SCRIBE AWARD WINNERS 2026

The International Association of Media Tie-in Writers announced the winners of the Scribe Awards for superior works published in 2025.

The IAMTW’s Scribe Awards honor excellence in the field of writing tie-in fiction for media franchises. 

These works include novels, short stories, audio dramas, and graphic novels tied to licenses of movies and TV shows, as well as video games, comics, songs, and even book series.

The International Association of Media Tie-in Writers today announced the winners of the Scribe Awards for superior works published in 2025.

The IAMTW’s Scribe Awards honor excellence in the field of writing tie-in fiction for media franchises. These works include novels, short stories, audio dramas, and graphic novels tied to licenses of movies and TV shows, as well as video games, comics, songs, and even book series.

Adapted

• Adam Cesare — The Toxic Avenger: The Official Movie Novelization

Audio Drama

• Kirsten Beyer & David Mack — Star Trek: Khan

Graphic Novel

• Eric Campbell & Jody Houser — The Rise of Hellfire

Original Novel – General

• Raymond Benson — The Hook and the Eye

Original Novel – Speculative

• John Jackson Miller — Batman: Revolution

Short Story

• Alfie Shaw — “Aftercare” in Doctor Who: The Adventures After

YA/MG

• Jennifer Brody — Starcourt Mall Escape

Also presented:

The Faust Award, lifetime achievement

• Marv Wolfman

HT: File770.com

 

Print Edition -Mystery Readers Journal: Mysteries set in France (42:2) - now available

Mystery Readers Journal: Mysteries set in France (42:2) is now available in print. 

Purchase the Print issue here.

This issue is also available as a PDF. 

Mysteries Set in France

Volume 42, No. 2, Summer 2026

Buy this back issue! Available as a downloadable PDF or in Paperback from Amazon.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ARTICLES

• Joseph Rouletabille: Reporter-Detective by Ashley Bowden

AUTHOR! AUTHOR!

• Vive la différence! by Cathy Ace
• From Marseille to Edisto Island by Paul A. Barra
• We’ll Always Have Paris by Janet Dawson
• From Somewhere in France by Michele Drier
• A Historian and Novelist in France by Ann Elwood
• Delicious Chapters by Yves Fey
• What Foolish Dreams May Come by Alan Gordon
• The Eat, Drink, and Be Merry Research Tour: Setting a Book in France by Wendy Hornsby
• It’s Never Too Late to Be a Midlife Badass by Lauren Johnson
• I’d Kill to Live in Paris by Eva Jurczyk
• The Mystery of the Misplaced Mona Lisa by Ron Katz
• Victor & Me in Paris by Janice MacDonald
• It’s All About the Setting by Adrian Magson
• Magdalene Duchateau: A Frenchwoman Abroad in the English Mystery by G.M. Malliet
• Murder at Villa Légère: A Pho of Murder, Diamonds, and a Secret Worth Killing For by C. L. Malone
• Why France? by Peter May
• France Is a Drug—The Bennett Sisters Can’t Be Wrong by Lise McClendon
• Liberty and Death in the French Maritime Alps by Larry Mild
• My France by Sharan Newman
• The Reality Behind the Fantasy of “French Country Murders” by Katie Penryn
• Corsica: Where Landscape Creates Secrets by Neil S. Plakcy
• Mysterious (and Delicious) Paris by Danielle Postel-Vinay
• Paris Didn’t Let Me Leave, So I Wrote a Murder Instead by Ileana Muñoz Renfroe
• Why Not France? by Susan C. Shea
• Mysterious Paris by Rob Swigart
• So Softly Threads the Night by Bob Van Laerhoven
• The Mystery of Paris by Charles Todd
• I Was a Free Man in Paris by C.J. Verburg
• We’ll Always Have Paris by Nancy Warren
• Dreaming of Paris by Victoria Zackheim
• Saint-Paul-de-Vence: Toujours Cool, Just Add Murder by Elizabeth Zelvin
• On Monaco and Mystery by Ally Zetterberg

COLUMNS

• Mystery in Retrospect: Reviews 
• Children’s Hour: Mysteries Set in France by Gay Toltl Kinman
• Meurtres en … France by Kate Derie
• Spiral (Engrenages): France’s Compulsive Masterpiece of Crime, Corruption, and Character by Pattie Tierney
• Jean Gabin—the Greatest Maigret by Jim Doherty
• True Crime France by Cathy Pickens
• From the Editor’s Desk by Janet Rudolph

Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2026

Elly Griffiths has won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year for The Frozen People. Congratulations!

