Mid-Year Crime Fiction Awards Roundup

Three more crime fiction awards announced their winners or longlists in June.


2023 ELEANOR TAYLOR BLAND EMERGING CRIME FICTION WRITER OF COLOR AWARD

The winner of the 2023 Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award was announced by Sisters in Crime on June 20.

  • Nicole Prewitt

The winner of the 2023 Award is Nicole Prewitt of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her winning submission, “Harts Divided”, follows Neema Hart, a black, bisexual thief-turned-P.I., who owns a detective agency and therapy office with her estranged wife, Genie Hart. When what should be a bread-and-butter infidelity case results in unsuspecting women getting burned, in more ways than one. The Harts are pushed to prove their commitment to their clients, their community, and each other.

The winner receives a $2,000 grant intended to support the recipient in crime fiction writing and career development activities. The grant may be used for activities that include workshops, seminars, conferences, and retreats, online courses, and research activities required for completion of the work.

 Prewitt’s story was selected from over 60 submissions by 2023 judges Shizuka Otake — winner of the award in 2022 — plus novelists R. Franklin James and Andrea J. Johnson.

Sisters in Crime also awarded five runners-up a year-long membership to the organization:

  • Josette Covington (Wilmington, Delaware)
  • Ann Harris (Atlanta, Georgia)
  • Kathryn Harrison (Bingham Farms, Michigan)
  • Karabi Mitra (Toronto, Ontario)
  • Deena Short (Stonecrest, Georgia).

THE NGAIO MARSH AWARDS 2023 LONGLIST

The 14 books up for the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel, the New Zealand crime fiction award, were announced June 29.

  • Too Far From Antibes by Bede Scott
  • Exit .45 by Ben Sanders
  • Blue Hotel by Chad Taylor
  • Remember Me by Charity Norman
  • The Darkest Sin by D. V. Bishop
  • Poor People With Money by Dominic Hoey
  • The Doctor’s Wife by Fiona Sussman
  • Miracle by Jennifer Lane
  • Better the Blood by Michael Bennett
  • In Her Blood by Nikki Crutchley
  • The Pain Tourist by Paul Cleave
  • Blood Matters by Renée
  • The Slow Roll by Simon Lendrum
  • Paper Cage by Tom Baragwanath

DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD

The winner of the 2022 Dashiell Hammett Award for Literary Excellence in Crime Writing was named by the International Association of Crime Writers (North American Branch) on June 24. The award is given to a book, originally published in the English language in the United States or Canada, “that best represents the conception of literary excellence in crime writing.”

  • Pay Dirt Road by Samantha Jayne Allen

[Thanks to Cora Buhlert for these stories.]

Crime Fiction Awards News for June

2022 ELEANOR TAYLOR BLAND EMERGING CRIME FICTION WRITER OF COLOR AWARD

The winner of the 2022 Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award was announced by Sisters in Crime on June 9.

  • Shizuka Otake

Her submission, Murder in Tokyo, is a story of a Japanese American teen’s life which is shattered when her boyfriend is arrested as the prime suspect in a classmate’s murder. “I lived in Tokyo as an adult and found it painful to be viewed as different,” said Otake. “I expected to fit in and wondered how much harder that experience would have been if I was a vulnerable teen.” 

Sisters in Crime has also awarded five runners-up:

  • Danielle Arceneaux
  • Amber Boothe
  • Jennifer K. Morita
  • Valerie Kemp
  • Kathy A. Norris

The winner receives a $2,000 grant intended to support the recipient in crime fiction writing and career development activities. The grant may be used for activities that include workshops, seminars, conferences, and retreats, online courses, and research activities required for completion of the work. Otake said, “With this generous grant, I plan to either visit Japan to do more research for my manuscript or attend a mystery writing class at Moniack Mhor in Scotland.”

MCILVANNEY PRIZE LONGLIST 

The McIlvanney Prize recognizes excellence in Scottish crime writing, and includes a prize of £1,000 and nationwide promotion in Waterstones. Here is the McIlvanney Prize 2022 longlist which was announced June 8:

  • May God Forgive by Alan Parks (Canongate)
  • The Second Cut by Louise Welsh (Canongate)
  • A Rattle of Bones by Douglas Skelton (Polygon)
  • From the Ashes by Deborah Masson (Transworld)
  • A Matter of Time by Claire Askew (Hodder)
  • A Corruption of Blood by Ambrose Parry (Canongate)
  • The Heretic by Liam McIlvanney (Harpercollins)
  • Rizzio by Denise Mina (Polygon)
  • The Sound of Sirens by Ewan Gault (Leamington Books)
  • The Blood Tide by Neil Lancaster (Harpercollins)

Finalists for the McIlvanney Prize will be revealed at the beginning of September. The winner will be announced on September 15.

[Thanks to Cora Buhlert for these stories.]

Two More Crime Fiction Writers Honored

ELEANOR TAYLOR BLAND CRIME FICTION WRITERS OF COLOR AWARD

D. Ann Williams has won the 2021 Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award given by Sisters in Crime (SinC).

