I’m back! Also exhausted. I’m going to share the Edgar Award information today, but I’ll share photos tomorrow. I’ll also get to work on the Treasures in My Closet. In the meantime, congratulations to all the Edgar Award winners and nominees who were recognized at the Mystery Writers of America ceremony on Thursday night.
Best Novel: Five Decembers, by James Kestrel (Hard Case Crime)
Also nominated: The Venice Sketchbook, by Rhys Bowen (Lake Union); Razorblade Tears, by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron); How Lucky, by Will Leitch (Harper); and No One Will Miss Her, by Kat Rosenfield (Morrow)
Best First Novel by an American Author: Deer Season, by Erin Flanagan (University of Nebraska Press)
Also nominated: Never Saw Me Coming, by Vera Kurian (Park Row); Suburban Dicks, by Fabian Nicieza (Putnam); What Comes After, by JoAnne Tompkins (Riverhead); and The Damage, by Caitlin Wahrer (Viking/Pamela Dorman)
Best Paperback Original:
Bobby March Will Live Forever, by Alan Parks (World Noir)
Also nominated: Kill All Your Darlings, by David Bell (Berkley); The Lighthouse Witches, by C.J. Cooke (Berkley); The Album of Dr. Moreau, by Daryl Gregory (Tor); Starr Sign, by C.S. O’Cinneide (Dundurn Press); and The Shape of Darkness, by Laura Purcell (Penguin)
Best Short Story: “The Road to Hana,” by R.T. Lawton (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine [AHMM], May/June 2021
Also nominated: “Blindsided,” by Michael Bracken and James A. Hearn (AHMM, September/October 2021); “The Vermeer Conspiracy,” by V.M. Burns (from Midnight Hour, edited by Abby L. Vandiver; Crooked Lane); “Lucky Thirteen,” by Tracy Clark (from Midnight Hour); “The Locked Room Library,” by Gigi Pandian (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine [EQMM], July/August 2021); and “The Dark Oblivion,” by Cornell Woolrich (EQMM, January/February 2021)
Best Fact Crime: Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York, by Elon Green (Celadon)
Also nominated: The Confidence Men: How Two Prisoners of War Engineered the Most Remarkable Escape in History, by Margalit Fox (Random House); Sleeper Agent: The Atomic Spy in America Who Got Away, by Ann Hagedorn (Simon & Schuster); Two Truths and a Lie: A Murder, a Private Investigator, and Her Search for Justice, by Ellen McGarrahan (Random House); The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade, by Benjamin T. Smith (Norton); and When Evil Lived in Laurel: The “White Knights” and the Murder of Vernon Dahmer, by Curtis Wilkie (Norton)
Best Critical/Biographical: The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock: An Anatomy of the Master of Suspense, by Edward White (Norton)
Also nominated: Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Greatest Detective in the World, by Mark Aldridge (Harper360); The Unquiet Englishman: A Life of Graham Greene, by Richard Greene (Norton); Tony Hillerman: A Life, by James McGrath Morris (University of Oklahoma Press); and The Reason for the Darkness of the Night: Edgar Allan Poe and the Forging of American Science, by John Tresch (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Best Young Adult:
Firekeeper’s Daughter, by Angeline Boulley (Henry Holt)
Also nominated: Ace of Spades, by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (Feiwel & Friends); When You Look Like Us, by Pamela N. Harris (Quill Tree); The Forest of Stolen Girls, by June Hur (Feiwel & Friends); and The Girls I’ve Been, by Tess Sharpe (Putnam)
Best Juvenile:
Concealed, by Christina Diaz Gonzalez (Scholastic Press)
Also nominated: Cold-Blooded Myrtle, by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Algonquin Young Readers); Aggie Morton Mystery Queen: The Dead Man in the Garden, by Marthe Jocelyn (Tundra); Kidnap on the California Comet: Adventures on Trains #2, by M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman (Feiwel & Friends); and Rescue, by Jennifer A. Nielsen (Scholastic Press)
Best Television Episode Teleplay: “Boots on the Ground,” Narcos: Mexico, written by Iturri Sosa (Netflix)
