CLAYMORE AWARD FINALISTS 2026

2026 Claymore Finalists

Clay Stafford of the Killer Nashville International Writers' Conference announced this year's Silver Falchion and Claymore Award Finalists. The Silver Falchion Award is given for the Best Book in each category for the previous year (2025). The Claymore Award is given to a diverse collection of the top unpublished manuscripts submitted in 2026. The winners in each category will be announced at the annual Killer Nashville Awards Dinner taking place on August 22nd at the Embassy Suites Nashville South/Cool Springs Hotel in Franklin, TN.
 
Best Action/Adventure
 
The Veiled Mosaic / Christopher Boswell 
Cleopatra's Tomb / Mark Bruce 
Free Economic Zone / J Reid Graham
Dynamite / James Hamilton
The Peacock Throne / Shaun Singh
The Lost Patrol of Black Virgin Mountain / Rick St John
 
Best Children's
 
Leo and the Chess Game of Ashoka / Jaya Agrawl
The Locker of Legends / Nate Searle
 
Best Comedy (includes comedic P.I. and crime caper)
 
The Yellow Willie Incident / Kathleen Kaska
How to Keep a Secret in Alabama / Beth Hamer Miles
Stuck in Stowe / Matthew Minson
 
 
Best Cozy
 
A Truth Most Inconvenient / Elizabeth Abram
Reel Danger in the Dunes / Maggie Cleland
The Doll's House / Lucinda Gerlitz 
Steeped in Gossip / Cathey Rhamy
Alaskan Falls / Lori Sandrock
A Venetian Moonlight Murder / Jacquie Wilvers
 
Best Historical 
 
A Proof Against Ghosts / SR Chamberlain
Hollow Whispers of the Wind / Florence Chien
Hero Traitor Spy / Mark Clemens
The Hidebehind: A Folk Hymnal / John Essex 
Winterburn / DJ           Mattos
The White Diamond / Howard Sewell
 
Best Investigator (includes procedural, serious P.I., detective, and noir)
 
In Plain Sight / Jacquelyn Dohoney
Hunting the Archer / John Foley
Victim’s Voice / Henry James Kaye
Reflections in the Mist / Avram Lavinsky
Centaur Standing / Clare Monteschio
Return to Newstead Hills / CJ Prince
 
Best Juvenile / Y.A.
 
The Ravenspur Mystery / Judy Broad
Cinch / Mary Lynn Cloghesy
Mr. Larson's Tooth / Stephanie Duquette
Three Against Time / Alan Elliot
An Evil on Stanton Street / Janelle Gabay 
Early Decision / A.L. Phillips
  
Best Literary
 
Ghost of Bosnia / Micheal Blankenship
It's Always the Boyfriend / CJ Howell
The Unbroken Trail / Robert Jones
Boys of Autumn / Robert Jones
This Land Remembers / B Michael Whitis
Sacred Ghosts / Carol Potenza
 
Best Mainstream / Commercial
 
Checkpoint / GK Daffu 
The Yeoman of Humboldt County / Brian Heit
Collinwood / Phil Kushner
Hope House/ M Leigh
The Colony / Maria Lynn Barrs 
The Lights of Kirrie / Jennifer Rewick 
 
Best Mystery
 
Exit, Wound / Mark Dillman
The Mystery of the Wolf / David Goodlett
Answers Will Come / Henry James Kaye
All the Buried Secrets / Kim Nuesse
The Holiday Slayer / Janet Shawgo
The End of Us / Elissa Thompson
  
Best Nonfiction
 
Rebelle / Wendy Cooper
Count Time / Emmett Tatter
 
Best Sci-Fi / Fantasy
 
Origins of the Zodiac: Year of the Dragon / Rebecca Camillo-Amisano
What We Awaken / Peregrine Finn
When the Clock Strikes / Lydia Gullicksen
The Consciousness of Life and Death / WB Henley
The Watcher / Lynn Jerdal
The Castello Della Mente / John Morrison
 
Best Short Story Collection / Anthology (awarded to individual author or collection editor)
 
