CRIME WRITERS OF CANADA 2022 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE

CRIME WRITERS OF CANADA ANNOUNCES THE 2022 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE

Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) announced the winners 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. 

The presentation of the winners can be viewed on CWC’s YouTube channel: https://tinyurl.com/zshycwcyt 

Best Crime Novel sponsored by Rakuten Kobo, with a $1000 prize 

Dietrich Kalteis, Under an Outlaw Moon, ECW Press 

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

Ashley Audrain, The Push, Viking Canada 

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 

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. 

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

Wayne Ng, Letters From Johnny, Guernica Editions 

Best Crime Short Story sponsored by Mystery Magazine, with a $300 prize 

Elizabeth Elwood, Number 10 Marlborough Place, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine 

Best French Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction) Patrick Senécal, Flots, Editions Alire 

Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction) sponsored by Shaftesbury, with a $500 prize 

Kevin Sands, The Traitor's Blade, Aladdin (Simon & Schuster) 

The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book sponsored by Simpson & Wellenreiter LLP, Hamilton, with a $300 prize 

Nate Hendley, The Beatle Bandit, Dundurn Press 

The Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript sponsored by ECW Press, with a $500 prize 

Renee Lehnen, Elmington 

 ***

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. Members include authors, publishers, editors, booksellers, librarians, reviewers, and literary agents as well as many developing authors. Past winners of the Awards have included major names in Canadian crime writing such as Mario Bolduc, Gail Bowen, Stevie Cameron, Howard Engel, Barbara Fradkin, Louise Penny, Peter Robinson and Eric Wright.

 

2020 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS for Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing

Crime Writers of Canada just announced the Winners of the 2020 Arthur Ellis Awards. Congratulations to all!


Best Crime Novel sponsored by Rakuten Kobo with a $1000 prize 
Michael Christie, Greenwood, MacClelland & Stewart

The Best Crime First Novel sponsored by Maureen Jennings with a $500 prize 
Philip Elliott, Nobody Move, Into the Void Press

Best Novella sponsored by Mystery Weekly with a $200 prize 
Wayne Arthurson, The Red Chesterfield, University of Calgary Press

Best Short Story sponsored by Mystery Weekly with a $300 prize
Peter Sellers, Closing Doors, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine

Best French Book
Andrée Michaud, Tempêtes, Éditions Québec Amériques

Best Juvenile or YA Book sponsored by Shaftesbury with a $500 prize
Tom Ryan, Keep This to Yourself, Albert Whitman & Company

Best Nonfiction Book
Charlotte Gray, Murdered Midas: A Millionaire, His Gold Mine, and a Strange Death on an Island

The Unhanged Arthur Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript sponsored by Dundurn Press with a $500 prize
Liz Rachel Walker, The Dieppe Letters

ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS SHORTLISTS: Crime Writers of Canada

Crime Writers of Canada is pleased to announce the shortlists for the 2020 Arthur Ellis Awards.

Best Crime Novel sponsored by Rakuten Kobo with a $1000 prize 
Michael Christie, Greenwood, MacClelland & Stewart
Ian Hamilton, Fate, House of Anansi Press
Nicole Lundrigan, Hideaway, Penguin Random House Canada
Marissa Stapley, The Last Resort, Simon & Schuster Canada
Loreth Anne White, In the Dark, Montlake Romance

The Angela Harrison Memorial Award for Best Crime First Novel sponsored by Maureen Jennings with a $500 prize 
Philip Elliott, Nobody Move, Into the Void Press
Denis Coupal, Blindshot, Linda Leith Publishing
Nicole Bross, Past Presence, Literary Wanderlust

Best Crime Novella sponsored by Mystery Weekly with a $200 prize 
Wayne Arthurson, The Red Chesterfield, University of Calgary Press
Barbara Fradkin, Blood Ties, Orca Book Publishers
Brenda Chapman, Too Close to Home, Grass Roots Press
Melodie Campbell, The Goddaughter Does Vegas, Orca Book Publishers
Devon Shepherd, The Woman in Apartment 615, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine

Best Crime Short Story sponsored by Mystery Weekly with a $300 prize
Y.S. Lee, In Plain Sight, Life is Short and Then You Die, Macmillan Publishers
Peter Sellers, Closing Doors, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
Zandra Renwick, The Dead Man's Dog, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine

