Tag Archives: International Thriller Writers Awards

Crime Fiction Awards News for the Ides of March

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Two crime fiction awards have announced their 2025 finalists.

INTERNATIONAL THRILLER WRITERS AWARDS 2025 FINALISTS

The finalists for the 2025 International Thriller Writers Awards were revealed on March 3. The award is given by the International Thriller Writers. ITW will announce the winners at ThrillerFest on June 21.

BEST STANDALONE THRILLER NOVEL

  • Kimberly S. Belle, THE PARIS WIDOW
  • Will Dean, THE CHAMBER
  • L.J. Newman, WORST CASE SCENARIO
  • Jason Rekulak, THE LAST ONE AT THE WEDDING
  • Lisa Scottoline, THE TRUTH ABOUT THE DEVLINS

BEST STANDALONE MYSTERY NOVEL

  • Libby Cudmore, NEGATIVE GIRL
  • Laura Dave, THE NIGHT WE LOST HIM
  • Kellye Garrett, MISSING WHITE WOMAN
  • Harry Hunsicker, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ROSE DOUCETTE
  • Dervla McTiernan, WHAT HAPPENED TO NINA?
  • Lori Roy, LAKE COUNTY

BEST SERIES NOVEL

  • David Baldacci, TO DIE FOR
  • Eric Beetner, THE LAST FEW MILES OF ROAD
  • Ann Cleeves, THE DARK WIVES
  • Meg Gardiner, SHADOWHEART
  • Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen, FLASHBACK
  • Isabella Maldonado, A FORGOTTEN KILL

 BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • Kate Brody, RABBIT HOLE
  • Jaime deBlanc, AFTER IMAGE
  • Carinn Jade, THE ASTROLOGY HOUSE
  • Alejandro Nodarse, BLOOD IN THE CUT
  • Marie Tierney, DEADLY ANIMALS

BEST AUDIOBOOK

  • Sally Hepworth, DARLING GIRLS, Narrated by Jessica Clarke
  • Jon Lindstrom, HOLLYWOOD HUSTLE, Narrated by Jon Lindstrom
  • Kate Alice Marshall, NO ONE CAN KNOW, Narrated by Karissa Vacker
  • Hilton Reed, BEYOND ALL DOUBT, Narrated by George Newbern
  • Amy Tintera, LISTEN FOR THE LIE, Narrated by January LaVoy and Will Damron

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

  • Adam Cesare, INFLUENCER
  • Ripley Jones, THE OTHER LOLA
  • Marisha Pessl, DARKLY
  • Natalie D. Richards, 49 MILES ALONE
  • Melanie Sumrow, GIRLS LIKE HER

BEST SHORT STORY

  • Stefanie Leder, NOT A DINNER PARTY PERSON
  • Twist Phelan, DOUBLE PARKED
  • Ivy Pochoda, JACKRABBIT SKIN
  • Lisa Unger, THE DOLL’S HOUSE
  • Joseph S. Walker, AND NOW, AN INSPIRING STORY OF TRAGEDY OVERCOME

BARRY AWARDS

The nominees for the 2025 Barry Awards were announced on March 4. Voting is now open to subscribers and readers of Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine.

The Barry Awards will be presented at this year’s Bouchercon in New Orleans during its Opening Ceremonies on Thursday, September 4, 2025.

BEST MYSTERY NOVEL

  • THE WAITING, Michael Connelly
  • SPIRIT CROSSING, William Kent Krueger
  • THE GOD OF THE WOODS, Liz Moore
  • MIDNIGHT AND BLUE, Ian Rankin
  • CALIFORNIA BEAR, Duane Swierczynski
  • ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK, Chris Whitaker

BEST FIRST MYSTERY NOVEL

  • THE EXPECTANT DETECTIVES, Kat Ailes
  • PAPER CAGE, Tom Baragwanath
  • ORDINARY BEAR, C. B. Bernard
  • IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE, Jo Callaghan
  • FIRST LIE WINS, Ashley Elston
  • LISTEN FOR THE LIE, Amy Tintera

