CRIME WRITERS OF CANADA 2022 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE SHORTLISTS

Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) announced the Shortlists for the 2022 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing. Started in 1984, the annual Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, then known as the Arthur Ellis Awards, recognizes the best in mystery, crime, and suspense fiction, and crime nonfiction by Canadian authors.

Winners will be announced Thursday 26 May 2022.

Best Crime Novel sponsored by Rakuten Kobo, 

with a $1000 prize

Linwood Barclay, Find You First, William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. 
Daniel Kalla, Lost Immunity, Simon & Schuster 
Dietrich Kalteis, Under the Outlaw Moon, ECW Press 
Shari Lapena, Not a Happy Family, Doubleday Canada 
Roz Nay, The Hunted, Simon & Schuster

Best Crime First Novel sponsored by Writers First, with a $500 prize

Ashley Audrain, The Push, Viking Canada 
Fiona King Foster, The Captive, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. 
Byron TD Smith, Windfall: A Henry Lysyk Mystery, Shima Kun Press 
Katherine Walker, All Is Well, Thistledown Press 
David Whitton, Seven Down, Rare Machines an imprint of Dundurn Press

The Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery 

sponsored by Jane Doe, with a $500 prize

Candas Jane Dorsey, What’s the Matter with Mary Jane?, ECW Press 
Alice Bienia, Three Dog Knight, Cairn Press 
Jackie Elliott, Hell's Half Acre, Joffe Books 
Catherine Macdonald, So Many Windings, At Bay Press 
Vicki Delany, Murder in a Teacup, Kensington Publishing Corp

The Howard Engel Award for Best Crime Novel Set in Canada 

sponsored by The Engel Family, with a $500 prize

C. S. Porter, Beneath Her Skin, Vagrant Press / Nimbus Publishing Inc. 
Cathy Ace, Corpse with an Iron Will, Four Tails Publishing Inc. 
Alice Walsh, Death on Darby’s Island, Vagrant Press / Nimbus Publishing Inc. 
Sam Wiebe, Hell and Gone, Harbour Publishing Co. Inc. 
Kevin Major, Three for Trinity, Breakwater Books

Best Crime Novella sponsored by Mystery Magazine, with a $200 prize

Marcelle Dubé, Identity Withheld, Falcon Ridge Publishing 
Brenda Gayle, Murder in Abstract (A Charly Hall Mystery, book 6), Bowstring Books 
Wayne Ng, Letters From Johnny, Guernica Editions 
Elvie Simons, Not So Fast, Dr. Quick, Dell Magazines

Best Crime Short Story sponsored by Mystery Magazine, 

with a $300 prize

Pam Barnsley, What can You Do?, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine 
Hilary Davidson, Weed Man, Dell Magazines 
Elizabeth Elwood, Number 10 Marlborough Place, Dell Magazines 
Charlotte Morganti, All My Darlings, Die Laughing: An Anthology of Humorous Mysteries 
Melissa Yi, Dead Man's Hand, Dell Magazines

Best French Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction)

Roxanne Bouchard, Le murmure des hakapiks, Libre Expression 
Marc-André Chabot, Dis-moi qui doit vivre… Libre Expression 
Guillaume Morrissette, Conduite dangereuse, Saint-Jean 
Patrick Senécal, Flots, Editions Alire 
Richard Ste-Marie, Stigmates, Editions Alire

Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction) 

sponsored by Shaftesbury, with a $500 prize

Karen Bass, Blood Donor, Orca Book Publishers 
Rachelle Delaney, Alice Fleck's Recipes for Disaster, Puffin Canada 
Cherie Dimaline, Hunting By Stars, Penguin Teen 
Kevin Sands, The Traitor's Blade, Aladdin (Simon & Schuster) 
Jordyn Taylor, Don't Breathe a Word, HarperTeen (HarperCollins Publishers)

The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book 

sponsored by Simpson & Wellenreiter LLP, Hamilton, with a $300 prize

Sarah Berman, Don't Call it a Cult, Viking Canada 
Aaron Chapman, Vancouver Vice: Crime and Spectacle in the City's West End, Arsenal Pulp Press 
Catherine Fogarty, Murder on the Inside: The True Story of the Deadly Riot at Kingston Penitentiary, Biblioasis 
Nate Hendley, The Beatle Bandit, Dundurn Press 
Lorna Poplak, The Don: The Story of Toronto's Infamous Jail, Dundurn Press

The Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript 

sponsored by ECW Press, with a $500 prize

Delee Fromm, The Strength to Rise 
Pam Isfeld, Captives 
Renee Lehnen, Elmington 
Katie Mac, Ken's Corner 
Mark Thomas, Part Time Crazy

CWC announces the 2022 Grand Master Award recipient Louise Penny.

Louise Penny’s debut novel, Still Life, not only won CWC Award for Best First Novel but also the New Blood Dagger, Anthony and Barry awards. Since then, Louise Penny has penned over sixteen Inspector Gamache novels, won many more awards, become an International Bestseller and Canadian icon. Inspector Gamache is being adapted for television by Left Bank Productions with Alfred Molina playing the beloved detective. Her most recent book, State of Terror, was written with 2016 U.S. Presential candidate Hilary Clinton, a literary coup and another bestseller.

About Crime Writers of Canada

Crime Writers of Canada was founded in 1982 as a professional organization designed to raise the profile of Canadian crime writers. Our members include authors, publishers, editors, booksellers, librarians, reviewers, and literary agents as well as many developing authors. Past winners of the Awards have included such major names in Canadian crime writing as Mario Bolduc, Gail Bowen, Stevie Cameron, Howard Engel, Barbara Fradkin, Louise Penny, Peter Robinson and Eric Wright. We would like to thank ECW Press, Rakuten Kobo, Mystery Magazine, Shaftesbury, Simpson and Wellenreiter LLP (Hamilton), Writers First, Jane Doe and the Howard Engel family for their sponsorship, and the many participating publishers for their continued support. 
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