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.]

Hammett and Ngaio Marsh Crime Fiction Awards News

DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD

The winner of the 2021 Dashiell Hammett Award for Literary Excellence in Crime Writing was named by the International Association of Crime Writers (North American Branch) on June 17. 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.”

  • Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby, Flatiron Books

The award judges were Mae Woods (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), Meta Carstarphen (Editor at Communication Booknotes Quarterly), and Jennifer Fremlin (writer and professor, Huntingdon College, Alabama).

2022 NGAIO MARSH AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL LONGLIST

The 12 books up for the 2022 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel, the New Zealand crime fiction award, were announced June 23.

The Ngaio Marsh Awards have celebrated the best New Zealand crime, mystery, thriller, and suspense writing since 2010.  The finalists for both the Best Novel category and Best First Novel will be announced in early August.  The winners will be announced as part of a special event at this year’s WORD Christchurch Festival, held from August 31-September 4.

The longlist for this year’s Best Novel prize is: 

  • City of Vengeance by DV Bishop (Macmillan) 
  • Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz (Allen & Unwin) 
  • The Quiet People by Paul Cleave (Upstart Press) 
  • To The Sea by Nikki Crutchley (HarperCollins) 
  • Polaroid Nights by Lizzie Harwood (The Cuba Press) 
  • Isobar Precinct by Angelique Kasmara (The Cuba Press) 
  • Nancy Business by RWR McDonald (Allen & Unwin) 
  • She’s A Killer by Kirsten McDougall (Te Herenga Waka University Press) 
  • The Last Guests by JP Pomare 
  • The Devils You Know by Ben Sanders (Allen & Unwin) 
  • Quiet In Her Bones by Nalini Singh (Hachette) 
  • Waking The Tiger by Mark Wightman (Hobeck Books) 

[Thanks to Cora Buhlert for the links.]

Crime Fiction Awards Headlines

Another pair of crime fiction awards have announced their shortlists in the past few weeks.

DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD

The finalists for the 2021 Dashiell Hammett Award for Literary Excellence in Crime Writing have been named by the International Association of Crime Writers (North American Branch). 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.”

The finalists are:

  • Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby, Flatiron Books
  • Stung by William Deverell, ECW Press
  • Five Decembers by James Kestrel, Hard Case Crime 
  • Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead, Doubleday
  • The Sacrifice of Lester Yates by Robin Yocum, Arcade Crime Wave

DERRINGER AWARDS

The 2022 Derringer Awards finalists were unveiled by The Short Mystery Fiction Society on April 1.

FLASH FICTION

  • C.W. Blackwell.  “Smoke and Consequences.” Mystery Tribune.
  • Wil A. Emerson. “An Unexpected Reunion.” BOULD Awards 2021 Short Story Anthology Vol 1.
  • John M. Floyd. “Tourist Trap.” Pulp Modern Flash.
  • Scott Von Doviak. “Millicent.” Shotgun Honey.
  • Robert Weibezahl. “Why Are You Just Sitting There?” Yellow Mama.

SHORT STORIES

  • Brandon Barrows. “The Right to Hang.” On the Premises. October 2021.
  • Tina Debellegarde. “Tokyo Stranger.” A Stranger Comes to Town.
  • Trey Dowell. “Yelena Tried to Kill Me.” Mystery Weekly Magazine. August 2021.
  • Kathleen Marple Kalb. “The Thanksgiving Ragamuffin.” Justice For All.
  • Gabriel Valjan. “Burnt Ends.” This Time for Sure.

LONG STORIES

  • K.L. Abrahamson. “Chicken Coops and Bread Pudding.” Moonlight and Misadventure.
  • Michael Bracken. “The Downeaster Alexa.” Only the Good Die Young.
  • Teel James Glenn. “A Study of Death.” Mystery Weekly Magazine. October 2021.
  • Annie Reed. “Missing Carolyn.” Fiction River: Dark & Deadly Passions.
  • Mark Troy. “Burnin Butt, Texas.” Black Cat Mystery Magazine. Issue 10.

NOVELLETTES

  • Jim Benn. “Glass.” Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. September/October 2021.
  • Michael Bracken. “Aloha Boys.” Hallmarks of the Job / Aloha Boys.
  • Barb Goffman. “A Tale of Two Sisters.” Murder on the Beach.
  • Annie Reed. “Little City Blues.” Mystery, Crime, and Mayhem: Long Ago.
  • Stacy Woodson. “Two Tamales, One Tokarev, and a Lifetime of Broken Promises.” Guns + Tacos: Season Three.

Crime Fiction Award Winners and Shortlists

SHAMUS AWARDS

The Private Eye Writers of America have announced winners of the 2021 Shamus Awards.

The juried award is given for private eye novels and short stories first published in the United States in 2020.

BEST PI HARDCOVER

  • Blind Vigil by Matt Coyle (Oceanview)

BEST ORIGINAL PI PAPERBACK

  • Brittle Karma by Richard Helms (Black Arch Books)

BEST PI SHORT STORY

  •  “Mustang Sally” by John M. Floyd in Black Cat Mystery Magazine

BEST FIRST  PI NOVEL 

  • The Missing American by Kwei Quartey (Soho)

THE EYE, the PWA Life Achievement Award

  • Michael Z. Lewin

DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD

The 2019 Dashiell Hammett Award for Literary Excellence in Crime Writing winner has been named by the International Association of Crime Writers (North American Branch).