Best French Crime Book 
Louis Carmain, Les offrandes, VLB Éditeur
Andrée Michaud, Tempêtes, Éditions Québec Amériques
Martin Michaud, Ghetto X, Libre Expression
Guillaume Morrissette, Le tribunal de la rue Quirion, Guy Saint-Jean Éditeur
Félix Ravenelle-Arcouette, Le cercle de cendres, Héliotrope

Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book sponsored by Shaftesbury with a $500 prize 
Liam O'Donnell & Mike Dean, Tank & Fizz: The Case of the Tentacle Terror, Orca Book Publishers
Jo Treggiari, The Grey Sisters, Penguin Teen
Tom Ryan, Keep This to Yourself, Albert Whitman & Company
David A. Robertson, Ghosts, HighWater Press

Best Nonfiction Crime Book 
Katie Daubs, The Missing Millionaire: The True Story of Ambrose Small and the City Obsessed with Finding Him, MacClelland & Stewart
Kevin Donovan, The Billionaire Murders, Penguin Random House
Debra Komar, The Court of Better Fiction, Dundurn Press
Vanessa Brown, The Forest City Killer: A Serial Murderer, a Cold-Case Sleuth, and a Search for Justice, ECW Press
Charlotte Gray, Murdered Midas: A Millionaire, His Gold Mine, and a Strange Death on an Island Paradise, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

The Unhanged Arthur Award for Best Unpublished Crime Manuscript sponsored by Dundurn Press with a $500 prize 
B.L. Smith, Bert Mintenko and the Serious Business
K.P. Bartlett, Henry's Bomb Max Folsom, One Bad Day After Another
Liz Rachel Walker, The Dieppe Letters
Pam Barnsley, The River Cage

The Crime Writers of Canada is pleased to announce its 2020 Grand Master Awards. 
The Grand Master Award is presented biennially to recognize a Canadian crime writer with a substantial body of work who has garnered national and international recognition. This year, the Grand Master Award is presented to Peter Robinson.

ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS SHORTLISTS for Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing

2019 Arthur Ellis Awards Shortlists for Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing

The annual Arthur Ellis Awards by Crime Writers of Canada recognizes the best in mystery, crime, and suspense fiction and crime nonfiction by Canadian authors. Winners will be announced on May 23rd at the Arthur Ellis Awards Gala in Toronto. 

BEST CRIME NOVEL
Ron Corbett, Cape Diamond, ECW Press
Anne Emery, Though the Heavens Fall, ECW Press
Lisa Gabriele, The Winters, Doubleday Canada
Louise Penny, Kingdom of the Blind, Minotaur Books
Loreth Anne White, The Girl in the Moss, Montlake Romance


BEST FIRST CRIME NOVEL (Sponsored by Rakuten Kobo)
A.J. Devlin, Cobra Clutch, NeWest Press
Helen C. Escott, Operation Wormwood, Flanker Press
Beverley McLachlin, Full Disclosure, Simon & Schuster Canada 
Bill Prentice, Why Was Rachel Murdered?, Echo Road
Nathan Ripley, Find You in the Dark, Simon & Schuster Canada


BEST CRIME NOVELLA – The Lou Allin Memorial Award
Melodie Campbell, The B-Team: The Case of the Angry First Wife, Orca Book Publishers 
Vicki Delany, Blue Water Hues, Orca Book Publishers
John Lawrence Reynolds, Murder Among the Pines, Orca Book Publishers


BEST CRIME SHORT STORY (Sponsored by Mystery Weekly Magazine) 
Melodie Campbell, A Ship Called Pandora, Mystery Weekly Magazine  
Therese Greenwood, The Power Man, Baby It's Cold Outside, Coffin Hop Press 
Twist Phelan, Game, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
Linda L. Richards, Terminal City, Vancouver Noir, Akashic Books
Sam Wiebe, Wonderful Life, Vancouver Noir, Akashic Books


BEST CRIME BOOK IN FRENCH
Jean-Philippe Bernié, Un dernier baiser avant de te tuer, Libre Expression 
Hervé Gagnon, Adolphus - Une enquête de Joseph Laflamme, Libre Expression 
André Jacques, Ces femmes aux yeux cernés, Éditions Druide
Guillaume Morissette, Deux coups de pied de trop, Guy Saint-Jean Éditeur 
Johanne Seymour, Rinzen la beauté intérieure, Expression noir

BEST JUVENILE/YOUNG ADULT CRIME BOOK
Linwood Barclay, Escape, Puffin Canada
Michelle Barker, The House of One Thousand Eyes, Annick Press 

Kevin Sands, Call of the Wraith, Aladdin
Tim Wynne-Jones, The Ruinous Sweep, Candlewick Press
E.R. Yatscoff, The Rumrunner's Boy, TG & R Books