Also nominated: “Dog Day Morning,” The Brokenwood Mysteries, written by Tim Balme (Acorn TV); “Episode 1,” The Beast Must Die, written by Gaby Chiappe (AMC+); “The Men Are Wretched Things,” The North Water, written by Andrew Haigh (AMC+); and “Happy Families,” Midsomer Murders, written by Nicholas Hicks-Beach (Acorn TV)
Grand Master:Laurie R. King
Raven Award: Lesa Holstine, librarian, blogger, and book reviewer
Ellery Queen Award: Juliet Grames, associate publisher at Soho Press
Robert L. Fish Memorial Award:
“Analogue,” by Rob Osler (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, January/February 2021)
The G.P. Putnam’s Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award:
Runner, by Tracy Clark (Kensington)
Also nominated: Double Take, by Elizabeth Breck (Crooked Lane); Shadow Hill, by Thomas Kies (Poisoned Pen Press); Sleep Well, My Lady, by Kwei Quartey (Soho Crime); and Family Business, by S.J. Rozan (Pegasus Crime)
The Simon & Schuster Mary Higgins Clark Award:
Clark and Division, by Naomi Hirahara (Soho Crime)
Also nominated: The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet, by Katherine Cowley (Tule Mystery); Ruby Red Herring, by Tracy Gardner (Crooked Lane); The Sign of Death, by Callie Hutton (Crooked Lane); and Chapter and Curse, by Elizabeth Penney (St. Martin’s Paperbacks)
Congratulations to all the winners and nominees!
Glad you are home. From what I saw on FB, it looked like you had a blast. Looking forward to the pics.
Nervous throughout the Edgars, but I did have a wonderful time, Kevin. Thank you!
Congratulations again. I’m disappointed but not surprised that RAZORBLADE TEARS lost out to FIVE DECEMBERS, another good book (though not my first choice) that is probably more typical of the Edgars committee’s taste.
Theer was a big article in the NY Daily News today about all the Weed Wagons in and around Times Square selling marijuana to tourists. I did see one of them yesterday when we were in the city to see GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY. Very interesting show, you might consider it on your upcoming trip. It’s set in Duluth, Minnesota at the end of 1934 and uses Bob Dylan songs effectively.
I was disappointed that Razorblade Tears didn’t win, too, Jeff. But I haven’t read Five Decembers, so I guess I can’t complain. Still disappointed.
I never even noticed the Weed Wagons, but I know when we were there a month ago, Linda and I passed Minnie Mouse and Linda said she thought Minnie had been smoking weed.
Thanks for the tip. I hadn’t really considered Girl from the North Country.
Most disturbing was Minnie with her head mostly off, which I’m sure the small children had a problem processing. Otherwise, there were mostly Elmos.
Congratulations Lesa
MWA has a video of the 2022 Edgars posted on YouTube. Can you clue me in as to where abouts your award would appear? The audio is not the best, so I skipped about some.
Thanks
MM, My introduction and short speech is right at 29 minutes, right after the LONGEST speech of the whole night. And, the audio was better by then, according to my family. Thank you!
👏 👏 👏
Thanks. You came through quite clearly.
Congratulations
Thank you!
So pleased you had a great time! I must have missed the pictures. Weed wagons? What?
I know it seemed everyone so loved the Cosby, but I found it difficult and unfinishable, and was glad the Edgar committee didn’t jump on the bandwagon.
I haven’t even had the time to post pictures, Rick, so you haven’t missed anything. I’m still working on the June Treasures in My Closet so they can go up on Wednesday.
I can’t say anything because I didn’t read Five Decembers, but a friend’s review made it sound similar to another book. I did love Cosby’s book, and it was original. But, her review did say Five Decembers was beautifully written.
Sorry to chime in so late. I really liked Firekeeper’s Daughter and am happy to see it won. And congratulations again on your award!
Thank you, Trish! It seemed to be a popular choice that night.