Ten Terrific, Terrifying, and Tantalizing Tales of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, and Action / John Bias
Invincible Summer / Andrew Dunn
A Feel for Other People / S Foster Jones
Ain’t Nothin’ Finer- Tales of Appalachia / Venita Lynn Bonds
Between Breath and Bone / Patricia Thorpe
 
Best Southern Gothic
 
The Silence We Inherit / Leigh Bravo
Mississippi Gothic / Elise Burke Brown
A Miracle Past Midnight / Aimee Hardy
The Book Conservator / Shelley Marsh
God Don't Live Here Anymore / Patricia Thorpe
 
Best Supernatural
 
Blood on the Ground / Stephanie Duquette
Hearts and Minds / Kat Horowitz
Moon Child / Sable Pena
Dark Noise / Christopher Allan Poe
Daughters of the Last Breath / Patricia Thorpe
The Wayfarer / Whitney Weldon
 
Best Suspense
 
Fuck, Marry, Kill / LB Blackburne
Colossus Descending / Steven Brody
Needle of Deception / Denise Jendusa
Queenwood / Meredith Pate
The Eleventh Child / Chas Shutt
Aftermath / Deana Willis
 
Best Thriller
 
Fifteen Hours to Redondo / Michael Collins
Blood Cache / Jim Doramus
Blood Cache / Kevin Kuhans
Richmond Rising / Stephen Nathanson
The Whisper Book / Jack Sharman
Ties that Bind / Charles A. Stewart
 
Best True Crime
 
The Gravity of Millions / NR Gibson
Down at the Balinese / Matthew Minson
Erased: The Sinister Plot behind the Disappearance of Charles Wilding / Mark O'Donnell
 
Best Western
 
A Cowboy in Black and Gold / Matthew Gallagher
Windfall / Rebecca Jarnes

KILLER NASHVILLE MAGAZINE: A new on-line literary magazine

I am always excited to see new magazines, blogs, and other online mystery publications, and here's a new one. \Clay Stafford of Killer Nashville fame has launched his new & improved Killer Nashville Magazine. It is a free monthly digital magazine that has been reframed as a literary magazine. In addition to craft articles, interviews, and book reviews that have always been a part of the magazine, there will now be short stories, flash fiction, creative nonfiction, and excerpts. First issue November 2023.  

From the Editor:

Killer Nashville Magazine seeks to publish both fresh and established voices in ANY GENRE that incorporates elements of mystery, thriller, suspense, action, and/or romance (and we believe all good literary works and art contain those elements to varying degrees). We welcome literary, mainstream, commercial, and genre fiction, nonfiction, essays, reviews, poetry, and art.

Read more and subscribe here: https://www.killernashville.com/about-kn-magazine

SILVER FALCHION AWARD FOR BEST BOOKS OF 2022: Killer Nashville

SILVER FALCHION AWARD FOR BEST BOOKS OF 2022: Killer Nashville

Best Book of 2022 

Lynessa Layne / Target Acquired 

 

1st Runner Up Best Book of 2022 

Frank Runles / Lies People Tell: An FBI Agent’s Toolkit for Catching Liars and Cheats 

2nd Runner Up Best Book of 2022 

Rich Zahradnik / The Bone Records 

Best Action Adventure

Angela Greenman / The Child Riddler 

Best Comedy 

J. B. Manning / Richter the Mighty 

Best Cozy 

Lori Robbins / Murder in Third Position 

Best Historical 

Carmen Amato / Murder at the Galliano Club 

Best Investigator 

James L'Etoile / Dead Drop 

Best Juvenile / YA 

Elizabeth Bunce / In Myrtle Peril, a Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery 

Best Literary 

Bruce Holsinger / The Displacements 

Best Mainstream / Commercial 

Katherine Faulkner / Greenwich Park 

Best Mystery 

Rich Zahradnik / The Bone Records 

Best Nonfiction 

Frank Runles / Lies People Tell: An FBI Agent's Toolkit for Catching Liars and Cheats  

Best Sci-fi / Fantasy 

Bryan Johnston / Death Warrant 

Best Short Story Collection/Anthology 

Lindy Ryan / Into the Forest: Tales of the Baba Yaga 

Best Southern Gothic 

Alexandrea Weis and Lucas Astor / River of Ashes 

Best Supernatural 

Jennifer McMahon / The Children on the Hill 

Best Suspense 

Lynessa Layne / Target Acquired 

Best Thriller 

Jeneva Rose / One of Us is Dead 

Best Western 

Terrence McCauley / Blood on the Trail

SILVER FALCHION AWARD NOMINEES 2023

The Full List of Silver Falchion Award Nominations in Multiple Categories was just announced. Wowza! So many great nominations!Congratulations to all! 

