The Petrona Award: Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year Longlist

OUTSTANDING CRIME FICTION FROM FINLAND, ICELAND, NORWAY, AND SWEDEN LONGLISTED FOR THE 2025 PETRONA AWARD

Twelve crime novels from Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden made the longlist for the 2025 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year. Congratulations to All!

Samuel Bjørk - Dead Island tr. Charlotte Barslund (Norway, Bantam)

Stella Blómkvist - Murder Under the Midnight Sun tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, Corylus Books)

Pascal Engman - The Widows tr. Neil Smith (Sweden, Legend Press)

Malin Persson Giolito - Deliver Me tr. Rachel Willson-Broyles (Sweden, Simon & Schuster)

Óskar Guðmundsson - The Dancer tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, Corylus Books)

Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger - Victim tr. Megan E Turney (Norway, Orenda Books)

Jo Nesbo - Blood Ties tr. Robert Ferguson (Norway, Harvill Secker)

Aslak Nore - The Sea Cemetery tr. Deborah Dawkin (Norway, MacLehose Press)

Sólveig Pálsdóttir - Shrouded tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, Corylus Books)

Satu Rämö - The Clues in the Fjord tr. Kristian London (Finland, Zaffre)

Max Seeck - Ghost Island tr. Kristian London (Finland, Mountain Leopard Press)

Gunnar Staalesen - Pursued by Death tr. Don Bartlett (Norway, Orenda Books)

 

The breakdown by country is Norway (5), Iceland (3), Finland (2) and Sweden (2).

 

The shortlist will be announced on 18 September 2025.

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The award is open to crime fiction in translation, either written by a Scandinavian author or set in Scandinavia and published in the UK in the previous calendar year.

 

More information on the history of the Award and previous winners can be found at the Petrona Award website (https://www.petronaaward.co.uk/).

McIlvanney Prize Scottish Crime Novel of the Year Longlist

2025 McIlvanney Prize Scottish Crime Novel of the Year Longlist

• Whispers of the Dead, by Lin Anderson (Macmillan)
• The Midnight King, by Tariq Ashkanani (Viper)
• The Dying Light, by Daniel Aubrey (HarperNorth)
• Carnival of Lies, by D.V. Bishop (Macmillan)
• Unsound, by Heather Critchlow (Canelo)
• The Moon’s More Feeble Fire, by Allan Gaw (Polygon)
• The Good Father, by Liam McIlvanney (Bonnier)
• Paperboy, by Callum McSorley (Pushkin Press)
• The Good Liar, by Denise Mina (Vintage)
• Gunner, by Alan Parks (John Murray)
• Death of Shame, by Ambrose Parry (Canongate)
• Midnight and Blue, by Ian Rankin (Orion)
• A Thief’s Blood, by Douglas Skelton (Canelo)

The McIlvanney Prize, named in honor of author William McIlvanney, will be presented on Friday, September 12, during Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival. 

HT: The Rap Sheet

NGAIO MARSH AWARD BEST NOVEL LONGLIST

2025 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel Longlist: New Zealand

The longlist for this year’s Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel 

· RETURN TO BLOOD by Michael Bennett (Simon & Schuster)

· THE HITCHHIKER by Gabriel Bergmoser (HarperCollins)

· A DIVINE FURY by DV Bishop (Macmillan)

· LEAVE THE GIRLS BEHIND by Jacqueline Bublitz (Allen & Unwin)

· WOMAN, MISSING by Sherryl Clark (HQ Fiction)

· HELL’S BELLS by Jill Johnson (Black & White)

· THE MIRES by Tina Makereti (Ultimo Press)

· A FLY UNDER THE RADAR by William McCartney

· HOME TRUTHS by Charity Norman (Allen & Unwin)

· 17 YEARS LATER by JP Pomare (Hachette)

· OKIWI BROWN by Cristina Sanders (The Cuba Press)

· A HOUSE BUILT ON SAND by Tina Shaw (Text Publishing)

· THE CALL by Gavin Strawhan (Allen & Unwin)

· PREY by Vanda Symon (Orenda Books)

· THE BOOKSHOP DETECTIVES: DEAD GIRL GONE by Gareth & Louise Ward (Penguin)

The finalists for Best Novel, Best First Novel, and Best Non-Fiction will be announced in mid-August, with the finalists celebrated and the 2025 Ngaio Marsh Award winners announced as part of a special event in conjunction with WORD Christchurch and the Court Theatre on Thursday, 25 September.