Read Erin Mitchell's article in Crimespree Magazine.

HT: Erin Mitchell

MAPBACK MONDAY: A.A. FAIR'S FOOLS DIE ON FRIDAY

It's Mapback Monday, but today's Dell Mapback is A.A. Fair's Fools Die on Friday. A.A. Fair was the pseudonym that Erle Stanley Gardner used for his Cool and Lam series (Bertha Cool and Donald Lam). This is #11 in that series, and was first published in 1947.  Read a review by Francis M. Nevins that appeared in Mystery*File.  

CALL FOR ARTICLES: Cross-Genre Mysteries

Call for Articles: Mystery Readers Journal: Cross-Genre Mysteries: Fall 2026

For our next issue, we are looking for articles, reviews, and author essays focusing on cross-genre crime fiction.

DEADLINE: August 20, 2026

Cross-Genre Mysteries:  Cross-genre fiction blends the themes, tropes, and conventions of two or more distinct literary genres. It doesn’t fit neatly into one category. A Cross-Genre Mystery is a story that retains a central investigation or puzzle at its heart, but layers in other distinct genre such as science fiction, fantasy, and Westerns. For this next issue, we are not including historical mysteries, as we have had five Historical Mystery issues of Mystery Readers Journal on that theme. 

We did have a past issue on Cross-Genre Mysteries in 1999: (Volume 15: No. 1). It's unavailable as PDF or print, but have a look at the Table of Contents. 

Have a question? Send me an email at:  Janet @ mysteryreaders. org

If you have a mystery that fits the Cross-Genre theme, please consider writing an Author! Author! essay: 500–1500 words, first person, up-close and personal about yourself, your books, and the theme connection. 

We’re also looking for reviews and articles. 

Send submissions to janet @ mysteryreaders . org 

Deadline: May 20, 2026. 

Author Essays are first person, about yourself, your books, and the "Cross-Genre" connection. 500-1000 words. Treat this as if you're chatting with friends and other writers in the bar or cafe (or on zoom) about your work and the cross-genre theme in your mysteries. Be sure and cite specific titles, as well as how you use both genres in your books. Add title and 2-3 sentence bio. 

Reviews: 50-250 words. 

Articles: 500-1000 words. 

Deadline: August 20, 2026  

Send to: Janet Rudolph, Editor. janet @ mysteryreaders . org  

Subject Line:  Cross-Genre Mysteries

Please let me know if you're planning to send an article, review, or author essay--or if you have any questions! 

Subscribe to Mystery Readers Journal for 2026.

Themes in 2026: Fairs, Fetes, & Festivals; Mysteries set in France, Cross-Genre Mysteries; Mysteries set in India.

Many back issues available as PDF downloads. Here are just a few. 

Southern California: Mystery Readers Journal

Senior Sleuths: Mystery Readers Journal

Irish Mysteries: Mystery Readers Journal

Hobbies & Crafts in Mysteries: Mystery Readers Journal

And so many more... We are now in our 42nd year. 4 themed issues a year! 

Have a look at our index of fabulous issues with articles, reviews, and essays from your favorite authors and reviewers. 

***

CLAYMORE AWARD FINALISTS 2026

2026 Claymore Finalists

Clay Stafford of the Killer Nashville International Writers' Conference announced this year's Silver Falchion and Claymore Award Finalists. The Silver Falchion Award is given for the Best Book in each category for the previous year (2025). The Claymore Award is given to a diverse collection of the top unpublished manuscripts submitted in 2026. The winners in each category will be announced at the annual Killer Nashville Awards Dinner taking place on August 22nd at the Embassy Suites Nashville South/Cool Springs Hotel in Franklin, TN.
 
Best Action/Adventure
 
The Veiled Mosaic / Christopher Boswell 
Cleopatra's Tomb / Mark Bruce 
Free Economic Zone / J Reid Graham
Dynamite / James Hamilton
The Peacock Throne / Shaun Singh
The Lost Patrol of Black Virgin Mountain / Rick St John
 
Best Children's
 
Leo and the Chess Game of Ashoka / Jaya Agrawl
The Locker of Legends / Nate Searle
 
Best Comedy (includes comedic P.I. and crime caper)
 
The Yellow Willie Incident / Kathleen Kaska
How to Keep a Secret in Alabama / Beth Hamer Miles
Stuck in Stowe / Matthew Minson
 