Winners will be announced on Saturday, August 19, 2023 at Killer Nashville. 

2022 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award Finalists

2022 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award Finalists. Winners will be announced in August at Killer Nashville.

2022 Best Action Adventure Finalists 

Murder at Buckskin Joe / J.v.L. Bell 

Killers!: A Natalie McMasters Mystery / Thomas A. Burns, Jr. 

Castoffs of the Gods / Sonja Dewing 

The Cornmarket Conspiracy / Sharon Hoisager 

Fatal Depth / Timothy S. Johnston 

Beneath a Wrathful Sun / M. Elliot Lamb 

The Pilate Scroll / M.B. Lewis 

Came A Horseman / Paul McHugh 

Alaskan Christmas Escape / Juno Rushdan 

The Last of Her / Brent Spencer 2022 

Best Attendee Action Adventure Finalists 

Killers!: A Natalie McMasters Mystery / Thomas A. Burns, Jr. 

Castoffs of the Gods / Sonja Dewing 

The Cornmarket Conspiracy / Sharon Hoisager 

2022 Best Comedy Finalists 

Jove Brand Is Near Death / J. A. Crawford 

Is That Your Final Answer? / Philip Gibbons 

Sherlock’s Secretary / Chris Chan 

Throwing Shade / Deborah Wilde Bloodlines & Fencelines / DLS Evatt 

How To Murder a Marriage: The Ex-Whisperer Files #1 / Gabrielle St. George 

Saving La Familia / Donna Del Oro 

Valpolicella Violet / Traci Andrighetti 

Who, Me? Fog Bows, Fraud and Aphrodite / Charlotte Stuart 

2022 Best Cozy Finalists 

Where the Light Shines Through / Kathleen Bailey 

Dead on My Feet / Patricia Broderick 

An Embarrassment of Itches / M.K. Dean 

Time After Tyme / Kay DiBianca 

The Evening’s Amethyst / M. K. Graff 

Suitable for Framing / Lori Roberts Herbst 

The Unkindness of Ravens / M.E. Hilliard 

Muffins & Magic / Polly Holmes 

Death By Chance / Abigail Keam 

The Fog Ladies: In the Soup / Susan McCormick 

Gone Missin’ / Peggy O’Neal Peden 

Death at the Salon / Louise Rose-Innes 

Murder Worth a Thousand Words / Becki Willis 

Stitch, Bake, Die! / Lois Winston 2022 

Best Attendee Cozy Finalists 

In Search Of Sierra / Brenda Donelan 

Suitable for Framing / Lori Roberts Herbst 

Murder in the Master – A Chesapeake Bay Mystery / Judy L Murray 

Playing Possum / Lois Schmitt 

Shrimply Dead / Maggie Toussaint 

Fixation & Fraud / Cathy Tully 

Stitch, Bake, Die! / Lois Winston 

2022 Best Historical Finalists 

Heirs of Falcon Point / Traci Abramson 

Cry of the Innocent / Julie Bates 

The Turncoat’s Widow / Mally Becker 

After Alice Fell / Kim Taylor Blakemore 

The Artist Colony / Joanna FitzPatrick 

No One Must Know / Susan Frances 

Murder Under A New Moon / Abigail Keam 

The Promise of Deception / Jessica Sly 

Zebra: Friends by Fate. Enemies by Destiny / Jill Wallace 

2022 Best Investigator Finalists 

All That Fall / Kris Calvin 

The Blessed Bones / Kathryn Casey

Girl Missing / Kate Gable 

Be Mine Forever / D.K. Hood 

In the Name Of / Candace Irving 

Now & Then / Justin M. Kiska 

The Lost Dragon Murder / Michael Allan Mallory 

The Disappearance of Trudy Solomon / Marcy McCreary 

Striking Range: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery / Margaret Mizushima 