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL MYSTERY NOVEL

  • DOUBLE BARREL BLUFF, Lou Berney
  • ALL THE RAGE, Cara Hunter
  • SMOKE KINGS, Jahmal Mayfield
  • SOMEONE SAW SOMETHING, Rick Mofina
  • WORDHUNTER, Stella Sands
  • SIN CITY, James Swain

BEST ACTION THRILLER

  • ASSASSIN EIGHTEEN, John Brownlow
  • FIRST STRIKE, Stephen Leather
  • THE SEVENTH FLOOR, David McCloskey
  • HUNTED, Abir Mukherjee
  • HERO, Thomas Perry
  • THE PRICE YOU PAY, Nick Petrie

[Thanks to Cora Buhlert for the story.]

2024 ITW Thriller Awards

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The International Thriller Writers announced the 2024 Thriller Awards at ThrillerFest XIX on Saturday, June 1 in New York City.

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL

  • S.A. Cosby – ALL THE SINNERS BLEED (Flatiron Books)

BEST AUDIOBOOK

  • Gregg Hurwitz – THE LAST ORPHAN (Macmillan), Narrated by Scott Brick

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • I.S. Berry – THE PEACOCK AND THE SPARROW (Atria)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL

  • Luke Dumas – THE PALEONTOLOGIST (Atria)

BEST SHORT STORY

  • Lisa Unger – UNKNOWN CALLER (Amazon Original Stories)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

  • Elizabeth Wein – STATELESS (Little, Brown & Co.)

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL

  • Robert Swartwood – THE KILLING ROOM (Blackstone Publishing)

OTHER AWARDS PRESENTED

THRILLER MASTER AWARD

  • Tess Gerritsen
  • Dennis Lehane

THRILLER LEGEND AWARD

  • Audible.com

SILVER BULLET AWARD

  • Louise Penny

2024 ITW Thriller Awards Nominees

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The finalists for the 2024 International Thriller Writers Awards were revealed on February 28. The award is given by the International Thriller Writers. ITW will announce the winners at ThrillerFest on June 1.

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL

  • S.A. Cosby – ALL THE SINNERS BLEED (Flatiron Books)
  • Robert Dugoni – HER DEADLY GAME (Thomas & Mercer)
  • J.T. Ellison – IT’S ONE OF US (Harlequin – MIRA Books)
  • Mick Herron – THE SECRET HOURS (Soho Crime)
  • Joe Ide – FIXIT (Mulholland Books)
  • C.J. Tudor – THE DRIFT (Ballantine Books)

BEST AUDIOBOOK

  • I.S. Berry – THE PEACOCK AND THE SPARROW (Simon & Schuster Audio), Narrated by Pete Simonelli
  • Gregg Hurwitz – THE LAST ORPHAN (Macmillan), Narrated by Scott Brick
  • Freida McFadden – THE HOUSEMAID’S SECRET (Bookouture), Narrated by Lauryn Allman
  • James Patterson, Mike Lupica – THE HOUSE OF WOLVES (Hachette Audio), Narrated by Ellen Archer
  • Emma Rosenblum – BAD SUMMER PEOPLE (Macmillan), Narrated by January LaVoy

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • I.S. Berry – THE PEACOCK AND THE SPARROW (Atria)
  • Amy Chua – THE GOLDEN GATE (Minotaur)
  • Margot Douaihy – SCORCHED GRACE (Zando)
  • Kerryn Mayne – LENNY MARKS GETS AWAY WITH MURDER (Bantam Books)
  • Steve Urszenyi – PERFECT SHOT: A THRILLER (Minotaur)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL

  • Tracy Clark – HIDE (Thomas & Mercer)
  • Luke Dumas – THE PALEONTOLOGIST (Atria)
  • Tess Gerritsen – THE SPY COAST (Thomas & Mercer)
  • Lisa Gray – TO DIE FOR (Thomas & Mercer)
  • Jonathan Maberry – CAVE 13: A JOE LEDGER AND ROGUE TEAM INTERNATIONAL NOVEL (St. Martin’s Griffin)
  • J. Todd Scott – CALL THE DARK (Thomas & Mercer)