For more information this year’s Best Novel longlist, or the Ngaio Marsh Awards in general, please contact ngaiomarshaward@gmail.com 

GLASS BELL AWARD LONG LIST 2025

Goldsboro Books revealed the Long List for the 2025 Glass Bell Award, celebrating the very best storytelling across all genres of contemporary fiction. Launched in 2017, the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award is awarded annually to outstanding work of contemporary fiction, rewarding quality storytelling in any genre. 

Glass Bell Award Long List

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden (Century, PRH)
The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks (W&N, Orion)
The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown (Transworld, PRH)
James by Percival Everett (Picador & Mantle, Pan Macmillan)
The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey (Hutchinson Heinemann, PRH)
The Silverblood Promise by James Logan (Arcadia, Quercus Books)
Hunted by Abir Mukherjee (Vintage, PRH)
Berlin Duet by S. W. Perry (Corvus, Atlantic Books)
A Little Trickerie by Rosanna Pike (Fig Tree, PRH)
There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak (Viking, PRH)
The Kellerby Code by Jonny Sweet (Faber & Faber)
All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker (Orion Books)

(nominees in bold reflect crime fiction)

THEAKSTON OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2021 LONGLIST

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Longlist was announced today. This prize for crime fiction is now in its 17^th year. Presented by the Harrogate International Crime Festival, the prize celebrates crime writing at its best. The shortlist will be announced in June and the winner will be announced on 22 July, at the opening evening of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival – with the public able to vote for the winner on harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com.

The Longlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2021 is:

–          Cry Baby by Mark Billingham (Little, Brown Book Group, Sphere)

–          The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish (Simon & Schuster)

–          The Cutting Place by Jane Casey (HarperCollins, HarperFiction)

–          Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh (The Orion Publishing Group, Orion Fiction)

–          Black River by Will Dean (Oneworld Publications, Point Blank)

–          Between Two Evils by Eva Dolan (Bloomsbury Publishing, Raven Books)

–          The Guest List by Lucy Foley (HarperCollins, HarperFiction)

–          The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths (Quercus, Quercus Fiction)

–          The Big Chill by Doug Johnstone (Orenda Books)

–          Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton (Penguin Random House UK, Viking)

–          Still Life by Val McDermid (Little, Brown Book Group, Sphere)

–          The Last Crossing by Brian McGilloway (Little, Brown Book Group, Constable)

–          Death in the East by Abir Mukherjee (VINTAGE, Harvill Secker)

–          Our Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent (Penguin, Sandycove)

–          A Song For The Dark Times by Ian Rankin (Orion, Orion Fiction)

–          Remain Silent by Susie Steiner (HarperCollins Publishers, The Borough Press)

–          We Begin At The End by Chris Whitaker (Bonnier Books UK, Zaffre)

–          The Man on the Street by Trevor Wood (Quercus, Quercus Fiction)

 Congratulations to all!

 

THE McILVANNEY PRIZE LONGLIST: SCOTTISH CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR

2018 McIlvanney Prize Shortlist: Scottish Crime Book of the Year. The winner will be announced on September 21 at the opening gala at the Church of the Holy Rude in Stirling at Bloody Scotland.

Forty-one years ago, William McIlvanney rocked the British literary world with Laidlaw, a gritty and socially conscious crime novel that brought Glasgow to life more vividly than anything before. This year’s longlistees for the McIlvanney Prize demonstrate how modern Scottish crime writing has flourished from those seeds. From debutants to authors with more than 20 books, spy thrillers to long-running detective series, nineteenth-century mysteries to futuristic space station noir, there’s an amazing range of talent on show. – Craig Sisterson, chair of the 2018 judges  

2018 McIlvanney Prize Shortlist

Lin Anderson, Follow the Dead (Macmillan)
Chris Brookmyre, Places in the Darkness (Little, Brown)
Mason Cross, Presumed Dead (Orion)
Charles Cumming, The Man Between (Harper Collins)
Oscar De Muriel, The Loch of the Dead (Michael Joseph)
Helen Fields, Perfect Death (Harper Collins)
Alison James, Now She’s Gone (Bookouture)
Liam McIlvanney, The Quaker (Harper Collins)
James Oswald, No Time to Cry (Headline)
Caro Ramsay, The Suffering of Strangers (Severn House)
Andrew Reid, The Hunter (Headline)
Craig Robertson, The Photographer (Simon & Schuster)

NGAIO MARSH AWARD LONGLIST: Kiwi Crime

The Longlist for the 2018 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel: The Ngaio Marsh Award represents the very best in Kiwi Crime.