BEST NONFICTION CRIME BOOK
Patrick Brode, Dying for a Drink: How a Prohibition Preacher Got Away With Murder, Biblioasis
Thomas Giacomaro and Natasha Stoynoff, The King of Con: How a Smooth-Talking Jersey Boy Made and Lost Billions, Baffled the FBI, Eluded the Mob, and Lived to Tell the Crooked Tale, BenBella Books, Inc
Nate Hendley, The Boy on the Bicycle: A Forgotten Case of Wrongful Conviction in Toronto, Five Rivers Publishing
Eve Lazarus, Murder by Milkshake: An Astonishing True Story of Adultery, Arsenic, and a Charismatic Killer, Arsenal Pulp Press
Sarah Weinman, The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel that Scandalized the World, Alfred A. Knopf Canada


BEST UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT – aka The Unhanged Arthur (Sponsored by Dundurn Press) 
Jim Bottomley, Hypnotizing Lions
Don Macdonald, Omand’s Creek
Liv McFarlane, The Scarlet Cross
Heather McLeod, One for the Raven Darrow Woods, The Book of Answers

CWC announces the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award recipient Vicki Delany.

The Derrick Murdoch Award is a special achievement award for contributions to the crime genre. Vicki Delany is a successful and prolific Canadian writer, author of (so far) 34 published books, both standalones and series. She has been a strong supporter and advocate for Canadian crime writers through her work with the Crime Writers of Canada, including serving two terms as Chair of the organization. She has also been a strong supporter of literacy and libraries across Canada and she is one of the founders of the Women Killing It literary festival, which has become a much sought after and sold-out event in Prince Edward County every year.


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. Members include authors, publishers, editors, booksellers, librarians, reviewers, and literary agents as well as many developing authors. Past winners of the “Arthurs” 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.

For more information about the awards, please contact:
Ludvica Boota, Arthur Ellis Awards Manager, arthur_ellis@crimewriterscanada.com

ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS Shortlist: Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing

2018 Arthur Ellis Awards for Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing Shortlists

Annual Arthur Ellis Awards by Crime Writers of Canada recognizes the best in mystery, crime, and suspense writing in fiction and non-fiction by Canadian writers. Winners will be announced on May 24^th at Arthur Ellis Awards Gala in Toronto. Congratulations to all!

  

BEST CRIME NOVEL

The Winners’ Circle, by Gail Bowen, publisher McClelland & Stewart

The Party, by Robyn Harding, publisher Gallery/Scout Press

The White Angel, by John MacLachlan, publisher Gray Douglas and McIntyre

Sleeping in the Ground, by Peter Robinson, publisher McClelland & Stewart

The Forgotten Girl, by Rio Youers, publisher St. Martin’s Press

BEST FIRST CRIME NOVEL sponsored by Rakuten Kobo

Puzzle of Pieces, by Sally Hill Brouard, publisher FriesenPress

Full Curl, by Dave Butler, publisher Dundurn Press

Ragged Lake, by Ron Corbett, publisher ECW Press

Flush, by Sky Curtis, publisher Inanna Publications

Our Little Secret, by Roz Nay, publisher Simon & Schuster Canada, Inc.

BEST CRIME NOVELLA – The Lou Allin Memorial Award

Snake Oil, by M.H. Callway, published in 13 Claws by Carrick Publishing

How Lon Pruitt Was Found Murdered in an Open Field with No Footprints Around, by Mike Culpepper, published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, by Dell 

Blood & Belonging, by Vicki Delany, publisher Orca Book Publishers

Dead Clown Blues, by R. Daniel Lester, publisher Shotgun Honey

Money Maker, by Jas R. Petrin, published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, by Dell

BEST CRIME SHORT STORY

The Outlier, by Catherine Astolfo, published in 13 Claws by Carrick Publishing

There be Dragons, by Jane Petersen Burfield, published in 13 Claws by Carrick Publishing

Jerusalem Syndrome, by Hilary Davidson, published in Passport to Murder Bouchercon Anthology 2017 by Down & Out Books

The Ranchero’s Daughter, by Sylvia Maultash Warsh, published in 13 Claws by Carrick Publishing

The Sin Eaters, by Melissa Yi, published in Montreal Noir by Akashic Noir

BEST NONFICTION CRIME BOOK

Murder in Plain English, by Michael Arntfield and Marcel Danesi, publisher Prometheus Books

The Whisky King, by Trevor Cole, publisher HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

Blood, Sweat and Fear, by Eve Lazarus, publisher Arsenal Pulp Press

The Dog Lover Unit, by Rachel Rose, publisher St. Martin's Press

Police Wife: The Secret Epidemic of Police Domestic Violence, by Alex Roslin, publisher Sugar Hill Books

BEST JUVENILE/YOUNG ADULT CRIME BOOK

Missing, by Kelley Armstrong, publisher Penguin Random House Doubleday Canada

Chase - Get Ready to Run, by Linwood Barclay, publisher Penguin Random House Puffin Canada

The Disappearance, by Gillian Chan, publisher Annick Press Ltd.