Queer Black American writer D. Ann Williams of Eugene Oregon [is] the winner of the 2021 Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award. 

Williams’ novel in progress titled Murder at the Freeman Hotel is set in 1920s California and features Minnie Freeman, a woman on a mission to move to a new city, open a hotel, and stay independently wealthy. Her plan is hindered by the dead body found at the bottom of the new automatic elevator shaft and a sigil linking it to other deaths in the city.

Eleanor Taylor Bland 2021 judges Tracy Clark, Yasmin McClinton, and David Heska Wanbli Weiden wrote Williams’ entry is “a compelling historical mystery with a wonderful, strong opening and deft use of craft elements. We all agree that we’ll be hearing much more from the writer in the very near future.”

The award was created in 2014 to honor the memory of pioneering African-American crime fiction author Eleanor Taylor Bland with a $2,000 grant to an emerging writer of color.

Williams, a writing coach for We Need Diverse Books, Black Creatives Revision Workshop, and an authenticity reader, credits her support systems—Wordmakers and Tessera Editorial—in helping her break from the jitters around submitting her unpublished work. “Being connected with so many authors, and many of them authors of color, has helped because there’s an inherent understanding of the complexities of our lived experiences and histories,” said Williams. “With writing groups, mentorships, and even awards, like this one from Sisters in Crime, I am surrounded by people rooting for me at each step and seeing my characters for the fully realized people they are.”

Runner-ups for the 2021 Crime Fiction Writers of Color Awards are Hiawatha Bray, Mariah Meade, Robin Page, Catherine Tucker, and Zoe B. Wallbrook. 

PRIX CHARBONNIER

The Prix Charbonnier isn’t a crime fiction award, but is given out by the Federation of Alliances Françaises USA to honor individuals who promote French culture and French language with their work. However, this year’s winner Martin Walker is a mystery author whose mysteries are set in Perigord, France.

Martin Walker was awarded Le Prix Charbonnier for his Bruno novels, set in the Perigord region of France. He follows in the footsteps of Truffaut, Pierre Cardin, Julia Child and other. Congratulations, Martin!

The Prix Charbonnier, the Federation of Alliances Françaises USA’s most prestigious award, was created in 1991 to recognize M. Daniel Charbonnier of San Francisco, a past President of the Federation, who exemplified all of the best qualities of this organization. The purpose of the Prix Charbonnier, to be given from time to time as appropriate at the Federation’s Annual Meeting and Convention, is to recognize persons of national stature and reputation whose vocation or avocation has promoted French language and culture in a manner consistent with the goals and purpose of the Federation. The recipient need not be a member of an Alliance Française. A committee established by the Board of Directors of the Federation nominates the candidate for the Prix Charbonnier. In its early years, from 1991-1995, the prize was called le Prix de la Fédération. Since 1995, it’s been called le Prix Charbonnier, in honor of Daniel Charbonnier.

[Thanks to Cora Buhlert for the story,]

2020 Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award

Yasmin McClinton

Sisters in Crime (SinC) announced the winner of the 2020 Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award:

  • Yasmin McClinton of Columbia, SC

The award, which honors the memory of pioneering African-American crime fiction author Eleanor Taylor Bland with a $2,000 grant to an emerging writer of color, was created in 2014 to support SinC’s vision statement that the organization should serve as the voice for excellence and diversity in crime writing. The grant is intended to help the recipient complete a debut or early-career work of crime fiction.

Eleanor Taylor Bland

For 2020, Sisters in Crime expanded the Eleanor Taylor Award to also provide funded memberships to the organization for five runners-up. These are Christina Dotson (Nashville, TN), Tony Hernandez (Phoenix, AZ), Robert Justice (Denver, CO), Raquel V. Reyes (Miami, FL) and Manju Soni (Mystic, CT).

“The Eleanor Taylor Bland Award was expanded to provide assistance to more than the single winner, so that more writers of color could benefit from the community support Sisters in Crime can give a beginning writer,” said national Sisters in Crime president Lori Rader-Day. “Because of our commitment to inclusion, we heard from some of our current members who wanted to help us make a difference.”

[Thanks to Cora Buhlert for the story.]

More 2019 Mystery Awards

Some of the awards we’ve been tracking have reached the stage of picking the winners, while others are just now unfurling longlists and shortlists.

2019 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction

The winner of the 2019 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, sponsored by the American Bar Association’s ABA Journal, has been announced:

  • The Boat People by Sharon Bala

The prize, established in 2011, is given annually to a book-length work of fiction that “best illuminates the role of lawyers in society and their power to effect change.”

2018 Hammett Prize for Literary Excellence in Crime Writing

The winner of the 2018 Hammett Prize for Literary Excellence in Crime Writing has been announced by North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers. The trophy goes to “the book of the year that best represents the conception of literary excellence in crime writing.”

  • WINNING NOVEL Lou Berney, November Road (William Morrow) 

The award will be presented November 1 at Bouchercon.

CWA Dagger Awards Shortlist

British Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) announced the 2019 CWA Dagger Awards Shortlist. The winners will be announced in London, England, on October 24.

