Monday, October 7, 2024

THE MACAVITY AWARDS 2024



The Macavity Awards 2024
(for works published in 2023)

The Macavity Award is named after Macavity: The Mystery Cat, in T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, published 85 years ago today! So glad that Macavity lives on. To read the poem, scroll down. 

The Macavity Awards are nominated and voted on by members of Mystery Readers International, subscribers to Mystery Readers Journal, and friends of MRICongratulations to all.

Macavity Awards 2024
For works published in 2023

Best Mystery
 
All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron Books)

Best First Mystery

Best Mystery Short Story

“Ticket to Ride” by Dru Ann Love and Kristopher Zgorski, (Happiness is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of The Beatles, ed. Josh Pachter, Down & Out Books)

Sue Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Mystery

Best Mystery-related Nonfiction/Critical 

Finders: Justice, Faith, and Identity in Irish Crime Fiction by Anjili Babbar (Syracuse University Press)

***
Macavity: The Mystery Cat by T.S. Eliot

Macavity’s a Mystery Cat: he’s called the Hidden Paw—
For he’s the master criminal who can defy the Law.
He’s the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad’s despair:
For when they reach the scene of crime—Macavity’s not there!

Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity,
He’s broken every human law, he breaks the law of gravity.
His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare,
And when you reach the scene of crime—Macavity’s not there!
You may seek him in the basement, you may look up in the air—
But I tell you once and once again, Macavity’s not there!

Macavity’s a ginger cat, he’s very tall and thin;
You would know him if you saw him, for his eyes are sunken in.
His brow is deeply lined with thought, his head is highly domed;
His coat is dusty from neglect, his whiskers are uncombed.
He sways his head from side to side, with movements like a snake;
And when you think he’s half asleep, he’s always wide awake.

Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity,
For he’s a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity.
You may meet him in a by-street, you may see him in the square—
But when a crime’s discovered, then Macavity’s not there!

He’s outwardly respectable. (They say he cheats at cards.)
And his footprints are not found in any file of Scotland Yard’s.
And when the larder’s looted, or the jewel-case is rifled,
Or when the milk is missing, or another Peke’s been stifled,
Or the greenhouse glass is broken, and the trellis past repair—
Ay, there’s the wonder of the thing! Macavity’s not there!

And when the Foreign Office find a Treaty’s gone astray,
Or the Admiralty lose some plans and drawings by the way,
There may be a scrap of paper in the hall or on the stair—
But it’s useless to investigate—Macavity’s not there!
And when the loss has been disclosed, the Secret Service say:
‘It must have been Macavity!’—but he’s a mile away.
You’ll be sure to find him resting, or a-licking of his thumbs;
Or engaged in doing complicated long division sums.

Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity,
There never was a Cat of such deceitfulness and suavity.
He always has an alibi, and one or two to spare:
At whatever time the deed took place—MACAVITY WASN’T THERE!
And they say that all the Cats whose wicked deeds are widely known
(I might mention Mungojerrie, I might mention Griddlebone)
Are nothing more than agents for the Cat who all the time
Just controls their operations: the Napoleon of Crime!



Sunday, October 6, 2024

Robert J. Randisi: R.I.P.

Boy, this is sad news. Robert J. Randisi (Bob) passed away. I don't have a lot of details yet, but I'll post when I have them. Right now, I'm reeling from the news. Bob could be tough and brash like his characters, but he was also positive and supportive of other writers and the mystery community. 

Bob was born August 24, 1951. He wrote over 650 books in the Mystery, Western, Adventure, and Fantasy genres, as well as being an Editor and Screenwriter. Bob founded The Private Eye Writers of America in 1981, where he created the Shamus Award. He also co-founded The American Crime Writers League; co-founded Western Fictioneers, and co-created the Peacemaker Award. 

Read this interview with Ali Karim in Shots Magazine.

Rest in Peace, Bob!

More information to come about Memorial.

Cartoon of the Day: SURVIVING THE HARSH WINTER

I love Tom Gauld's "literary" comics!


Friday, October 4, 2024

What Do You Call Your Characters? Guest Post by Margaret Fenton

My name is Margaret Fenton, and I write the Claire Conover social work mystery series. All the titles in the series begin with the word Little, since Claire works with little kids. I’ve been told I can make this post on the topic of my choice. Hmmm. So many options.
          

One of my favorite topics to ask other writers about is character naming. Do authors find it difficult to name their characters or do they just show up in their heads with their names intact? The late, great cozy writer Anne George once said that her family never, ever recognized themselves in her novels. Especially when they were the bad guys.

            

When I started writing Little Lamb Lost mumble-mumble years ago (it’s been a while), I knew I wanted to start with a character who would honor my parents. My parents read books every day, mostly mysteries, and shelves of them filled the home where I grew up and fostered in me an insatiable love of reading. I knew Claire would be a child welfare social worker, based on an amalgamation of social workers I worked with in real life when I was a Mental Health consultant for the Jefferson County Department of Human Resources in Birmingham, Alabama. Claire, of course, is younger than me, prettier than me, and much more dedicated to her career than I was. She is busy, and she stays that way. My mother’s middle name was Claire, and my father’s middle name is Conover. Bingo. I had a protagonist.

            

Other characters have been a bit more difficult. Claire has two men in her life. The first is her boyfriend, whom she meets in the first book. He’s tall, geeky, and terribly kind. I wanted a name for him that portrayed kindness, so he became Grant. His last name is Summerville, because summer is my favorite season and suggests fun times at the beach or on the water. The second man in her life is Kirk Mahoney. He’s not so kind, but he is terribly handsome and flirtatious. I’ve always loved the name Kirk, and there is a well-known restaurant in coastal Mississippi where my husband and I had our rehearsal dinner, and that’s where I got the name Mahoney. Both Grant and Kirk are based on my husband, who embodies nearly all of their characteristics.

            

In book two, Little Girl Gone, Claire meets a thirteen-year-old girl who is essentially on her own. Her name is LaReesa Jones, and she is one of the few characters who arrived in my mental space with name, physical features, and attitude all intact. She was supposed to be in one scene, in which Claire is searching for a young lady who has run away from her foster home. But LaReesa would not stay in one scene. She made it very clear she was going to be in the rest of that book, as well as the rest of them. She is outspoken and resilient, and honestly, my favorite character. We are working to improve her salty language.

            

I hope readers out there will join Claire and her cohorts as she is inevitably drawn into dangerous investigations. I love to hear from readers and you can reach me through my website at www.margaretfenton.com. Thanks for having me here!


***

Margaret Fenton writes the Little mystery series featuring child welfare social worker Claire Conover.  Her latest is Little Boy Blue. Margaret spent nearly ten years as a child and family therapist for her county’s child welfare department before focusing on writing. Hence, her work tends to reflect her interest in social causes and mental health, especially where kids are concerned. She has been a planning coordinator of Murder in the Magic City since its inception in 2003. Margaret lives in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover with her husband, a retired software developer, and their adorable Papillons.