Mystery Writers of America 2026 Edgar Allan Poe Award Winners

Mystery Writers of America 2026 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction and television published or produced in 2025. 
 
BEST NOVEL
The Big Empty by Robert Crais (Penguin Random House – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
 
BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
Dead Money by Jakob Kerr (Penguin Random House – Bantam Books)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
 
The Backwater by Vikki Wakefield (Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press)
 
BEST FACT CRIME
Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser (Penguin Random House – Penguin Press)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
Edgar Allan Poe: A Life by Richard Kopley (University of Virginia Press)
 
BEST SHORT STORY
“Julius Katz Draws a Straight Flush,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine – September-October 2025 by Dave Zeltserman (Must Read Books Publishing)
 
BEST JUVENILE
Blood in the Water by Tiffany D. Jackson (Scholastic Press)

BEST YOUNG ADULT
Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray (Macmillan Publishers – Farrar, Straus and Giroux BFYR)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
“Pilot” – Paradise, Written by Dan Fogelman (Hulu)

* * * * * *
 
OTHER AWARDS
 
ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD – Endowed by the family of Robert L. Fish.
“How It Happened,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, July-August 2025 by Billie Kay Fern (Must Read Books Publishing)
 
THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD – Presented on behalf of Simon & Schuster. 
All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
 
THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD – Presented on behalf of G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
Gone in the Night by Joanna Schaffhausen (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
 
THE LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN MEMORIAL AWARD – Endowed by the estate of Lilian Jackson Braun.
A Senior Citizen’s Guide to Life on the Run by Gwen Florio (Severn House)
 
SPECIAL AWARDS -- PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED ON JANUARY 13, 2026

GRAND MASTER
Donna Andrews
Lee Child
 
RAVEN AWARD
Book Passage, Corte Madera CA
 
ELLERY QUEEN AWARD
John Scognamiglio, Kensington Books
 

 

2026 Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominations: Mystery Writers of America

Mystery Writers of America announced the 2026 Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominations

The 80th Annual Edgar® Awards will be celebrated on April 29, 2026, at the Marriott Marquis Times Square Hotel. 

BEST NOVEL 

The Big Empty by Robert Crais (Penguin Random House – G.P. Putnam’s Sons) 

Fagin the Thief by Allison Epstein (Penguin Random House – Doubleday) 

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami (Penguin Random House – Pantheon Books) 

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (Macmillan Publishers – Flatiron Books) 

Hard Town by Adam Plantinga (Hachette Book Group – Grand Central Publishing) 

The Inheritance by Trisha Sakhlecha (Penguin Random House – Pamela Dorman Books) 

Presumed Guilty by Scott Turow (Hachette Book Group – Grand Central Publishing) 

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR 

Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch (HarperCollins – William Morrow) 

All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman (Penguin Random House – G.P. Putnam’s Sons) 

Dead Money by Jakob Kerr (Penguin Random House – Bantam Books) 

Johnny Careless by Kevin Wade (Macmillan Publishers – Celadon Books) 

History Lessons by Zoe B. Wallbrook (Soho Press – Soho Crime) 

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL 

Listen by Sacha Bronwasser (Penguin Random House – Penguin Books) 

The Sideways Life of Denny Voss by Holly Kennedy (Amazon Publishing – Lake Union) 

Broke Road by Matthew Spencer (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer) 

The Backwater by Vikki Wakefield (Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press) 

One Death at a Time by Abbi Waxman (Penguin Random House – Berkley) 

BEST FACT CRIME 

They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals by Mariah Blake (Penguin Random House – Crown) 

Blood and the Badge: The Mafia, Two Killer Cops, and a Scandal That Shocked the Nation by Michael Cannell (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books) 

Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser (Penguin Random House – Penguin Press) 

Out of the Woods: A Girl, a Killer, and a Lifelong Struggle to Find the Way Home by Gregg Olsen (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer) 

Story of a Murder: The Wives, the Mistress, and Dr. Crippen by Hallie Rubenhold (Penguin Random House – Dutton) 

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL 

V is for Venom: Agatha Christie’s Chemicals of Death by Kathryn Harkup (Bloomsbury – Sigma) 

The Kingdom of Cain: Finding God in the Literature of Darkness by Andrew Klavan (HarperCollins Christian Publishing – Zondervan) 

Edgar Allan Poe: A Life by Richard Kopley (University of Virginia Press) 

Cooler Than Cool: The Life and Work of Elmore Leonard by C.M. Kushins (HarperCollins Publishers – Mariner Books) 