BEST SHORT STORY

  • Chris Bohjalian – SLOT MACHINE FEVER DREAMS (Amazon Original Stories)
  • J.T. Ellison – THESE COLD STRANGERS (Amazon Original Stories)
  • Smita Harish Jain – AN HONORABLE CHOICE (Wildside Press)
  • Richard Santos – RUSH HOUR (Akashic Books)
  • Lisa Unger – UNKNOWN CALLER (Amazon Original Stories)
  • Stacy Woodson – ONE NIGHT IN 1965 (Down & Out Books)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

  • Sorboni Banerjee, Dominique Richardson – RED AS BLOOD (Wolfpack Publishing LLC)
  • Darcy Coates – WHERE HE CAN’T FIND YOU (Sourcebooks Fire)
  • Courtney Gould – WHERE ECHOES DIE (Wednesday Books)
  • Andrea Hannah – WHERE DARKNESS BLOOMS (Wednesday Books)
  • Elizabeth Wein – STATELESS (Little, Brown & Co.)

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL

  • Jeff Buick – THE VULTURE FUND (Self-published)
  • Rona Halsall – THE BIGAMIST (Bookouture)
  • Matt Phillips – A GOOD RUSH OF BLOOD (RunAmok Books)
  • Lisa Regan – CLOSE HER EYES (Bookouture)
  • Robert Swartwood – THE KILLING ROOM (Blackstone Publishing)
  • Laura Wolfe – THE IN-LAWS (Bookouture)

2023 ITW Thriller Awards

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The International Thriller Writers announced the 2023 Thriller Awards at ThrillerFest XVIII on Saturday, June 3 in New York City.

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL

  • Sundial, by Catriona Ward (Macmillan)

BEST AUDIOBOOK

  • Things We Do in the Dark, by Jennifer Hillier; narrated by Carla Vega (Macmillan Audio)

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • The Resemblance, by Lauren Nossett (Flatiron)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL

  • The Housemaid, by Freida McFadden (Grand Central)

BEST SHORT STORY

  •  “Stockholm,” by Catherine Steadman (Amazon Original Stories)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

  • Daughter, by Kate McLaughlin (Wednesday)

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL

  • The Couple at Causeway Cottage, by Diane Jeffrey (HarperCollins)

Two other awards were presented at ThrillerFest:

2023 THRILLERMASTER LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

  • Charlaine Harris
  • Walter Mosley

2023 THRILLER LEGEND AWARD

  • Minotaur Books

2023 ITW Thriller Awards Nominees

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The finalists for the 2023 International Thriller Writers Awards were revealed on March 17. The award is given by the International Thriller Writers. ITW will announce the winners at ThrillerFest on June 3.

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL

  • The Violence, by Delilah S. Dawson (Del Rey)
  • Things We Do in the Dark, by Jennifer Hillier (Minotaur)
  • The Fervor, by Alma Katsu (Putnam)
  • The Children on the Hill, by Jennifer McMahon (Simon & Schuster)
  • Two Nights in Lisbon, by Chris Pavone (MCD)
  • Sundial, by Catriona Ward (Macmillan)

BEST AUDIOBOOK

  • Young Rich Widows, by Kimberly Belle, Fargo Layne, Cate Holahan, and Vanessa Lillie; narrated by Dina Pearlman, Karissa Vacker, Helen Laser, and Ariel Blake (Audible)
  • The Lies I Tell, by Julie Clark; narrated by Anna Caputo and Amanda Dolan (Audible)
  • The Photo Thief, by J.L. Delozier; narrated by Rachel L. Jacobs and Jeffrey Kafer (CamCat)
  • Things We Do in the Dark, by Jennifer Hillier; narrated by Carla Vega (Macmillan Audio)
  • The Silent Woman, by Minka Kent; narrated by Christine Lakin and Kate Rudd (Blackstone)

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • The Resemblance, by Lauren Nossett (Flatiron)
  • Blood Sugar, by Sascha Rothchild (Putnam)
  • Dirt Creek (aka Dirt Town), by Hayley Scrivenor (Flatiron)
  • A Flicker in the Dark, by Stacy Willingham (Minotaur)
  • The Fields, by Erin Young (Flatiron)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL

  • The Lies I Told, by Mary Burton (Montlake)
  • No Place to Run, by Mark Edwards (Thomas & Mercer)
  • Unmissing, by Minka Kent (Thomas & Mercer)
  • The Housemaid, by Freida McFadden (Grand Central)
  • Anywhere You Run, by Wanda Morris (Morrow)
  • The Couple Upstairs, by Holly Wainwright (Pan Macmillan)
  • The Patient’s Secret, by Loreth Anne White (Montlake)

BEST SHORT STORY

  • “Russian for Beginners,” by Dominique Bibeau (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine [EQMM], March/April 2022)
  • “The Gift,” by Barb Goffman (from Land of 10,000 Thrills, edited by Greg Herren; Down & Out)
  • “Publish or Perish,” by Smita Harish Jain (EQMM, September/October 2022)
  • “33 Clues Into the Disappearance of My Sister,” by Joyce Carol Oates (EQMM, March/April 2022)
  • “Schrödinger, Cat,” by Anna Scotti (EQMM, March/April 2022)
  • “Stockholm,” by Catherine Steadman (Amazon Original Stories)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

  • Our Crooked Hearts, by Melissa Albert (Flatiron)
  • Sugaring Off, by Gillian French (Algonquin Young Readers)
  • Daughter, by Kate McLaughlin (Wednesday)
  • What’s Coming to Me, by Francesca Padilla (Soho Teen)
  • I’m the Girl, by Courtney Summers (Wednesday)

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL

  • Evasive Species, by Bill Byrnes (Self-published)
  • The Couple at Causeway Cottage, by Diane Jeffrey (HarperCollins)
  • The Seven Truths of Hannah Baxter, by Grant McKenzie (Self-published)
  • The Hollow Place, by Rick Mofina (Self-published)
  • Fatal Rounds, by Carrie Rubin (Self-published)

Two other awards will be presented at ThrillerFest:

2023 THRILLERMASTER LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

  • Charlaine Harris
  • Walter Mosley

2023 THRILLER LEGEND AWARD

  • Minotaur Books

2022 ITW Thriller Awards

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The International Thriller Writers announced the 2022 Thriller Awards at ThrillerFest XVII on Saturday, June 4 in New York City.

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL

  • S. A. Cosby – RAZORBLADE TEARS (Flatiron Books)

BEST AUDIOBOOK

  • S. A. Cosby – RAZORBLADE TEARS (Macmillan) — Narrated by Adam Lazarre-White

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • Amanda Jayatissa – MY SWEET GIRL (Berkley)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL

  • Jess Lourey – BLOODLINE (Thomas & Mercer)

BEST SHORT STORY

  • Scott Loring Sanders – “The Lemonade Stand” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

  • Courtney Summers – THE PROJECT (Wednesday Books)

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL

  • E.J. Findorff – BLOOD PARISH (E.J. Findorff)

2022 THRILLERMASTERS

  • Frederick Forsyth
  • Diana Gabaldon

[Thanks to Todd Mason and Cat Eldridge for the story.]

Crime Fiction Awards 2022 News

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2022 ITW THRILLER AWARDS NOMINEES

The International Thriller Writers have announced the finalists for the 2022 Thriller Awards.

The winners will be revealed at ThrillerFest XVII on Saturday, June 4 in New York City.

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL

  • Megan Abbott – THE TURNOUT (Penguin/Putnam)
  • S. A. Cosby – RAZORBLADE TEARS (Flatiron Books)
  • Alice Feeney – ROCK PAPER SCISSORS (Flatiron Books)
  • Rachel Howzell Hall – THESE TOXIC THINGS (Thomas & Mercer)
  • Alma Katsu – RED WIDOW (Penguin/Putnam)
  • Eric Rickstad – I AM NOT WHO YOU THINK I AM (Blackstone Publishing)

BEST AUDIOBOOK

  • S. A. Cosby – RAZORBLADE TEARS (Macmillan) — Narrated by Adam Lazarre-White
  • Samantha Downing – SLEEPING DOG LIE (Audible Originals) — Narrated by Melanie Nicholls-King and Lindsey Dorcus
  • Rachel Howzell Hall – HOW IT ENDS (Audible Originals) — Narrated by Joniece Abbott-Pratt
  • Gregg Hurwitz – PRODIGAL SON (Macmillan) — Narrated by Scott Brick
  • Nadine Matheson – THE JIGSAW MAN (HarperCollins) — Narrated by Davine Henry