Hide in Place / Emilya Naymark 

At First Light / Barbara Nickless 

The Labyrinth / Owen Parr 

The Winter Girls / Roger Stelljes 

2022 Best Attendee Investigator Finalists 

All That Fall / Kris Calvin 

10 Days: A Dee Rommel Mystery / Jule Selbo 

2022 Best Juvenile / YA Finalists 

A Shadow on the Snow / JPC Allen 

Cold-Blooded Myrtle (Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery 3) / Elizabeth Bunce 

What Lies Beneath / Marissa Doyle 

Rules of Falling / Leslie Tall Manning 

A Stranger From the Storm / William Burton McCormick 

Wonder Rush / Dan McKeon 

Silence Speaks: A Sonny and Breanne Mystery #4 / James Paavola 

Leisha’s Song / Lynn Slaughter 

2022 Best Attendee Juvenile / YA Finalists 

Leisha’s Song / Lynn Slaughter 

2022 Best Mystery Finalists 

An Ambush of Widows / Jeff Abbot 

Red Rabbit On The Run / Jodi Bowersox Bluff / John DeDakis 

A Killer’s Daughter / Jenna Kernan 

When Silence Screams / Mark Edward Langley 

The Dark Remains / William McIlvanney & Ian Rankin 

Spirit: An Andrea Kelley Mystery (The Archivist Book 2) / Elle Andrews Patt 

The Archivist / Rex Pickett 

The Scorpion’s Tail / Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child 

Grave Reservations / Cherie Priest 

The Ruthless / David Putnam 

Hunted in the Holler / Drew Strickland 

Death and Consequences, An Eastern Shore Mystery / Cheril Thomas 

The First Day of Spring / Nancy Tucker 

Bye, Buy Baby / Becki Willis 2022 

Best Attending Mystery Finalists 

The Taker / Robin Acton 

Beyond The Headlines / R.G. Belsky 

The Art of Betrayal / Connie Berry 

Prefer Death (A Matthew Paine Mystery) / Lee Clark Mainely Money / Matt Cost Bluff / John DeDakis 

Killer With Black Blood / J L Hill 

Scarlet at Crystal River / Randy Overbeck 

Murder off Route 82 / Jane Suen 

Death and Consequences, An Eastern Shore Mystery / Cheril Thomas 

Bye, Buy Baby / Becki Willis 

The Sacrifice of Lester Yates / Robin Yocum 

2022 Best Nonfiction Finalists 

Self Help Sucks. The Anti Self Help Guide to Inner Peace and Contentment / Tony Blankenship 

Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter / Chris Chan 

Chasing bin Laden: My Hunt for the World’s Most Notorious Terrorist / Barbara Janik 

The Home for Friendless Children / C.L. Olsen 

Defending a Serial Killer: The Right to Counsel / Jim Potts 

2022 Best Sci-fi / Fantasy Finalists 

Journey to the Past / Esteban Corio 

Schrodinger’s Cat / Ronald Crittenden 

Hall of Skulls / Jamie Eubanks The Last Beekeeper / Jared Gulian 

House of Bastiion / K.L. Kolarich 

Beryl Blue, Time Cop / Janet Raye Stevens 

Tomb of the Queen / Joss Walker 

Consent, Vol. 1: Erdos / Wilson Whitlow 

Missing on Orbital 4: A Jake Hemlock Adventure / Cory Wilcox 

2022 Best Short Story Collection / Anthology Finalists 

Lies Along the Mississippi / Carolyn McSparren 

House of Crows / Lisa Unger 

2022 Best Southern Gothic Finalists 

A Curse of Silver and Blood / Kimberly A Banks 

 