Thistlewood, by Donna Chubaty, publisher Grasmere Publishing

The Lives of Desperate Girls, by MacKenzie Common, publisher Penguin Random House Penguin Teen Canada

BEST CRIME BOOK IN FRENCH

Amqui, by Éric Forbes, publisher Héliotrope Noir

La vie rêvée de Frank Bélair, by Maxime Houde, publisher Éditions Alire Inc.

Les clefs du silence, by Jean Lemieux, publisher Québec Amérique

La mort en bleu pastel, by Maryse Rouy, publisher Éditions Druide

Les Tricoteuses, by Marie Saur, publisher Héliotrope Noir

BEST UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT sponsored by Dundurn Press

The Alibi Network by Raimey Gallant

Finn Slew by Ken MacQueen

Destruction in Paradise by Dianne Scott

Dig, Dug, Dead by Sylvia Teaves

Condemned by Kevin Thornton

The Crime Writers of Canada Grand Master Award for 2018 will be presented to Gail Bowen

Gail Bowen is being recognized by Crime Writers of Canada for her long and illustrious career as a crime fiction author. She has almost 20 books in her long running Joanne Kilbourn series, several of which were either nominated for or received awards, including the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel in 1994, for A Colder Kind of Death. She has also written four Rapid Reads novellas and several plays. She is well established in Canada, highly respected in the writing community and much sought after by readers. She is frequently a guest at literary events. Several of her Joanne Kilbourn books were turned into a TV series.

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. 

Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Awards Shortlist

Crime Writers of Canada announced the shortlists for the 2017 Arthur Ellis Awards for Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing.

Best Novel 
Kelley Armstrong, City of the Lost, Penguin Random House of Canada
Michael Helm, After James, McClelland & Stewart
Maureen Jennings, Dead Ground in Between, McClelland & Stewart
Janet Kellough, Wishful Seeing, Dundurn Press
Donna Morrissey, The Fortunate Brother, Viking Canada

Best First Novel sponsored by Kobo 
Ryan Aldred, Rum Luck, Five Star Publishing
R.M.Greenaway, Cold Girl, Dundurn Press
Mark Lisac, Where the Bodies Lie, NeWest Press
Amy Stuart, Still Mine, Simon & Schuster Canada
Elle Wild, Strange Things Done, Dundurn Press

Best Novella: The Lou Allin Memorial Award 
Rick Blechta, Rundown, Orca Book Publishers
Brenda Chapman, No Trace, Grass Roots Press
Jas. R. Petrin, The Devil You Know, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Dell Publishing
Linda L. Richards, When Blood Lies, Orca Book Publishers
Peter Robinson, The Village That Lost Its Head, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Dell Publishing

Best Short Story 
Cathy Ace, Steve’s Story, The Whole She-Bang 3, Toronto Sisters in Crime
Susan Daly, A Death at the Parsonage, The Whole She-Bang 3, Toronto Sisters in Crime
Elizabeth Hosang, Where There’s a Will, The Whole She-Bang 3, Toronto Sisters in Crime
Scott Mackay, The Ascent, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Dell Publishing
David Morrell, The Granite Kitchen, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Dell Publishing

Best Book in French 
Marie-Eve Bourassa, Red Light: Adieu, Mignonne, Groupe Ville-Marie Littérature, vlb éditions
Chrystine Brouillet, Vrai ou faux, Éditions Druide
Guillaume Morrissette, Terreur domestique, Guy Saint-Jean Éditeur
Johanne Seymour, Rinzen et l’homme perdu, Libre Expression
Richard Ste-Marie, Le Blues des sacrifiés, Éditions Alire

Best Juvenile/YA Book 
Gordon Korman, Masterminds: Criminal Destiny, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd.
Nora McClintock, Trial by Fire, Orca Book Publishers
John Moss, The Girl in a Coma, The Poisoned Pencil-Poisoned Pen Press
Caroline Pignat, Shooter, Tundra Books
Eva Wiseman, Another Me, Tundra Books