Marlborough Man by Alan Carter (Fremantle Press)
Baby by Annaleese Jochems (Vitoria University Press)
See You In September by Charity Norman (Allen & Unwin)
The Lost Taonga by Edmund Bohan (Lucano)
The Easter Make Believers by Finn Bell
The Only Secret Left To Keep by Katherine Hayton
Tess by Kirsten McDougall (Victoria University Press)
The Sound of Her Voice by Nathan Blackell (Mary Egan Publishing)
A Killer Harvest by Paul Cleave (Upstart Press)
The Hidden Room by Stella Duffy (Virago)

The finalists for both the Best Novel and Best First Novel categories will be announced in July. The finalists will be celebrated and the winners announced at WORD Christchurch (August 29-September 2). 

Craig Sisterson, organizer of the Ngaio Marsh Award, is a lapsed Lawyer, and major Crime Fiction Fan and Writer who writes for magazines and newspapers in several countries. He also blogs at Crime Watch.

Ngaio Marsh Award Longlist 2012 Revealed

I'm very excited to post the Longlist for the 2012 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel. This is the second year that I'm a 'judge.' The Award will be presented at a ceremony at The Press Christchurch Writers’ Festival in September.

The Ngaio Marsh Award is given for the best crime, mystery, or thriller novel written by a New Zealand citizen or resident, published in New Zealand or overseas during the past year.

A panel of seven local and international judges is currently considering the longlisted titles. This year the judges are from the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and New Zealand. The three finalists for the 2012 Ngaio Marsh Award will be announced in July.

The longlist titles are:

• COLLECTING COOPER by Paul Cleave (Simon & Schuster) 
• LUTHER: THE CALLING by Neil Cross (Simon & Schuster) 
• FURT BENT FROM ALDAHEIT by Jack Eden (Pear Jam Books) 
• TRACES OF RED by Paddy Richardson (Penguin) 
• BY ANY MEANS by Ben Sanders (HarperCollins) 
• BOUND by Vanda Symon (Penguin) 
• THE CATASTROPHE by Ian Wedde (Victoria University Press)

The longlist reflects the growing depth and breadth of contemporary New Zealand crime and thriller writing, said Judging Convenor Craig Sisterson. “This year’s longlist features everything from dark serial killer tales to the latest books in popular detective series, ‘ripped from the headlines’ psychological suspense, and a prequel to one of the most compelling TV crime series of recent years. We have the mysterious tale of a narcissistic restaurant critic’s kidnapping, penned by New Zealand’s poet laureate, and an engaging debut thriller written under a nom de plume.”

 It will be a tough decision for the judging panel to narrow the field to three finalists and pick a winner, said Sisterson. “There was some exceptional crime, mystery, and thriller fiction penned by New Zealanders last year. It is great to see one of the world’s most popular forms of writing starting to flourish a little more on our own shores, though it makes our job harder.”

 The Award, established in 2010, is named for Dame Ngaio Marsh, who is renowned worldwide as one of the four Queens of Crime of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Dame Ngaio published 32 novels featuring Inspector Roderick Alleyn between 1934 and her death in 1982. With sales in the millions, and her books still in print to this day, Dame Ngaio is one of New Zealand’s most successful authors in history.

I can't wait to read all the titles on the Longlist! It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it!

Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel Award Longlist

Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award highlighting crime novels published by British and Irish authors over the last year.

2012 Longlist

• Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch (Gollancz)
• Darkside by Belinda Bauer (Corgi)
• Now You See Me by SJ Bolton (Corgi)
• Where the Bodies Are Buried by Chris Brookmyre (Abacus)
• The Burning Soul by John Connolly (Hodder Paperback)
• The Calling by Neil Cross (Simon & Schuster)
• The Hanging Shed by Gordon Ferris (Corvus)
• Bryant and May and the Memory of Blood by Christopher Fowler (Bantam)
• Blue Monday by Nicci French (Michael Joseph)
• The Fear Index by Robert Harris (Arrow)
• The Retribution by Val McDermid (Sphere)
• The End of the Wasp Season by Denise Mina (Orion)
• Black Flowers by Steve Mosby (Orion)
• Collusion by Stuart Neville (Vintage)
• The Impossible Dead by Ian Rankin (Orion)
• Mice by Gordon Reece (Pan Books)
• Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith (Simon & Schuster)
• Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson (Black Swan)

2012 Voting Procedures
The names of the six shortlisted titles will be announced on Thursday 5 July 2012 and readers will be able to help decide which of the six short-listed authors will take home the most coveted title in crime fiction, by casting your vote online at www.theakstons.co.uk

The result of the online vote will be counted alongside the votes of the expert judging panel in order to determine the 2012 winner.