Criss-Cross: The Making of Hitchcock’s Dazzling, Subversive Masterpiece Strangers on a Train by Stephen Rebello (Hachette Book Group – Running Press) 

 BEST SHORT STORY 

 “Reading at Night,” The Strand Magazine by Graham Greene (The Strand Magazine) 

“The One That Got Away,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine – January-February 2025 by Charlaine Harris (Must Read Books Publishing) 

“Orphan X: A Mysterious Profile,” by Gregg Hurwitz (Penzler Publishers – Mysterious Press) 

“Lucky Heart,” Blood on the Bayou – Case Closed by Tim Maleeny (Down & Out Books) 

“The Kill Clause,” Amazon Original Stories by Lisa Unger (Amazon Publishing) 

“Julius Katz Draws a Straight Flush,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine – September-October 2025 by Dave Zeltserman (Must Read Books Publishing) 

BEST JUVENILE 

Montgomery Bonbon: Murder at the Museum by Alasdair Beckett-King (Candlewick Press) 

What Happened Then by Erin Soderberg Downing (Scholastic Press) 

A Study in Secrets by Debbi Michiko Florence (Simon & Schuster – Aladdin) 

Blood in the Water by Tiffany D. Jackson (Scholastic Press) 

The Midwatch Institute for Wayward Girls by Judith Rossell (Penguin Young Readers – Dial) 

Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave by Ally Russell (Random House Children’s Books – Delacorte Press) 

BEST YOUNG ADULT 

Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray (Macmillan Publishers – Farrar, Straus and Giroux BFYR) 

Catch Your Death by Ravena Guron (Sourcebooks – Sourcebooks Fire) 

This is Where We Die by Cindy R.X. He (Sourcebooks – Sourcebooks Fire) 

The Scammer by Tiffany D. Jackson (HarperCollins Children’s Books – Quill Tree Books) 

Codebreaker by Jay Martel (St. Martin’s Publishing Group – Wednesday Books) 

 BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY 

 “End of the Line” – Ballard, Written by Michael Alaimo & Kendall Sherwood (Amazon/Fabel) 

“Pilot” – Paradise, Written by Dan Fogelman (Hulu) 

“Episode 101” – The Lowdown, Written by Sterlin Harjo (FX on Hulu) 

“These Girls” – Long Bright River, Written by Nikki Toscano & Liz Moore (Peacock) 

“Ye’iitsoh (Big Monster)” – Dark Winds, Written by John Wirth & Steven Paul Judd (AMC) 

 * * * * * * 

OTHER AWARDS 

 ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD – Endowed by the family of Robert L. Fish. 

 “A Textbook Example,” Sacramento Noir by Luis Avalos (Akashic Books) 

“How It Happened,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, July-August 2025 by Billie Kay Fern (Must Read Books Publishing) 

“Baggage,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, January-February 2025 by Rick Marcou (Must Read Books Publishing) 

“Bloodsurf,” Hollywood Kills by Tiffany D. Plunkett (Level Best Books – Level Short) 

“Grand Theft Auto in the Heart of Screenland,” Hollywood Kills by Robert Rotstein (Level Best Books – Level Short) 

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD – Presented on behalf of Simon & Schuster. 

Five Found Dead by Sulari Gentill (Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press) 

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes by Sandra Jackson-Opoku (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books) 

No Comfort for the Dead by R.P. O’Donnell (Crooked Lane Books) 

All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books) 

Last Dance Before Dawn by Katharine Schellman (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books) 

THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD – Presented on behalf of G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 

Cold as Hell by Kelley Armstrong (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books) 

Rage: A Novel by Linda Castillo (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books) 

Fallen Star by Lee Goldberg (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer) 

The Red Letter by Daniel G. Miller (Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press) Gone in the Night by Joanna Schaffhausen (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books) 

THE LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN MEMORIAL AWARD – Endowed by the estate of Lilian Jackson Braun. 

Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library by Amandah Chapman (Penguin Random House – Berkley) 

A Senior Citizen’s Guide to Life on the Run by Gwen Florio (Severn House) 

The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective by Jo Nichols (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books) Murder Two Doors Down by Chuck Storla (Crooked Lane Books) 

Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (On a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Penguin Random House – Berkley)

MWA 2026 Grand Masters, Raven, & Ellery Queen Award Recipients

Mystery Writers of America (MWA) announced the recipients of its special awards. The board chose Donna Andrews and Lee Child as the 2026 Grand Masters, the 2026 Raven Award recipient is Book Passage, and John Scognamiglio of Kensington Books will receive the Ellery Queen Award. They will accept their awards at the 80th Annual Edgar Awards Ceremony, which will be held April 29, 2026, at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City.
 