Best Nonfiction Book 
Christie Blatchford, Life Sentence: Stories from Four Decades of Court Reporting — or, How I Fell Out of Love with the Canadian Justice System, Doubleday Canada
Joe Friesen, The Ballad of Danny Wolfe: Life of a Modern Outlaw, Signal McClelland & Stewart
Jeremy Grimaldi, A Daughter's Deadly Deception: The Jennifer Pan Story, Dundurn Press
Debra Komar, Black River Road: An Unthinkable Crime, an Unlikely Suspect, and the Question of Character, Goose Lane
Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon, Shadow of Doubt: The Trial of Dennis Oland, Goose Lane

Unhanged Arthur for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel sponsored by Dundurn Press 
Mary Fernando, An Absence of Empathy
S.J. Jennings, The Golkonda Project
Charlotte Morganti, Concrete Becomes Her
Ann Shortell, Celtic Knot
Mark Thomas, The Last Dragon

CWC announces the 2017 Derrick Murdoch Award recipient Christina Jennings. The Derrick Murdoch Award is a special achievement award for contributions to the crime genre. This year's recipient is Christina Jennings, founder, Chairman and CEO of Shaftesbury Films. She has won a number of awards, including Genies, Geminis and Canadian Screen Awards, among several other nominations and accolades throughout her career.

Christina founded Shaftesbury Films in 1987 as a feature film company. She has produced movies and television series based upon the work of several Arthur Ellis Award-winning Canadian crime writers including the late novelist and playwright Timothy Findlay (External Affairs), novelists Gail Bowen (the Joanna Kilbourn TV movies) and Maureen Jennings (Murdoch Mysteries), as well as historian Marjorie Freeman Campbell (Torso).

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 from coast to coast. Our members include authors, publishers, editors, booksellers, librarians, reviewers, and literary agents as well as many developing authors. 

For more info about the Arthur Ellis Awards and the shortlists, or for contact information about the finalists, contact Arthur Ellis Awards Administrator Alison Bruce, at arthur_ellis@crimewriterscanada.com.

Arthur Ellis Award Winners for Crime Writing in Canada

Crime Writers of Canada announced the 2016 Arthur Ellis Award winners. Congratulations to All

Best Novel: Peter Kirby, Open Season, Linda Leith Publishing

Best First Novel: Ausma Zehanat Khan, The Unquiet Dead, Minotaur

The Lou Allen Memorial Award for Best Novella: Jeremy Bates, Black Canyon, Dark Hearts, Ghillinnein Books

Best Short Story: Scott Mackay, The Avocado Kid, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine

Best Book in French: Luc Chartrand, L'Affaire Myosotis, Québec Amérique

Best Juvenile/YA: Stephanie Tromly, Trouble is a Friend of Mine, Kathy Dawson Books

Best Nonfiction: Dean Jobb, Empire of Deception, Harper Collins Publishers

The Dundurn Unhanged Arthur for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel: Jayne Barnard, When the Flood Falls

CWC also announced the 2016 Grand Master Winner Eric Wright. Eric Wright wrote eighteen crime novels, in four different series, as well as novels, a novella, and a memoir. Eric’s first novel, The Night the Gods Smiled (1983), won the first Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel, the John Creasey Award from the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA), and the City of Toronto Book Award. The Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn (2000) won an Arthur and was nominated for an Edgar from the Mystery Writers of America (MWA). His writing career spanned over forty years and his contribution to Canadian crime writing was, without question, immense. This was recognized in 1998 when Eric received the Derrick Murdoch Award for lifetime contribution to Canadian crime writing. Eric Wright passed away in October, 2015, shortly after being notified that he had been selected for the Grand Master Award. Eric continued writing until shortly before his death, and in May 2016, Cormorant Books released The Land Mine, a historical novel loosely based on Eric’s own childhood in World War II London.

Crime Writers of Canada was founded in 1982 as a professional organization designed to raise the profile of Canadian crime writers from coast to coast. Members include authors, publishers, editors, booksellers, librarians, reviewers, and literary agents as well as many developing authors.

Crime Writers of Canada 2014 Arthur Ellis Awards

Crime Writers of Canada 2014 Arthur Ellis Award winners, including the winner of the CWC Grand Master Award for Crime Writing in Canada. 