2022 Best Attendee Southern Gothic Finalists 

A Curse of Silver and Blood / Kimberly A Banks 

2022 Best Supernatural Finalists 

You Can’t Candle the Truth / Sarah E. Burr 

Whisper Down the Lane / Clay McLeod Chapman 

Our Trespasses / Michael Cordell 

Dead & Buried / T.K. Eldridge 

Swashbucklers / Dan Hanks 

Rovers / Richard Lange Annihilation / Kaylin McFarren 

The Ghosts of Thorwald Place / Helen Power 

A Moment After Dark / Janet Raye Stevens 

Tidepool / Nicole Willson 

2022 Best Suspense Finalists 

In Harm’s Way / Traci Abramson 

Redemption / Traci Abramson 

Nanny Needed / Georgina Cross 

Waiting for the Night Song / Julie Carrick Dalton 

Hostile Intent / Lynette Eason 

Furious: Sailing into Terror / Jeffrey James Higgins 

Rattlesnake Road / Amanda McKinney 

Redemption Road / Amanda McKinney 

The Reunion / Kiersten Modglin 

Cottonmouth: A Jessica James Mystery / Kelly Oliver 

Woman in Shadow / Carrie Stuart Parks 

Her Ocean Grave / Dana Perry 

The Next Wife / Kaira Rouda 

What Comes After / JoAnne Tompkins 

Beneath the Marigolds / Emily C. Whitson 

2022 Best Attendee Suspense Finalists 

Nanny Needed / Georgina Cross 

Hostile Intent / Lynette Eason 

Snow Kiss Cookies To Die For / Wendy Kendall 

DCYE Dangerous Games / Lynessa Layne 

Fear the Night / Dianne McCartney 

Rattlesnake Road / Amanda McKinney 

The Reunion / Kiersten Modglin 

Cottonmouth: A Jessica James Mystery / Kelly Oliver 

Her Ocean Grave / Dana Perry 

Locust Time: A Novel of Suspense / Dale T. Phillips 

A Savage Joy Luis E Rosas 

The Next Wife / Kaira Rouda 

2022 Best Thriller Finalists 

Her Name is Knight / Yasmin Angoe 

The Ambulance Chaser / Brian Cuban 

The Chaos Kind / Barry Eisler 

Devil’s Ledger / Lorraine Evanoff 

A Slow Fire Burning / Paula Hawkins 

Furious: Sailing into Terror / Jeffrey James Higgins 

56 Days / Catherine Ryan Howard 

Blink of an Eye / Iris Johansen 

The Missing Piece / John Lescroart 

Stone the Dead Crows / Carrie Magillen 

The Family Tree / Steph Mullin and Nicole Mabry 

Point Option / Ian O’Connor 

The Kingdoms / Natahsa Pulley 

The Siren / Katherine St. John 

Impostor Syndrome / Kathy Wang 2022 

Best Attendee Thriller Finalists 

The Ambulance Chaser / Brian Cuban 

The Counsel of the Cunning / Steven Harms 

Angel the Assassin / Jane B Lee 

Black Label / James L’Etoile 

Nerve Attack / S. Lee Manning 

Divided States / Rick Treon 

Fallen Star: The Divine Devils Book 2 / R Weir Back To Top

SILVER FALCHION AWARD WINNERS: Killer Nashville

The 2021 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award Winners were announced last night at the Killer Nashville Awards Dinner.

BEST ACTION ADVENTURE The Crow’s Nest / Richard Meredith 

BEST COMEDY Con Me Once / J. L. Delozier 

BEST COZY Rose by Any Other Name / Becki Willis 

BEST HISTORICAL The Lost Wisdom of the Magi / Susie Helme 

BEST INVESTIGATOR Within Plain Sight / Bruce Robert Coffin 

BEST JUVENILE / Y.A. Irish Town / Matthew John Meagher 

BEST MYSTERY Code Gray / Benny Sims 

BEST NONFICTION Words Whispered in Water / Sandy Rosenthal 

BEST SCI-FI / FANTASY Odyssey Tale / Cody Schlegel 

BEST SHORT STORY COLLECTION Couch Detective Book 2 / James Glass 

BEST SUPERNATURAL Borrowed Memories / Christine Mager Wevik 

BEST SUSPENSE Ring of Conspiracy / J. Robert Kinney 

BEST THRILLER The Divine Devils / R. Weir

HOW TO DEAL WITH REJECTION: Guest Post by Clay Stafford

Clay Stafford:

How to Deal with Rejection

Let’s face it: we want everyone to like us. My wife is my first reader. She beats any editor I’ve known. She even told me once to throw a novel in the trashcan. We all need someone like her. I used to hand her something to read, and I’d turn into freaking Jell-O. I’d watch her. I’d look for the wide eyes of fear, the tear, the laugh, and I’d sneak glances at the page numbers to make sure all are taking place at the right place on the right page. We writers, in the face of readers (and not only our significant others), are reduced to emotionally dependent and disgusting slugs. Here are a few suggestions on how I’ve come to handle rejection. 

