Mystery Writers of America today announced the nominees for the 2024 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2023. The 78th Annual Edgar® Awards will be celebrated on May 1, 2024.

BEST NOVEL

• Flags on the Bayou by James Lee Burke (Grove Atlantic – Atlantic Monthly Press)
• All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron Books)
• The Madwomen of Paris by Jennifer Cody Epstein (Penguin Random House – Ballantine Books)
• Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll (Simon & Schuster – Simon Element – Marysue Rucci Books)
• An Honest Man by Michael Koryta (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown and Company – Mulholland Books)
• The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger (Simon & Schuster – Atria Books)
• Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead (Penguin Random House – Doubleday)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

• The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry (Simon & Schuster – Atria Books)
• The Golden Gate by Amy Chua (Macmillan Publishing – Minotaur Books)
• Small Town Sins by Ken Jaworowski (Macmillan Publishing – Henry Holt and Co.)
• The Last Russian Doll by Kristen Loesch (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
• Murder by Degrees by Ritu Mukerji (Simon & Schuster)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

• Boomtown by A.F. Carter (Penzler Publishers – Mysterious Press)
• Hide by Tracy Clark (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)
• The Taken Ones by Jess Lourey (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)
• Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
• Lowdown Road by Scott Von Doviak (Hard Case Crime)

BEST FACT CRIME

• In Light of All Darkness: Inside the Polly Klaas Kidnapping and the Search for America’s Child by Kim Cross (Hachette Book Group – Grand Central Publishing)
• Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall by Zeke Faux (Penguin Random House – Crown Currency)
• Tangled Vines: Power, Privilege, and the Murdaugh Family Murders by John Glatt (Macmillan Publishers – St. Martin’s Press)
• Crooked: The Roaring ’20s Tale of a Corrupt Attorney General, a Crusading Senator, and the Birth of the American Political Scandal by Nathan Masters (Hachette Book Group – Hachette Books)
• I Know Who You Are: How an Amateur DNA Sleuth Unmasked the Golden State Killer and Changed Crime Fighting Forever by Barbara Rae-Venter (Penguin Random House – Ballantine Books)
• The Lost Sons of Omaha: Two Young Men in an American Tragedy by Joe Sexton (Simon & Schuster – Scribner)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL                         

• Perplexing Plots: Popular Storytelling and the Poetics of Murder by David Bordwell (Columbia University Press)
• Spillane: King of Pulp Fiction by Max Allan Collins & James L. Traylor (Penzler Publishers – Mysterious Press)
• A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Mark Dawidziak (Macmillan Publishing – St. Martin’s Press)
• Fallen Angel: The Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Robert Morgan (LSU Press)
• Love Me Fierce in Danger – The Life of James Ellroy by Steven Powell (Bloomsbury Publishing – Bloomsbury Academic)

BEST SHORT STORY

•  “Hallowed Ground,” by Linda Castillo (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
• “Thriller,” Thriller by Heather Graham (Blackstone Publishing)
• “Miss Direction,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September-October 2023 by Rob Osler (Dell Magazines)
• “The Rise,” Amazon Original Stories by Ian Rankin (Amazon Publishing)
• “Pigeon Tony’s Last Stand,” Amazon Original Stories by Lisa Scottoline (Amazon Publishing)

BEST JUVENILE

• Myrtle, Means, and Opportunity by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Hachette Book Group – Workman Publishing – Algonquin Young Readers)
• The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto by Adrianna Cuevas (Macmillan Publishers – Farrar, Straus and Giroux BFYR)
• Epic Ellisons: Cosmos Camp by Lamar Giles (HarperCollins Publishers – Versify)
• The Jules Verne Prophecy by Larry Schwarz & Iva-Marie Palmer (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
• What Happened to Rachel Riley? by Claire Swinarski (HarperCollins Publishers – Quill Tree Books)

BEST YOUNG ADULT

• Girl Forgotten by April Henry (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
• Star Splitter by Matthew J. Kirby (Penguin Young Readers – Dutton Books for Young Readers)
• The Sharp Edge of Silence by Cameron Kelly Rosenblum (HarperCollins Publishers – Quill Tree Books)
• My Flawless Life by Yvonne Woon (HarperCollins Publishers – Katherine Tegen Books)
• Just Do This One Thing for Me by Laura Zimmerman (Penguin Young Readers – Dutton Books for Young Readers)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY

•  “Time of the Monkey” – Poker Face, Written by Wyatt Cain & Charlie Peppers (Peacock)
• “I’m a Pretty Observant Guy” – Will Trent, Written by Liz Heldens (ABC)
• “Dead Man’s Hand” – Poker Face, Written by Rian Johnson (Peacock)
• “Hózhó Náhásdlii (Beauty is Restore)” – Dark Winds, Written by Graham Roland & John Wirth (AMC)
• “Escape from Shit Mountain” – Poker Face, Written by Nora Zuckerman & Lilla Zuckerman (Peacock)

ADDITIONAL AWARDS TO BE PRESENTED

ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD

•  “Errand for a Neighbor,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, January-February 2023 by Bill Bassman (Dell Magazines)
• “The Body in Cell Two,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, May-June 2023 by Kate Hohl (Dell Magazines)
• “The Soiled Dove of Shallow Hollow,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, January-February 2023 by Sean McCluskey (Dell Magazines)
• “It’s Half Your Fault,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, July-August 2023 by Meghan Leigh Paulk (Dell Magazines)
• “Two Hours West of Nothing,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September-October 2023 by Gabriela Stiteler (Dell Magazines)

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD

• Play the Fool by Lina Chern (Penguin Random House – Bantam)
• The Bones of the Story by Carol Goodman (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)
• Of Manners and Murder by Anastasia Hastings (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
• The Three Deaths of Willa Stannard by Kate Robards (Crooked Lane Books)
• Murder in Postscript by Mary Winters (Penguin Random House – Berkley)

THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD

• Hard Rain by Samantha Jayne Allen (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
• An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
• Bad, Bad Seymour Brown by Susan Isaacs (Grove Atlantic – Atlantic Monthly Press)
• Past Lying by Val McDermid (Grove Atlantic – Atlantic Monthly Press)
• A Stolen Child by Sarah Stewart Taylor (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)

THE LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN MEMORIAL AWARD

• Glory Be by Danielle Arceneaux (Pegasus Books – Pegasus Crime)
• Misfortune Cookie by Vivien Chien (Macmillan – St. Martin’s Paperbacks)
• Hot Pot Murder by Jennifer J. Chow (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
• Murder of an Amish Bridegroom by Patricia Johns (Crooked Lane Books)
• The Body in the Back Garden by Mark Waddell (Crooked Lane Books)

SPECIAL AWARDS

GRAND MASTER

• Katherine Hall Page
• R.L. Stine

ELLERY QUEEN AWARD

• Michaela Hamilton