Best Novel
Seán Haldane The Devil’s Making (Stone Flower Press) 

Best First Novel
J. Kent Messum Bait (Penguin Canada) 

Best Novella
Melodie Campbell The Goddaughter’s Revenge (Orca Books) 

Best Short Story
Twist Phelan Footprints in Water (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine) 

Best Book in French
Maureen Martineau L’enfant promis (La courte échelle) 

Best Juvenile/YA
Elizabeth MacLeod Bones Never Lie (Annick Press) 

Best Unpublished First Novel (Unhanged Arthur)
Rachel Greenaway Cold Girl 

This is the inaugural year of the CWC Grand Master Award, intended to recognize Canadian crime writers who have a substantial body of work that has garnered national and international recognition.

This year’s winner of the CWC Grand Master Award is Howard Engel, the author of the award winning Benny Cooperman detective series. A mainstay of the Canadian crime writing 1 scene for many years, Mr. Engel helped put Canadian crime writing on the map at a time when few mysteries were set in this country.

Arthur Ellis Awards

The Crime Writers of Canada announced the winners of the Arthur Ellis Awards tonight in Toronto. Congrats to all!

Best First Novel:
• The Haunting of Maddy Clare, by Simone St. James (NAL)

Best Novel:
• Until the Night, by Giles Blunt (Random House Canada)

Best Novella:
• Contingency Plan, by Lou Allin (Orca Rapid Reads)

Best Short Story:
• “Spring-blade Knife,” by Yasuko Thanh (from Floating Like the Dead, McClelland & Stewart)

Best Non-fiction:
• The Devil’s Cinema: The Untold Story behind Mark Twitchell’s Kill Room, by Steve Lillebuen

Best Juvenile/Young Adult:
• Becoming Holmes, by Shane Peacock (Tundra)

Best Crime Book in French:
• La Nuit des albinos: Sur les traces de Max O’Brien, by Mario Bolduc (Libre Expression)

Best Unpublished First Crime Novel (“The Unhanged Arthur”):
• Sins Revisited, by Coleen Steele

Hat Tip: Deryn Collier who tweeted the winners!

ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS

Crime Writers of Canada announced the 29th annual Arthur Ellis Awards in Toronto on May 31.

Best Novel:
Peter Robinson, Before the Poison (M&S)

Best First Novel
Ian Hamilton, The Water Rat of Wanchai (Spiderline/House of Anansi)

Best Non-Fiction
Joshua Knelman, Hot Art: Chasing Thieves and Detectives through the Secret World of Stolen Art (Douglas & McIntyre)

Best Juvenile/Young Adult
Tim Wynne-Jones, Blink & Caution (Candlewick Press/Random House)

Best Crime Writing in French
Martin Michaud, La chorale du diable (Les Éditions Guélette)
 
Best Short Story
Catherine Astolfo, “What Kelly Did” (Northword Magazine)

Unhanged Arthur (Best Unpublished First Crime Novel)
 Sam Wiebe, Last of the Independents

For all the Nominees, go HERE.

Congratulations to all!

Arthur Ellis Awards Nominees

Crime Writers of Canada Nominees for the 29th annual Arthur Ellis Awards. Winners will be announced in Toronto on May 31.

Best Novel:
Alan Bradley, I Am Half-Sick of Shadows (Doubleday Canada)
William Deverell, I’ll See You in My Dreams (McClelland & Stewart)
Louise Penny, A Trick of the Light (St. Martin’s Press/Raincoast)
Peter Robinson, Before the Poison (M&S)
Robert Rotenberg, The Guilty Plea (Simon & Schuster)

Best Non-Fiction 
Jay Bahader, The Pirates of Somalia (HarperCollins Canada)
Robert Fowler, A Season in Hell (HarperCollins Canada)
Adrian Humphreys, The Weasel: A Double Life in the Mob (John Wiley & Sons Canada)
Joshua Knelman, Hot Art: Chasing Thieves and Detectives through the Secret World of Stolen Art (Douglas & McIntyre)
Steven Laffoley, The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (Pottersfield Press)

Best Juvenile/Young Adult
Becky Citra, Missing (Orca Book Publishers)
Rob Mills, Charlie’s Key (Orca)
Edeet Ravel, Held (Annick Press)
Arthur Slade, Empire of Ruins (HarperCollins Canada)
Tim Wynne-Jones, Blink & Caution (Candlewick Press/Random House)

Best First Novel
Norm Foster, Watching Jeopardy (Xlibris)
Ian Hamilton, The Water Rat of Wanchai (Spiderline/House of Anansi)
Fraser Nixon, The Man Who Killed (D&M)
Sean Slater, The Survivor (S&S)
Roger White, Tight Corner (BPS Books)