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • Abigail Dean – GIRL A (HarperCollins)
  • Eloísa Díaz – REPENTANCE (Agora Books)
  • Amanda Jayatissa – MY SWEET GIRL (Berkley)
  • David McCloskey – DAMASCUS STATION (W.W. Norton & Company)
  • Eric Redman – BONES OF HILO (Crooked Lane Books)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL

  • Joy Castro – FLIGHT RISK (Lake Union)
  • Aaron Philip Clark – UNDER COLOR OF LAW (Thomas & Mercer)
  • C. J. Cooke – THE LIGHTHOUSE WITCHES (Berkley)
  • Jess Lourey – BLOODLINE (Thomas & Mercer)
  • Terry Roberts – MY MISTRESS’ EYES ARE RAVEN BLACK (Turner Publishing Company)

BEST SHORT STORY

  • S.A. Cosby – “Not My Cross to Bear” (Down & Out Books)
  • William Burton McCormick – “Demon in the Depths” (Ellery Queen’s
  • Mystery Magazine)
  • Scott Loring Sanders – “The Lemonade Stand” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)
  • Jeff Soloway – “The Interpreter and the Killer” (Ellery Queen’s
  • Mystery Magazine)
  • John Wimer – “Bad Chemistry” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

  • Maureen Johnson – THE BOX IN THE WOODS (HarperCollins)
  • Nova McBee – CALCULATED (Wolfpack Publishing LLC)
  • Ginny Myers Sain – DARK AND SHALLOW LIES (Penguin Young Readers)
  • Courtney Summers – THE PROJECT (Wednesday Books)
  • Krystal Sutherland – HOUSE OF HOLLOW (Penguin Young Readers)

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL

  • Greig Beck – THE DARK SIDE: ALEX HUNTER 9 (Pan Macmillan)
  • John Connell – WHERE THE WICKED TREAD (John Connell)
  • Wendy Dranfield – LITTLE GIRL TAKEN (Bookouture)
  • E.J. Findorff – BLOOD PARISH (E.J. Findorff)
  • S. E. Green – MOTHER MAY I (S. E. Green)
  • Andrew Kaplan – BLUE MADAGASCAR (Andrew Kaplan)
  • Karin Nordin – LAST ONE ALIVE (HarperCollins)

WOLFE PACK

The winners of the 2021 Nero Award and Black Orchid Novella Award were announced December 5. These crime fiction awards are given out by a Nero Wolfe fan group called The Wolfe Pack.

2021 NERO AWARD

The Nero Award is presented each year to an author for the best American Mystery written in the tradition of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe stories.

  • Stephen Spotswood for Fortune Favors the Dead (Doubleday).

2021 BLACK ORCHID NOVELLA AWARD

The Black Orchid Novella Award is presented jointly by The Wolfe Pack and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine to celebrate the novella format popularized by Rex Stout.

  • Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson for “The Man Who Went Down Under.” The novella will be published in the July 2022 issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine.

Honorable mentions for the Black Orchid Novella Award went to:

  • “Bad Apples” by Kathleen Marple Kalb (writing as Nikki Knight)
  • “The Inside Shake” by Jason Koontz
  • “House of Tigers” by William Burton McCormick
  • “The Mystery of the Missing Woman” by Regina M. Sestak 
  • “Lovely As” by Jacqueline Vick

CWA DIAMOND DAGGER

The Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger Award for 2022 goes to CJ Sansom.

Sansom is the creator of the bestselling Shardlake series, set in the reign of Henry VIII and following the sixteenth-century lawyer-detective Matthew Shardlake and his assistant Jack Barak.

[Thanks to Cora Buhlert and Todd Mason for these stories.]

2021 ITW Thriller Awards

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The 2021 International Thriller Writers Awards  winners were announced on July 10 during the virtual Thrillerfest. The award is given by the International Thriller Writers, whose board of directors boasts such famous members as the authors Heather Graham and Kathy Reichs.