Not everyone will like you. 

Not everyone is going to like your work, poem, book, short story, or even your social media post. We can’t write for everyone. Not everyone will like your topic, your view, or even your writing style. When I was way younger, actor Mark Hamill, whom I greatly admired (and still do and who had quite a Star Wars audience at the time), publicly said that a production I was involved in was one of the worst things he ever saw. I was crushed by a hero. For decades that bothered me, yet as I grew older, it taught me much on many levels: Was he right? Was he qualified to evaluate me? Did his comments help me grow? Am I a better storyteller because of it? (The answer to all is “yes.”) It hurt, but I needed to hear it. 

Forget the work, though, for whatever reason, not everyone is going to like you. People are offended for the craziest reasons, some valid and most not. You don’t like everyone, so should it be any different when the subjective mirror is reversed? Maybe you’ve alienated a reader by a social media post. That would be your own fault. Was expressing your political view or your thoughts worth alienating someone who otherwise would be an ally or a customer? Only each writer can respectively determine that. If you have done that, let’s realize we are all evolving clunky cells. We won’t do that again. 

So how do you deal with criticism? 

So, what do you do when someone criticizes you because, if you publish enough, it is bound to happen. Evaluate the grand animadversion. Learn from the chiding if it is valid. At minimum, don’t do anything. Let it go. If it is valid, however, try this: be grateful someone took the time to review your work out of the other million that are published each year. Reach out and thank that person. Make a new friend. If the person appears not to like you as a person, treat them with kindness, let the karma meter grow with you, and say, “that’s okay.” Don’t try to make them like you and, for heaven’s sake, please do not do the opposite and insult them in public. These things will come back to haunt you. Ask yourself instead, why are you writing? People pleasing should not be part of the answer. People pleasing will never make you happy. By doing anything, fifty percent of the population already will not like you. Ask any politician. 

Instead of reacting emotionally, proactively take back your personal power. No matter if you’ve written a stinker or not, practice self-acceptance. If you’re bothered by someone’s review or words, look closely at why not having their endorsement bothers you. You can only control your own thoughts and actions, and you can only write at this moment as well as you can write. Tomorrow, with hope, you will be better. But today, you are you. 

Better yourself. 

Make a plan to be the best writer you can be. Write much. Read more. Hang out with those you can learn from, even critics who speak less-glowingly of your work. Build the audience of those who “get” you, cherish them, and remember them when someone else does not. Don’t let reviews or others lead you, you develop a physical and mental routine that fills you with excitement and then do all to the best of your ability, publish, and let the audience who “gets” you find you. Then write a better work the next go-around whether accolade or condemnation. 

Selectively caring and being proactive (rather than reactive) gives you power to create your best work. It allows you to be your true self and also be true to yourself. It gives your time value. Don’t try to fit into someone else’s vacuum; be you with all your quirkiness. Writers should not be in popularity contests. If you are, then you’re in the wrong business because there is so much that we can’t control. Let your happiness come from within in the form of writing three beautiful words together in a sentence (if we can ever achieve that truly) and let this be enough reward. Doing this, you use your short time wisely. It is more important that we as readers hear your voice than you changing your voice to second-guess what you may think someone might wish to hear. Sing your song. Your reader may surprise you. 

Why do you write? 

Why are you a writer? Is it to please? Let’s hope not. It is to grow. It is to understand. As you sit down to compose, examine your heart and make sure you are in the chair for the right reason. Keep writing, be genuine, and you will find your audience. I deeply care what my wife or any other editor says, but I’ve hopefully built my career to be about my work, not me, and from that, I can grow. Even praise can be good, but three beautiful words, fail as I may, are the only reason that I sit down to write. 

***

Clay Stafford (www.ClayStafford.com) is a writer and filmmaker, and founder of Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference (www.KillerNashville.com), which teaches you how to move beyond the fear of rejection and write the book you love.