  • When These Mountains Burn by David Joy (Putnam) 

 DAVITT AWARDS

The shortlist for the 2021 Davitt Awards, given out by Sisters in Crime Australia, has also been unveiled. The awards highlight “the best crime and mystery books by Australian women.”

ADULT CRIME NOVELS 

  • B M Allsopp, Death Beyond the Limit (Fiji Islands Mysteries #3) (Coconut Press)
  • Sarah Barrie, Deadman’s Track (Calico Mountain #3) (HQ Fiction, an imprint of Harlequin Australia)
  • Candice Fox, Gathering Dark (Penguin Random House Australia)
  • Sulari Gentill, A Testament of Character (Rowland Sinclair #10) (Pantera Press)
  • Sally Hepworth, The Good Sister (Pan Macmillan Australia)
  • Karina Kilmore, Where the Truth Lies (Simon & Schuster Australia) 
  • Suzanne Leal, The Deceptions (Allen & Unwin) 
  • Mirandi Riwoe, Stone Sky Gold Mountain (University of Queensland Press)
  • Kimberley Starr, Torched (Pantera Press)

YOUNG ADULT CRIME NOVELS 

  • Davina Bell, The End of the World Is Bigger than Love (Text Publishing) 
  • Sarah Epstein, Deep Water (Allen & Unwin Children’s)
  • Ellie Marney, None Shall Sleep (Allen & Unwin Children’s)
  • Christie Nieman, Where We Begin (Pan Macmillan Australia) 
  • Lisa Walker, The Girl with the Gold Bikini (Wakefield Press) 

 CHILDREN’S CRIME NOVELS 

  • Jackie French, The Ghost of Howlers Beach (Butter O’Bryan Mysteries #1) (HarperCollins Publishers Australia)
  • Amelia Mellor, The Grandest Bookshop in the World (Affirm Press) 
  • Julianne Negri, The Secret Library of Hummingbird House (Affirm Press) 
  • Pamela Rushby, The Mummy Smugglers of Crumblin Castle (Walker Books Australia)
  • Lian Tanner, A Clue for Clara (Allen & Unwin Children’s) 
  • Sue Whiting, The Book of Chance (Walker Books Australia)

 NON-FICTION CRIME BOOKS 

  • Stephanie Convery, After the Count: The death of Davey Browne (Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House Australia) 
  • Melissa Davey, The Case of George Pell: Reckoning with child sexual abuse (Scribe Publications) 
  • Louise Milligan, Witness: An investigation into the brutal cost of seeking justice (Hachette Australia)
  • Caroline Overington, Missing William Tyrrell (HarperCollins Publishers Australia)
  • Angela Williams, Snakes and Ladders: A memoir (Affirm Press) 
  • Sonya Bates, Inheritance of Secrets (HarperCollins Publishers Australia)
  • Davina Bell, The End of the World Is Bigger than Love (Text Publishing)
  • Melissa Davey, The Case of George Pell: Reckoning with child sexual abuse (Scribe Publications)
  • Anna Downes, The Safe Place (Affirm Press)
  • Mary Jones, Troubled Waters (Green Olive Press)
  • Karina Kilmore, Where the Truth Lies (Simon & Schuster Australia)
  • Amelia Mellor, The Grandest Bookshop in the World (Affirm Press)
  • Kate Mildenhall, The Mother Fault (Simon & Schuster Australia)
  • Julianne Negri, The Secret Library of Hummingbird House (Affirm Press)
  • Leah Swann, Sheerwater (4th Estate, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Australia)
  • Lian Tanner, A Clue for Clara (Allen & Unwin Children’s)
  • Lisa Walker, The Girl with the Gold Bikini (Wakefield Press)

Sisters in Crime Australia was set up 29 years ago and has chapters in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. The Davitts are named after Ellen Davitt, the author of Australia’s first mystery novel, Force and Fraud, in 1865.

[Thanks to Cora Buhlert for the story.]

2019 Dashiell Hammett Award

The 2019 Dashiell Hammett Award for Literary Excellence in Crime Writing has been announced by the International Association of Crime Writers (North American Branch).

Winner

  • Bluff, by Jane Stanton Hitchcock (Poisoned Pen Press)

Other Nominees

  • The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols, by Nicholas Meyer
  • (Minotaur Books)
  • Blood Relations, by Jonathan Moore (Mariner Books)
  • The Murals, by William Bayer (Severn House)
  • Norco ’80: The True Story of the Most Spectacular Bank Robbery in American History, by Peter Houlahan (Counterpoint)

Judges: Marina Endicott (Author), Rob Vollmar (Book Editor, World Literature Today), Deborah Dundas (Book Reviewer, Toronto Star)

Since 1991, the North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers has presented the Hammett trophy to the book of the year that best represents the conception of literary excellence in crime writing. The book may be fiction, non-fiction, or a graphic novel, the primary theme of which must be crime or the effects of crime. True crime is eligible.