MWA's Grand Master Award represents the pinnacle of achievement in mystery writing and was established to acknowledge important contributions to this genre, as well as a body of work that is both significant and of consistent high quality. The award will be presented at the Edgar Awards Banquet, which will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City on Thursday, May 2, 2013.
Ken Follett is the best-selling author of twenty novels, and has sold more than 100 million books since he began writing in the 1970’s. His career has been wide reaching and after mastering the mystery genre, he expanded into literary epic fiction, TV, movies and children’s books. Following Eye of the Needle Follett’s string of suspenseful and original thrillers included Triple, The Key to Rebecca, The Man from St. Petersburg and Lie Down with Lions. His sweeping historical drama Pillars of the Earth has been on bestseller lists for years, followed by World Without End, Fall of Giants, and Winter of the World. Follett lives in the U.K. with his wife Barbara Follett.
Margaret Maron is the author of twenty-six novels and two short story collections. Her first mystery, One Coffee With, was published in 1981, and was the beginning of her Sigrid Harald series featuring a New York City police officer. But it wasn’t until 1992, and a fictional return to her North Carolina roots, with Bootlegger’s Daughter (the first of the Deborah Knott series), that Maron was awarded an Edgar, Agatha, Anthony and Macavity award. Maron’s works are on the reading lists of courses in contemporary Southern literature and have been translated into 16 languages. She has served as president of Sisters in Crime, the American Crime Writers League, and Mystery Writers of America. She and her husband live on her family's century-old farm a few miles southeast of Raleigh, which inspired the setting for Bootlegger's Daughter.
One mystery bookstore and one outstanding individual supporting the mystery book genre will be honored with the 2013 Raven Award. Established in 1953, the award recognizes outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing. The Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore in San Diego and Redondo Beach, California, and veteran newspaper journalist Oline Cogdill will receive the 2013 Raven Awards.
The Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego was opened by Terry Gillman, Maryelizabeth Hart and Jeff Mariotte in 1993. The bookshop has not only served their customers, but has contributed to their community with several successful literacy programs benefiting local schools, libraries and businesses. In 2011, they opened the Redondo Beach store, in the greater LA area. This store has a state-of-the-art media room and adjoining café, and stocks some 15,000 to 20,000 books in a renovated 4,000 square-foot facility.
Oline Cogdill has been a journalist for more than twenty-five years, and is the mystery columnist for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. She was awarded the 1999 Sun-Sentinel's Pettijohn Award and the 1999 Ellen Nehr Award for Excellence in Mystery Reviewing by the American Crime Writers League. Her reviews are syndicated nationwide.
The 2013 Ellery Queen Award will be given to Johnny Temple, founder and editor of Akashic Books. The Ellery Queen award is given to editors or publishers who have distinguished themselves by their generous and wide- ranging support of the genre.
In 2004, Akashic Books launched their Noir Series of short stories about a particular city. Brooklyn Noir was the first to be followed by fifty-five more. Pete Hamill, Laura Lippman, Dennis Lehane, S. J. Rozan, George Pelecanos, Ken Bruen, and Joyce Carol Oates are among the many contributors. Two stories published in the Series have won the Edgar for Best Short Story, and the Series has been recognized with nominations and awards throughout the mystery and literary world, from the Shamus, Derringer, Macavity, and Anthony Awards to the Pushcart Prize. Under the guidance of Johnny Temple, the Noir Series has become an important presence in the mystery community.
Just wanted to mention that Mysterious Galaxy is not the only mystery bookstore in Southern California- Book'em Mysteries in South Pasadena is the oldest, the only crime fiction bookstore left in Los Angeles county, the only one with it's original owners for twenty three years!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jean, and, of course, I was going from the press release. I'll fix that.
ReplyDeleteThe award winners are all very deserving. I love Margaret Maron's books. Didn't realize that Akashic has 55 in the Noir series.
ReplyDeleteVery impressive.