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL

  • S.A. Cosby – Blacktop Wasteland (Flatiron Books)

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • David Heska Wanbli Weiden – Winter Counts (Ecco)

BEST ORIGINAL PAPERBACK NOVEL

  • John Marrs – What Lies Between Us (Thomas & Mercer)

BEST SHORT STORY

  • Alan Orloff – “Rent Due” (Down & Out Books)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

  • Andrea Contos – Throwaway Girls (Kids Can Press)

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL

  • Jeff Buick – A Killing Game (Novel Words)

 [Thanks to Cora Buhlert for the story.]

2021 ITW Thriller Awards Nominees

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The finalists for the 2021 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 the authors Heather Graham and Kathy Reichs. ITW will announce the winners at a virtual ThrillerFest on July 10.

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL

  • S.A. Cosby – BLACKTOP WASTELAND (Flatiron Books)
  • Joe Ide – HI FIVE (Mulholland Books)
  • Richard Osman – THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB (Penguin)
  • Ivy Pochoda – THESE WOMEN (Ecco)
  • Lisa Unger – CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45 (Park Row)

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • Jasmine Aimaq – THE OPIUM PRINCE (Soho Press)
  • Don Bentley – WITHOUT SANCTION (Berkley)
  • Kyle Perry – THE BLUFFS (Michael Joseph)
  • Francesca Serritella – GHOSTS OF HARVARD (Random House)
  • David Heska Wanbli Weiden – WINTER COUNTS (Ecco)

BEST ORIGINAL PAPERBACK NOVEL

  • Alyssa Cole – WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING (William Morrow Paperbacks)
  • Layton Green – UNKNOWN 9: GENESIS (Reflector Entertainment)
  • John Marrs – WHAT LIES BETWEEN US (Thomas & Mercer)
  • Andrew Mayne – THE GIRL BENEATH THE SEA (Thomas & Mercer)
  • Benjamin Stevenson – EITHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT (Penguin Random House Australia)

BEST SHORT STORY

  • Steve Hockensmith – “The Death and Carnage Boy” (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
  • Laura Lippman – “Slow Burner” (Amazon Original Stories)
  • Alan Orloff – “Rent Due” (Down & Out Books)
  • Elaine Viets – “Dog Eat Dog” (Untreed Reads)
  • Andrew Welsh-Huggins – “The Mailman” (Down & Out Books)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

  • Demetra Brodsky – LAST GIRLS (Tor Teen)
  • Andrea Contos – THROWAWAY GIRLS (Kids Can Press)
  • Kit Frick – I KILLED ZOE SPANOS (Margaret K. McElderry Books)
  • Lily Sparks – TEEN KILLERS CLUB (Crooked Lane Books)
  • Heather Young – THE DISTANT DEAD (William Morrow)

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL

  • Sean Black – AVENUE OF THIEVES (Sean Black)
  • Jeff Buick – A KILLING GAME (Novel Words)
  • Diane Capri – FULL METAL JACK (AugustBooks)
  • Jake Needham – MONGKOK STATION (Half Penny)
  • Kirk Russell – NO HESITATION (Strawberry Creek)

[Thanks to Cora Buhlert for the story.]

2020 ITW Thriller Awards

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The 2020 International Thriller Writers Awards winners were announced at a virtual ThrillerFest on July 11.

The award is given by the International Thriller Writers, whose emeritus directors include Lee Child and R.L. Stine.

However, the award news was overshadowed by the group’s RWA-type implosion last month when most of the working board members resigned, some following out the door a director who quit over the board’s inadequate response to an ITW member’s harassment complaint. Others left when a statement issued by the board about the protests against police violence and racism was criticized as insensitive by a large number of authors.

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL

  • Adrian McKinty — The Chain (Mulholland Books)

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • Angie Kim — Miracle Creek (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL

  • Dervla McTiernan — The Scholar (Penguin Books)

BEST SHORT STORY

  • Tara Laskowski — “The Long-Term Tenant” (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

  • Tom Ryan — Keep This To Yourself (Albert Whitman & Company)

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL

  • Kerry Wilkinson — Close To You (Bookouture)