Hammett Prize Nominees

The North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers announced the nominees for their annual HAMMETT PRIZE for a work of literary excellence in the field of crime writing by a US or Canadian author.

The nominees:

Jonathan Eig, Get Capone: The Secret Plot That Captured America's Most Wanted Gangster (Simon & Schuster)
Tom Franklin, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter: A Novel (William Morrow)
T. Jefferson Parker, Iron River (Dutton)
Olen Steinhauer, The Nearest Exit (St. Martin's/Minotaur)

A reading committee of IACW/NA members selected the nominees, based on recommendations from other members and the publishing community. The committee was headed by Jillian Abbott and included J. Madison Davis, Robert Knightly, Annette Meyers, and Ann Romeo.

The winner will be chosen by three outside judges: David Savran (Distinguished Professor of Theatre, CUNY Graduate Center), author of Highbrow/Lowdown: Theater, Jazz, and the Making of the New
Middle Class; Bonnie Scherr, owner of Baltimore's Ivy Book Shop; and Robin Whitten, Editor of AudioFile.

The organization will name the HAMMETT PRIZE winner on September 20, in Atlantic City, during the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) Fall Conference. The winner will receive a bronze trophy, designed by California sculptor Peter Boiger.