“Donna Andrews has given us more than fifty novels, proving the cozy subgenre is more relevant than ever. In addition to her significant literary accomplishments, she has given back to the community in so many ways, by mentoring aspiring mystery writers, and serving as the MWA EVP. I’m thrilled to see Donna named as MWA Grand Master,” said MWA Executive Vice President James L’Etoile. “And Lee Child’s contributions to the genre are unparalleled. Aside from his thirty critically acclaimed novels featuring the iconic Jack Reacher, Lee Child is considered one of the most thoughtful and generous members of the mystery community. Writer, mentor, and Past President of MWA, he is a role model, and most deserving of being named MWA Grand Master.”
 
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 for a body of work that is both significant and of consistent high quality. 
 
The Raven Award recognizes outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing. For 2026, Mystery Writers of America selected Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA.
 
“Book Passage is honored and thrilled to receive the Raven Award from the Mystery Writers of America. Many of the 10,000 or more author events that we’ve had over the years have featured mystery writers. During the last 30 years or so, many of these writers have given of their time to participate in our annual Mystery Writers Conference and have helped nurture new writers towards successful careers,” Book Passage founder and president Elaine Petrocelli said. “We’ve found mystery writers to be resourceful, fearless, and ingenious in describing the problems of the world. More than that, they know how to keep their portrayal of the dark side of humanity on the written page. In person, they are wonderful, personable, and a pleasure to be around.” 
 
The Ellery Queen Award was established in 1983 to honor “outstanding writing teams and outstanding people in the mystery-publishing industry.” This year the Board chose to honor John Scognamiglio of Kensington Books, who began his career 40 years ago as a file clerk in the Contracts Department at Simon & Schuster in 1986 while still a sophomore at New York University. He later moved to where he always wanted to be—editorial—and from 1989 to 1992, Scognamiglio worked as an assistant editor for S&S’s mass-market division, Pocket Books. In February 1992, he joined Kensington Publishing as an editor and he became Editor-in-Chief in 2005. He launched his own imprint, John Scognamiglio Books, at Kensington in 2017.  Among his authors are New York Times bestsellers Lisa Jackson, Joanne Fluke, Ellen Marie Wiseman and Leslie Meier. 

The Edgar Awards, or “Edgars,” as they are commonly known, are named after MWA’s patron saint Edgar Allan Poe and are presented to authors of distinguished work in various categories. MWA is the premier organization for mystery writers, professionals allied to the crime-writing field, aspiring crime writers, and those who are devoted to the genre. The organization encompasses some 3,000 members including authors of fiction and nonfiction books, screen and television writers, as well as publishers, editors, and literary agents. For more information on Mystery Writers of America, please visit the website: www.mysterywriters.org 

2025 Edgar Allan Poe Award Winners: Mystery Writers of America (MWA)

Mystery Writers of America announced the winners of the 2025 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction and television published or produced in 2024. Congratulations to all!
 
BEST NOVEL
The In Crowd by Charlotte Vassell (Penguin Random House – Doubleday)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
Holy City by Henry Wise (Grove Atlantic – Atlantic Monthly Press)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL 
The Paris Widow by Kimberly Belle (Harlequin Trade Publishing – Park Row Books)
 
BEST FACT CRIME
The Infernal Machine: A True Story of Dynamite, Terror, and the Rise of the Modern Detective by Steven Johnson (Penguin Random House - Crown)
 
BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
James Sallis: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction by Nathan Ashman (McFarland Publishing)
 
 BEST SHORT STORY
"Eat My Moose," Conjunctions: 82, Works & Days by Erika Krouse (Bard College)

BEST JUVENILE
Mysteries of Trash and Treasure: The Stolen Key by Margaret Peterson Haddix HarperCollins – Quill Tree Books)
 
BEST YOUNG ADULT

49 Miles Alone by Natalie D. Richards (Sourcebooks – Sourcebooks Fire)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
“Episode One” – Monsieur Spade, Written by Tom Fontana & Scott Frank (AMC)
 

* * *

 
OUR OTHER AWARDS
 
ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD – Endowed by the family of Robert L. Fish.
“The Jews on Elm Street,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September-October 2024 by Anna Stolley Persky (Dell Magazines)
 
THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD – Presented on behalf of Simon & Schuster
The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill (Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press)

THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD – Presented on behalf of G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 
The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear (Soho Press – Soho Crime)
 
THE LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN MEMORIAL AWARD – Endowed by the estate of Lilian Jackson Braun.
The Murders in Great Diddling by Katarina Bivald (Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press)
 
SPECIAL AWARDS

PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED ON JANUARY 15, 2025 

GRAND MASTER
Laura Lippman
John Sandford
 
RAVEN AWARD
Face in a Book Bookstore & Gifts, El Dorado Hills, CA
 
ELLERY QUEEN AWARD
Peter Wolverton, St. Martin’s Press
 
 

MWA 2025 Grand Masters, Raven, & Ellery Queen Award Recipients

Mystery Writers of America (MWA) announced the recipients of its special awards. 

2025 Grand Masters: Laura Lippman and John Sandford 

2025 Raven Award: Face in a Book Bookstore & Gifts

2025 Ellery Queen Award: Peter Wolverton of St. Martin’s Publishing Group 

They will accept their awards at the 79th Annual Edgar Awards Ceremony, which will be held May 1, 2025, at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City.

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 for a body of work that is both significant and of consistent high quality. 

The Raven Award recognizes outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing. 

The Ellery Queen Award was established in 1983 to honor “outstanding writing teams and outstanding people in the mystery-publishing industry.” 

SOUTHERN FRIED CRIMECON: September 26-29, 2024

Join the Southeast Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America for a weekend retreat and mini conference at The Lodge at Lake Oconee, Eatonton GA. Our keynote speaker is the marvelous Wanda Morris! For more information, scan the QR code or follow the links. 

EDGAR AWARDS 2024: Mystery Writers of America

I loved being able to "attend" the Edgar Awards this year. So good to see old and new friends. Great job, MWA, on the live-stream. Congratulations to all!

Mystery Writers of America announced the winners for the 2024 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction and television published or produced in 2023. The 78^th Annual Edgar® Awards were celebrated on May 1, 2024, at the New York Marriott Marquis Times Square and live-streamed on YouTube. 

 

BEST NOVEL

Flags on the Bayou by James Lee Burke (Grove Atlantic – Atlantic Monthly Press)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
 
The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry (Simon & Schuster – Atria Books)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
 
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

(Penguin Random House - Berkley)

 

BEST FACT CRIME

Crooked: The Roaring '20s Tale of a Corrupt Attorney General, a Crusading Senator, and the Birth of the American Political Scandal

by Nathan Masters (Hachette Book Group – Hachette Books)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
 
Love Me Fierce in Danger: The Life of James Ellroy

by Steven Powell (Bloomsbury Publishing - Bloomsbury Academic)

BEST SHORT STORY

"Hallowed Ground," by Linda Castillo (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)

 

BEST JUVENILE

The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto by Adrianna Cuevas

(Macmillan Publishers – Farrar, Straus and Giroux BFYR)

BEST YOUNG ADULT
 
Girl Forgotten by April Henry (Hachette Book Group – LBYR – Christy Ottaviano Books)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY

“Escape from Shit Mountain” – Poker Face,

Written by Nora Zuckerman & Lilla Zuckerman (Peacock)

 

* * * * * *

 

ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD

“The Body in Cell Two,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, May-June 2023 by Kate Hohl

(Dell Magazines)

 

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
Presented on behalf of Simon & Schuster.

 

Play the Fool by Lina Chern (Penguin Random House - Bantam)

THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD
Presented on behalf of G.P. Putnam’s Sons.

 

An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)

 

THE LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN MEMORIAL AWARD

Endowed by the estate of Lilian Jackson Braun.

 

Glory Be by Danielle Arceneaux (Pegasus Books – Pegasus Crime)

 

SPECIAL AWARDS

 

GRAND MASTER

 

Katherine Hall Page

R.L. Stine

 

ELLERY QUEEN AWARD

 

Michaela Hamilton, Kensington Books

 

 

LIVESTREAM MWA Edgar Awards

Livestream Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Awards: May 1. 8:30

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg704Luzy4EKA85E9vv2toQ

or

bit.ly/MWAYouTube

Mystery Writers of America BARBARA NEELY GRANTS

Mystery Writers of America announced the 2024 recipients of the Barbara Neely Grants: Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier and Audrea Sallis. The grant comes with a $2000 award to assist each recipient with any aspect of their career as they see fit. 