Best Short Story
Catherine Astolfo, “What Kelly Did” (Northword Magazine)
Melodie Campbell, “The Perfect Mark” (Flash Fiction Magazine)
Scott Mackay, “The Girl with the Golden Hair” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)
Shane Nelson, “Beer Money” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)
Jas. R. Petrin, “A New Pair of Pants” (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine)

Unhanged Arthur (Best Unpublished First Crime Novel)
William Bonnell, Snake in the Snow
Valerie A. Drego, The Rhymester
Madeleine Harris-Callway, Gunning for Bear
Shane Sawyer, Too Far to Fall
 Sam Wiebe, Last of the Independents

Best Crime Writing in French
 Guillaume Lapierre-Desnoyers, Pour Ne pas mourir ce soir (Lévesque Éditeur)
Martin Michaud, La chorale du diable (Les Éditions Guélette)
 Diane Vincent, Pwazon (Triptyque)

Arthur Ellis Award Nominees: Crime Writers of Canada

Crime Writers of Canada 2011 Arthur Ellis Awards Nominees

Best Novel:
Slow Recoil, by C.B. Forrest (RendezVous Crime)
In Plain Sight, by Mike Knowles (ECW Press)
The Extinction Club, by Jeffrey Moore (Penguin Group)
Bury Your Dead, by Louise Penny (Little, Brown UK)
A Criminal to Remember, by Michael Van Rooy (Turnstone Press)

Best Short Story:
 “So Much in Common,” by Mary Jane Maffini (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
“In It Up to My Neck,” by Jas R. Petrin (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine)
“The Big Touch,” by Jordan McPeek (ThugLit)
“The Piper's Door,” by James Powell (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
“The Bust,” by William Deverall (from Whodunnit: Sun Media’s Canadian Crime Fiction Showcase)

Best Non-Fiction:
On the Farm, by Stevie Cameron (Knopf Canada)
Our Man in Tehran, by Robert Wright (HarperCollins)
Northern Light: The Enduring Mystery of Tom Thomson and the Woman Who Loved Him, by Roy MacGregor (Random House)

Best Juvenile/Young Adult:
Borderline, by Allan Stratton (HarperCollins)
The Worst Thing She Ever Did, by Alice Kuipers (HarperCollins)
Pluto’s Ghost, by Sharee Fitch (Doubleday Canada)
Victim Rights, by Norah McClintock (Red Deer Press)
The Vinyl Princess, by Yvonne Prinz (HarperCollins)

Best Crime Writing in French:
Cinq secondes, by Jacques Savoie (Libre Expression)
Dans le quartier des agités, by Jacques Côté (Alire)
Vanités, by Johanne Seymour (Libre Expression)
La société des pères meurtriers, by Michel Châteauneuf (Vents D’ouest)
Quand la mort s’invite à la première, by Bernard Gilbert
(Québec Amérique)

Best First Novel:
The Damage Done, by Hilary Davidson (Tom Doherty Associates)
The Debba, by Avner Mandleman (Other Press)
The Penalty Killing, by Michael McKinley (McClelland & Stewart)
The Parabolist, by Nicholas Ruddock (Doubleday)
Still Missing, by Chevy Stevens (St. Martin’s Press)

Unhanged Arthur (Best Unpublished First Crime Novel):
Better Off Dead, by John Jeneroux
Uncoiled, by Kevin Thornton
When the Bow Breaks, by Jayne Barnard

Winners will be announced June 2 during the Bloody Words Convention in Victoria, British Columbia.

Arthur Ellis Awards 2010: Shortlist from Crime Writers of Canada

The Arthur Ellis Award Shortlist was announced Thursday night, April 22, 2010. These are the annual awards for the Best in Canadian crime fiction presented by the Crime Writers of Canada.