 
Best Cozy
 
A Truth Most Inconvenient / Elizabeth Abram
Reel Danger in the Dunes / Maggie Cleland
The Doll's House / Lucinda Gerlitz 
Steeped in Gossip / Cathey Rhamy
Alaskan Falls / Lori Sandrock
A Venetian Moonlight Murder / Jacquie Wilvers
 
Best Historical 
 
A Proof Against Ghosts / SR Chamberlain
Hollow Whispers of the Wind / Florence Chien
Hero Traitor Spy / Mark Clemens
The Hidebehind: A Folk Hymnal / John Essex 
Winterburn / DJ           Mattos
The White Diamond / Howard Sewell
 
Best Investigator (includes procedural, serious P.I., detective, and noir)
 
In Plain Sight / Jacquelyn Dohoney
Hunting the Archer / John Foley
Victim’s Voice / Henry James Kaye
Reflections in the Mist / Avram Lavinsky
Centaur Standing / Clare Monteschio
Return to Newstead Hills / CJ Prince
 
Best Juvenile / Y.A.
 
The Ravenspur Mystery / Judy Broad
Cinch / Mary Lynn Cloghesy
Mr. Larson's Tooth / Stephanie Duquette
Three Against Time / Alan Elliot
An Evil on Stanton Street / Janelle Gabay 
Early Decision / A.L. Phillips
  
Best Literary
 
Ghost of Bosnia / Micheal Blankenship
It's Always the Boyfriend / CJ Howell
The Unbroken Trail / Robert Jones
Boys of Autumn / Robert Jones
This Land Remembers / B Michael Whitis
Sacred Ghosts / Carol Potenza
 
Best Mainstream / Commercial
 
Checkpoint / GK Daffu 
The Yeoman of Humboldt County / Brian Heit
Collinwood / Phil Kushner
Hope House/ M Leigh
The Colony / Maria Lynn Barrs 
The Lights of Kirrie / Jennifer Rewick 
 
Best Mystery
 
Exit, Wound / Mark Dillman
The Mystery of the Wolf / David Goodlett
Answers Will Come / Henry James Kaye
All the Buried Secrets / Kim Nuesse
The Holiday Slayer / Janet Shawgo
The End of Us / Elissa Thompson
  
Best Nonfiction
 
Rebelle / Wendy Cooper
Count Time / Emmett Tatter
 
Best Sci-Fi / Fantasy
 
Origins of the Zodiac: Year of the Dragon / Rebecca Camillo-Amisano
What We Awaken / Peregrine Finn
When the Clock Strikes / Lydia Gullicksen
The Consciousness of Life and Death / WB Henley
The Watcher / Lynn Jerdal
The Castello Della Mente / John Morrison
 
Best Short Story Collection / Anthology (awarded to individual author or collection editor)
 
Ten Terrific, Terrifying, and Tantalizing Tales of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, and Action / John Bias
Invincible Summer / Andrew Dunn
A Feel for Other People / S Foster Jones
Ain’t Nothin’ Finer- Tales of Appalachia / Venita Lynn Bonds
Between Breath and Bone / Patricia Thorpe
 
Best Southern Gothic
 
The Silence We Inherit / Leigh Bravo
Mississippi Gothic / Elise Burke Brown
A Miracle Past Midnight / Aimee Hardy
The Book Conservator / Shelley Marsh
God Don't Live Here Anymore / Patricia Thorpe
 
Best Supernatural
 
Blood on the Ground / Stephanie Duquette
Hearts and Minds / Kat Horowitz
Moon Child / Sable Pena
Dark Noise / Christopher Allan Poe
Daughters of the Last Breath / Patricia Thorpe
The Wayfarer / Whitney Weldon
 
Best Suspense
 
Fuck, Marry, Kill / LB Blackburne
Colossus Descending / Steven Brody
Needle of Deception / Denise Jendusa
Queenwood / Meredith Pate
The Eleventh Child / Chas Shutt
Aftermath / Deana Willis
 
Best Thriller
 
Fifteen Hours to Redondo / Michael Collins
Blood Cache / Jim Doramus
Blood Cache / Kevin Kuhans
Richmond Rising / Stephen Nathanson
The Whisper Book / Jack Sharman
Ties that Bind / Charles A. Stewart
 
Best True Crime
 
The Gravity of Millions / NR Gibson
Down at the Balinese / Matthew Minson
Erased: The Sinister Plot behind the Disappearance of Charles Wilding / Mark O'Donnell
 
Best Western
 
A Cowboy in Black and Gold / Matthew Gallagher
Windfall / Rebecca Jarnes