Congratulations to Lavie Tidhar’s whose “Bag Man”, in The Outcast Hours anthology, edited by Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin, has made the shortlist in the CWA Short Story Dagger Award category.

CWA Gold Dagger:

  • All the Hidden Truths, by Claire Askew (Hodder & Stoughton)
  • The Puppet Show, by M.W. Craven: (Constable)
  • What We Did, by Christobel Kent (Sphere)
  • Unto Us a Son Is Given, by Donna Leon (Heinemann)
  • American by Day, by Derek B Miller (Doubleday)
  • A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better, by Benjamin Wood (Scribner)

CWA John Creasey (New Blood):

  • All the Hidden Truths, by Claire Askew (Hodder & Stoughton)
  • The Boy at the Door, by Alex Dahl (Head of Zeus)
  • Scrublands, by Chris Hammer (Wildfire)
  • Turn a Blind Eye, by Vicky Newham (HQ)
  • Blood & Sugar, by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (Mantle)
  • Overkill, by Vanda Symon (Orenda)

CWA ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-fiction:

  • All That Remains: A Life in Death, by Sue Black (Doubleday)
  • An Unexplained Death: The True Story of a Body at the Belvedere, by Mikita Brottman (Canongate)
  • Murder by the Book: A Sensational Chapter in Victorian Crime, by Claire Harman (Viking)
  • The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century, by Kirk Wallace Johnson (Hutchinson)
  • The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War, by Ben Macintyre (Viking)
  • The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper, by Hallie Rubenhold (Doubleday)

CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger:

  • Give Me Your Hand, by Megan Abbott (Picador)
  • Safe Houses, by Dan Fesperman (Head of Zeus)
  • Killing Eve: No Tomorrow, by Luke Jennings (John Murray)
  • Lives Laid Away, by Stephen Mack Jones (Soho Crime)
  • To the Lions, by Holly Watt (Bloomsbury)
  • Memo from Turner, by Tim Willocks (Jonathan Cape)

CWA Sapere Books Historical Dagger:

  • The Quaker, by Liam McIlvanney (Harper Fiction)
  • Destroying Angel, by S.G. MacLean: (Quercus)
  • Smoke and Ashes, by Abir Mukherjee (Harvill Secker)
  • The House on Half Moon Street, by Alex Reeve (Raven)
  • Tombland, by C.J. Sansom: (Mantle)
  • Blood & Sugar, by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (Mantle)

CWA International Dagger:

  • A Long Night in Paris, by Dov Alfon; translated by Daniella Zamir (Maclehose Press)
  • Weeping Waters, by Karin Brynard; translated by Maya Fowler and Isobel Dixon (World Noir)
  • The Cold Summer, by Gianrico Carofiglio; translated by Howard Curtis (Bitter Lemon Press)
  • Newcomer, by Keigo Higashino; translated by Giles Murray (Little, Brown)
  • The Root of Evil, by Håkan Nesser; translated by Sarah Death (Mantle)
  • The Forger, by Cay Rademacher; translated by Peter Millar (Arcadia)

CWA Short Story Dagger:

  • “Strangers in a Pub,” by Martin Edwards (from Ten Year Stretch, edited by Martin Edwards and Adrian Muller; No Exit Press)
  • “Death Becomes Her,” by Syd Moore (from The Strange Casebook, by Syd Moore; Point Blank Books)
  • “The Dummies’ Guide to Serial Killing,” by Danuta Reah (from The Dummies’ Guide to Serial Killing and Other Fantastic Female Fables, by Danuta Reah [aka Danuta Kot]; Fantastic)
  • “I Detest Mozart,” by Teresa Solana (from The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and Other Stories, by Teresa Solana; Bitter Lemon Press)
  • “Bag Man,” by Lavie Tidhar (from The Outcast Hours, edited by Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin; Solaris)

Dagger in the Library:

  • M.C. Beaton
  • Mark Billingham
  • John Connolly
  • Kate Ellis
  • C.J. Sansom
  • Cath Staincliffe

Debut Dagger
(for the opening of a crime novel by an uncontracted writer):

  • Wake, by Shelley Burr
  • The Mourning Light, by Jerry Krause
  • Hardways, by Catherine Hendricks
  • The Firefly, by David Smith
  • A Thin Sharp Blade, by Fran Smith

Diamond Dagger Recipient

  • Robert Goddard

2019 Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award

Sisters in Crime (SinC) announced the winner of the 2019 Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award

  • Jessica Martinez of Orcutt, CA,

The award, which honors the memory of pioneering African-American crime fiction author Eleanor Taylor Bland with a $2,000 grant to an emerging writer of color, was created in 2014 to support SinC’s vision statement that the organization should serve as the voice for excellence and diversity in crime writing.

2019 Ned Kelly Award Longlists

The Australian Crime Writers Association announced the longlists for the 2019 Ned Kelly Awards. The complete lists are at the link.

2019 Ngaio Marsh Award Nominees

The 2019 Ngaio Marsh Award Nominees in all three categories are listed at the link (we previously posted the Best Novel longlist here.)