Best Crime Novel
Aloha, Candy Hearts by Anthony Bidulka
Arctic Blue Death by R.J. Harlick

Finger's Twist by Lee Lamothe 

Death Spiral by James W. Nichol

High Chicago by Howard Shrier

Best First Novel
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
The Cold Light of Mourning by Elizabeth J. Duncan
The Weight of Stones by C.B. Forrest
A Magpie's Smile by Eugene Meese
Darkness at the Stroke of Noon by Dennis Richard Murphy


Best Crime Writing in French
Je compte les morts by Genevieve Lefebvre
Le mort du chemin des Arsène by Jean Lemieux
La faim de la terre by Jean-Jacques Pelletier
Peaux de chagrin by Diane Vincent

Best Non-Fiction

The Fat Mexican: The Bloody rise of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club by Alex Caine

Runaway Devil by Robert Remington and Sherri Zickefoose

The Slasher Killings by Patrick Brode

Post Mortem by Jon Wells

Murder without Borders by Terry Gould

Best Juvenile

Not Suitable for Family Viewing by Vicki Grant.
Haunted by Barbara Haworth-Attard.
Homicide Related by Norah McClintock.
The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade
The Uninvited by Tim Wynne-Jones

Best Unpublished First Crime Novel  (the Unhanged Arthur)
This Cage of Bones by Pam Barnsley
Confined Space by Deryn Collier
The Corpse Flower by Gloria Ferris
A Bait of Pleasure by Blair Hemstock
Putting Them Down by Peter Kirby

Best Short Story
"Backup" by Rick Mofina
"Prisoner in Paradise" by Dennis Richard Murphy
"Nothing is Easy" by James Petrin
"Time Will Tell" by Twist Phelan
"Clowntown Pajamas" by James Powell


Winners will be announced May 27.

Canada Book Day/Arthur Ellis Awards

Today is Canada Book Day, a day to read Canadian Mysteries, and there are author signings, launches and readings in cities all over Canada.

Of interest to Mystery Readers everywhere is the 2009 Arthur Ellis Award Shortlist that was announced today by the Crime Writers of Canada.

Nominees for Best Novel:

• Linwood Barclay, Too Close to Home (Bantam)
• Maureen Jennings, The K Handshape (Dundurn)
• James W. Nichol, Transgression (MacArthur & Company)
• Louise Penny, The Murder Stone (MacArthur & Company)
• Michael E. Rose, The Tsunami File (MacArthur & Company)

Nominees for Best First Novel:

• Nadine Doolittle, Iced Under (Bayeux Arts/Gondolier).
• John C. Goodman, Talking to Wendigo (Turnstone).
• April Lindgren, Headline: Murder (Second Story Press).
• Howard Shrier, Buffalo Jump (Vintage Canada).
• Phyllis Smallman, Margarita Nights (McArthur & Company).

Nominees for Best Juvenile Novel:

• Vicki Grant, Res Judicata (Orca).
• Susan Juby, Getting the Girl (HarperCollins).
• Elizabeth MacLeod, Royal Murder (Annick Press).
• Norah McClintock, Dead Silence (Scholastic Canada).
• Sharon E. McKay, War Brothers (Penguin Canada).

Nominees for Best Crime Writing in French:

• Jacques Côté, Le Chemin des brumes (Alire).
• Maxime Houde, Le Poids des illusions (Alire).
• Andre Jacques, La Tendresse du serpent (Québec Amerique).
• Sylvain Meunier, L'Homme qui détestait le golf (La courte échelle).
• Antoine Yaccarini, Meurtre au Soleil (VLB éditeur).

Nominees for Best Short Story category:

• Pasha Malla, "Filmsong" in Toronto Noir (Akashic Books).
• James Powell, "Clay Pillows" in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (June 2008).
• Peter Robinson, "Walking the Dog" in Toronto Noir (Akashic Books).
• Amelia Symington, "An Ill Wind" in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (Sept./Oct. 2008).
• Kris Wood, "Thinking Inside the Box" in Going Out with a Bang (RendezVous Crime).

Nominees for Non-fiction:

• Daphne Bramham, The Secret Lives of Saints: Child Brides and Lost Boys in Canada's Polygamous Mormon Sect (Vintage Canada/RHC).
• Sharon Butala, The Girl in Saskatoon: A Meditation on Friendship, Memory and Murder (Phyllis Bruce Books/HarperCollins).
• Alex Caine, Befriend and Betray: Infiltrating the Hells Angels, Bandidos and Other Criminal Brotherhoods (Vintage Canada/RHC).
• Michael Calce & Craig Silverman, Mafiaboy: How I Cracked the Internet and Why It's Still Broken (Penguin Canada).
• Kerry Pither, Dark Days: The Story of Four Canadians Tortured in the Name of Fighting Terror (Penguin Canada).

Nominees for Best Unpublished Novel:

• Pam Barnsley, This Cage of Bones.
• Gloria Ferris, Cheat the Hangman.
• Stephen Maher, Salvage.
• Douglas A. Moles, Louder.
• Kevin Thornton, Condemned.

Winners in all categories will be announced at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on June 4.