Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh
  • London Rules by Mick Herron
  • Broken Ground by Val McDermid
  • The Quaker by Liam McIlvanney
  • East of Hounslow by Khurrum Rahman

The prize was created to celebrate the very best in crime fiction and is open to UK and Irish crime authors whose novels were published in paperback from May 1, 2018 to April 30, 2019. The winner is announced at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, hosted in Harrogate each July.

ITW THRILLER AWARDS. The finalists for the 2019 International Thriller Writers Awards have been announced. The award is given by the International Thriller Writers, whose board of directors boasts such famous members as Lee Child and R.L. Stine. ITW will announce the winners at ThrillerFest XIV on July 13, 2019 at the Grand Hyatt, New York City.

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL

  • Lou Berney — NOVEMBER ROAD (William Morrow)
  • Julia Heaberlin — PAPER GHOSTS (Ballantine Books)
  • Jennifer Hillier — JAR OF HEARTS (Minotaur Books)
  • Karin Slaughter — PIECES OF HER (William Morrow)
  • Paul Tremblay — THE CABIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD (William Morrow)

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • Jack Carr — THE TERMINAL LIST (Atria/Emily Bestler Books)
  • Karen Cleveland — NEED TO KNOW (Ballantine Books)
  • Ellison Cooper — CAGED (Minotaur Books)
  • Catherine Steadman — SOMETHING IN THE WATER (Ballantine Books)
  • C. J. Tudor — THE CHALK MAN (Crown)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL

  • Jane Harper — THE LOST MAN (Pan Macmillan Australia)
  • John Marrs — THE GOOD SAMARITAN (Thomas & Mercer)
  • Andrew Mayne — THE NATURALIST (Thomas & Mercer)
  • Kirk Russell — GONE DARK (Thomas & Mercer)
  • Carter Wilson — MISTER TENDER’S GIRL (Sourcebooks Landmark)

BEST SHORT STORY

  • Jeffery Deaver — “The Victims’ Club” (Amazon Original Stories)
  • Emily Devenport — “10,432 Serial Killers (In Hell)” (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine)
  • Scott Loring Sanders — “Window to the Soul” (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
  • Helen Smith — “Nana” in KILLER WOMEN: CRIME CLUB ANTHOLOGY #2 (Killer Women Ltd.)
  • Duane Swierczynski — “Tough Guy Ballet” in FOR THE SAKE OF THE GAME: STORIES INSPIRED BY THE SHERLOCK HOLMES CANON (Pegasus Books)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

  • Teri Bailey Black — GIRL AT THE GRAVE (Tor Teen)
  • Gillian French — THE LIES THEY TELL (HarperTeen)
  • Marie Lu — WARCROSS (Penguin Young Readers/G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers)
  • Dana Mele — PEOPLE LIKE US (Penguin Young Readers/G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers)
  • Peter Stone — THE PERFECT CANDIDATE (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL

  • Clare Chase — MURDER ON THE MARSHES (Bookouture)
  • Gary Grossman — EXECUTIVE FORCE (Diversion Books)
  • Samantha Hayes — THE REUNION (Bookouture)
  • T.S. Nichols — THE MEMORY DETECTIVE (Alibi)
  • Alan Orloff — PRAY FOR THE INNOCENT (Kindle Press)

ARTHUR ELLIS. The winners of the 2019 Arthur Ellis Award for Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing were announced on May 23, recognizing the best in mystery, crime, and suspense fiction and crime nonfiction by Canadian authors.

The Arthur Ellis Awards are not named after a writer, but after the official pseudonym of Canada’s hangman and the trophy is a jumping jack type wood figure on a gallows. Cora Buhlert says “It’s the only award with a creepier trophy than the old World Fantasy Award.”

BEST CRIME NOVEL

  • Though the Heavens Fall, by Anne Emery (ECW Press)

BEST FIRST CRIME NOVEL (Sponsored by Rakuten Kobo)

  • Cobra Clutch, by A.J. Devlin (NeWest Press)

BEST CRIME NOVELLA – The Lou Allin Memorial Award

  • Murder Among the Pines, by John Lawrence Reynolds (Orca Book Publishers)

BEST CRIME SHORT STORY (Sponsored by Mystery Weekly Magazine)

  • “Terminal City,” by Linda L. Richards (Vancouver Noir, Akashic Books)

BEST CRIME BOOK IN FRENCH

  • Adolphus – Une enquête de Joseph Laflamme, by Hervé Gagnon (Libre Expression)

BEST JUVENILE/YOUNG ADULT CRIME BOOK

  • Escape, by Linwood Barclay (Puffin Canada)

BEST NONFICTION CRIME BOOK

  • The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel that Scandalized the World, by Sarah Weinman (Alfred A. Knopf Canada)

BEST UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT – aka The Unhanged Arthur (Sponsored by Dundurn Press)

  • The Scarlet Cross, by Liv McFarlane

THE ICEPICKS. The finalists for the Icepicks, the 2019 Iceland Noir Award for Translated Crime Fiction (into Icelandic) have been released. The winning book will be announced in November. 

  • James M. Cain: Double Indemnity (Translated by Þórdís Bachmann)
  • Keigo Higashino: The Devotion of Suspect X (Translated by Ásta S. Guðbjartsdóttir)
  • Shari Lapena: A Stranger in the House (Translated by Ingunn Snædal)
  • Pierre Lemaitre: Three Days and a Life (Translated by Friðrik Rafnsson)
  • Henning Mankell: After the Fire (Translated by Hilmar Hilmarsson)

The jury for the award is composed of Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland, Kolbrún Bergþórsdóttir journalist and literary critic, and Ragnar Jónasson, crime writer.

[Thanks to Cora Buhlert for the story.]

7 thoughts on “More Crime Fiction Awards

  1. @Kurt: Oooh, thanks!
    So… if I understand this right, it’s kind of a manuscript contest that runs intertwined with the awards?
    That’s interesting. I wonder how that came about 😀

  2. The Golden Heart Award at the Ritas (romance writer awards) is similar.

    I think these unpublished manuscript awards go back to a time before self-publishing was widespread and were a way for writers to be discovered and get a shot at a publishing contract. I’m surprised they’re still around, though.

  3. @Cora : I mean, writing contests are still a thing; the existence of writing contests is no surprise to me.
    But having a writing contest combined with an award… I hadn’t seen that before.

    It feels to me like an interesting kind of creature. On the one hand, getting some glow and attention from the award. OTOH, unpublished writers being contrasted with an annual genre award might nnnnot be the best spotlight? I admit, I’m curious.

  4. Wikipedia sez:

    Over 1000 manuscripts are submitted to the competition each year. The first round is judged by a panel of RWA members. One hundred manuscripts are chosen as finalists. The finalists’ manuscripts are judged by acquiring editors from romance publishing houses. (…)
    Generally, about 30% of Golden Heart finalists find their work accepted by print publishers.

    This does make a pretty vivid demonstration of the state and odds of publishing. The (debatable) best of 1,000 has a 1-in-3 chance of being published, let alone seeing much success.

  5. Standback, Given that “finalists” is plural, I think it’s likely that Wikipedia means the final 100 rather than the winner, which means about 30 out of 1000 get published. Still long odds, but 3% is better than .03%

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