Barbara Neely was the author of the “Blanche” series, one of the first crime fiction series to feature a Black woman as the protagonist. In just four books, Ms. Neely became both a role model and a major influence for an entire new generation of Black women. Mystery Writers of America named her a Grand Master in November of 2019 to recognize her enormous contributions to the genre as well as her impact on the crime fiction community. Sadly, Ms. Neely passed away before she could accept the honor in person in April 2020 at the Edgars presentation and in 2021, MWA created a scholarship program for Black crime fiction writers in her name; one for an already published author, and another for one just getting started in publishing.

Ashley-Ruth Bernier’s short fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, Stone’s Throw, The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023, and other places. She was the 2022 winner of the Jacobs/Jones African-American Literary Prize from the North Carolina Writers’ Network, and has been a finalist for the Derringer Award, the Claymore Award, and the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Award. She received a B.A. from the University of Virginia and an MFA from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Originally from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, she is a writer of Caribbean mysteries. Bernier lives with her husband and four children in North Carolina, where she teaches first grade and finds few things more valuable than uninterrupted writing time.

Audrea Sallis is an accomplished technical professional transitioning to creative writing. She’s passionate about mysteries, writing, and promoting books—a creative writer with an eye for detail and passion for crafting stories. A graduate of Western Kentucky University, Sallis now lives in South Dakota, and is currently working on an amateur sleuth mystery series featuring a woman relocating from Chicago to a small fictional town in South Dakota.

2024 Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominations

Mystery Writers of America announced the nominees for the 2024 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction and television published or produced in 2023. The 78^th Annual Edgar® Awards will be presented on May 1, 2024, at the New York Marriott Marquis Times Square.

 
BEST NOVEL

Flags on the Bayou by James Lee Burke (Grove Atlantic – Atlantic Monthly Press)
All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron Books)
The Madwomen of Paris by Jennifer Cody Epstein (Penguin Random House – Ballantine Books)
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll (Simon & Schuster – Simon Element – Marysue Rucci Books)
An Honest Man by Michael Koryta (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown and Company – Mulholland Books)
The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger (Simon & Schuster – Atria Books)
Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead (Penguin Random House – Doubleday)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
 
The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry (Simon & Schuster – Atria Books)
The Golden Gate by Amy Chua (Macmillan Publishing – Minotaur Books)
Small Town Sins by Ken Jaworowski (Macmillan Publishing – Henry Holt and Co.)
The Last Russian Doll by Kristen Loesch (Penguin Random House - Berkley)
Murder by Degrees by Ritu Mukerji (Simon & Schuster)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
 

Boomtown by A.F. Carter (Penzler Publishers - Mysterious Press)

Hide by Tracy Clark (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)

The Taken Ones by Jess Lourey (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Penguin Random House - Berkley)

Lowdown Road by Scott Von Doviak (Hard Case Crime)

BEST FACT CRIME

In Light of All Darkness: Inside the Polly Klaas Kidnapping and the Search for America's Child by Kim Cross (Hachette Book Group – Grand Central Publishing)
Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall by Zeke Faux (Penguin Random House – Crown Currency)
Tangled Vines: Power, Privilege, and the Murdaugh Family Murders by John Glatt (Macmillan Publishers – St. Martin’s Press)
Crooked: The Roaring '20s Tale of a Corrupt Attorney General, a Crusading Senator, and the Birth of the American Political Scandal by Nathan Masters (Hachette Book Group – Hachette Books)
I Know Who You Are: How an Amateur DNA Sleuth Unmasked the Golden State Killer and Changed Crime Fighting Forever by Barbara Rae-Venter (Penguin Random House – Ballantine Books)
The Lost Sons of Omaha: Two Young Men in an American Tragedy by Joe Sexton (Simon & Schuster – Scribner)
 
BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
 
Perplexing Plots: Popular Storytelling and the Poetics of Murder by David Bordwell
(Columbia University Press)
Spillane: King of Pulp Fiction by Max Allan Collins & James L. Traylor (Penzler Publishers – Mysterious Press)
A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Mark Dawidziak (Macmillan Publishing - St. Martin's Press)
Fallen Angel: The Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Robert Morgan (LSU Press)
Love Me Fierce in Danger - The Life of James Ellroy by Steven Powell (Bloomsbury Publishing - Bloomsbury Academic)
 
