The Crime Writers of Canada have announced the 2024 winners of their annual Awards of Excellence.

THE PETER ROBINSON AWARD FOR BEST CRIME NOVEL

sponsored by Rakuten Kobo, with a $1000 prize

• Loreth Anne White, The Maid’s Diary, Montlake

BEST CRIME FIRST NOVEL

sponsored by Melodie Campbell, with a $1000 prize

• Amanda Peters, The Berry Pickers, Harper Perennial

THE HOWARD ENGEL AWARD FOR BEST CRIME NOVEL SET IN CANADA

sponsored by Charlotte Engel and Crime Writers of Canada, with a $500 prize

• Joan Thomas, Wild Hope, Harper Perennial/HarperCollins

THE WHODUNIT AWARD FOR BEST TRADITIONAL MYSTERY

sponsored by Jane Doe, with a $500 prize

• Nita Prose, The Mystery Guest, Viking

BEST CRIME SHORT STORY

• Marcelle Dubé, Reversion, Mystery Magazine

THE BEST FRENCH LANGUAGE CRIME BOOK (FICTION AND NONFICTION)

• André Marois, La sainte paix, Héliotrope

BEST JUVENILE/YA CRIME BOOK

sponsored by Shaftesbury Films with a $500 prize (Fiction and Nonfiction)

• Cherie Dimaline, Funeral Songs for Dying Girls, Tundra Books

THE BRASS KNUCKLES AWARD FOR BEST NONFICTION CRIME BOOK

sponsored by David Reid Simpson Law Firm (Hamilton), with a $300 prize

• Michael Lista, The Human Scale, Véhicule Press

BEST UNPUBLISHED CRIME NOVEL MANUSCRIPT WRITTEN BY AN UNPUBLISHED AUTHOR

• Craig H. Bowlsby, Requiem for a Lotus

2024 GRAND MASTER AWARD

• Maureen Jennings

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.

Maureen Jennings, a long-time Crime Writers of Canada member, is a prolific author of non-fiction, short stories and book series featuring Christine Morris, Detective Murdoch, and D.I. Tom Tyler. The Detective William Murdoch television series, set in Victorian era Toronto, was optioned in 2003 by Shaftesbury Films. Murdoch Mysteries are shown in over 120 countries and feature innovative crime-solving techniques, social justice subplots and surprise guest appearances.