 
BEST SHORT STORY

"Hallowed Ground," by Linda Castillo (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
"Thriller," Thriller by Heather Graham (Blackstone Publishing)
"Miss Direction," Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September-October 2023 by Rob Osler (Dell Magazines)
“The Rise," Amazon Original Stories by Ian Rankin (Amazon Publishing)
“Pigeon Tony’s Last Stand," Amazon Original Stories by Lisa Scottoline (Amazon Publishing)

BEST JUVENILE

Myrtle, Means, and Opportunity by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Hachette Book Group – Workman Publishing – Algonquin Young Readers)
The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto by Adrianna Cuevas (Macmillan Publishers – Farrar, Straus and Giroux BFYR)
Epic Ellisons: Cosmos Camp by Lamar Giles (HarperCollins Publishers - Versify)
Epic Ellisons: Cosmos Camp by Lamar Giles (HarperCollins Publishers - Versify)
The Jules Verne Prophecy by Larry Schwarz & Iva-Marie Palmer (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
What Happened to Rachel Riley? by Claire Swinarski (HarperCollins Publishers – Quill Tree Books)
 
BEST YOUNG ADULT
 
Girl Forgotten by April Henry (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Star Splitter by Matthew J. Kirby (Penguin Young Readers – Dutton Books for Young Readers)
The Sharp Edge of Silence by Cameron Kelly Rosenblum (HarperCollins Publishers – Quill Tree Books)
My Flawless Life by Yvonne Woon (HarperCollins Publishers – Katherine Tegen Books)
Just Do This One Thing for Me by Laura Zimmerman (Penguin Young Readers – Dutton Books for Young Readers)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY

“Time of the Monkey" – Poker Face, Written by Wyatt Cain & Charlie Peppers (Peacock)
“I’m a Pretty Observant Guy” – Will Trent, Written by Liz Heldens (ABC)
“Dead Man’s Hand" – Poker Face, Written by Rian Johnson (Peacock)
“Hózhó Náhásdlii (Beauty is Restore)" – Dark Winds, Written by Graham Roland & John Wirth (AMC)
“Escape from Shit Mountain" – Poker Face, Written by Nora Zuckerman & Lilla Zuckerman (Peacock)

* * * 

  
ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD – Endowed by the family of Robert L. Fish.

"Errand for a Neighbor," Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, January-February 2023 by Bill Bassman (Dell Magazines)
“The Body in Cell Two,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, May-June 2023 by Kate Hohl (Dell Magazines)
“The Soiled Dove of Shallow Hollow,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, January-February 2023 by Sean McCluskey (Dell Magazines)
“It’s Half Your Fault,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, July-August 2023 by Meghan Leigh Paulk (Dell Magazines)
“Two Hours West of Nothing,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September-October 2023 by Gabriela Stiteler (Dell Magazines) 
 
THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
Presented on behalf of Simon & Schuster.
 
Play the Fool by Lina Chern (Penguin Random House - Bantam)
The Bones of the Story by Carol Goodman (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)
Of Manners and Murder by Anastasia Hastings (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
The Three Deaths of Willa Stannard by Kate Robards (Crooked Lane Books)
Murder in Postscript by Mary Winters (Penguin Random House - Berkley)
 
THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD 
Presented on behalf of G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
 
Hard Rain by Samantha Jayne Allen (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
Bad, Bad Seymour Brown by Susan Isaacs (Grove Atlantic – Atlantic Monthly Press)
Past Lying by Val McDermid (Grove Atlantic – Atlantic Monthly Press)
A Stolen Child by Sarah Stewart Taylor (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
 
THE LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN MEMORIAL AWARD
Endowed by the estate of Lilian Jackson Braun.
 
Glory Be by Danielle Arceneaux (Pegasus Books – Pegasus Crime)
Misfortune Cookie by Vivien Chien (Macmillan – St. Martin’s Paperbacks)
Hot Pot Murder by Jennifer J. Chow (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
Murder of an Amish Bridegroom by Patricia Johns (Crooked Lane Books)
The Body in the Back Garden by Mark Waddell (Crooked Lane Books)
 
SPECIAL AWARDS
PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED ON JANUARY 11, 2024 

GRAND MASTER
 
Katherine Hall Page
R.L. Stine
 
ELLERY QUEEN AWARD
 
Michaela Hamilton, Kensington Books

MWA 2024 Grand Master and Ellery Queen Award Recipients

Mystery Writers of America (MWA) announced the recipients of its special awards.  

Katherine Hall Page and R.L. Stine as the 2024 Grand Masters 

Michaela Hamilton of Kensington Publishing will receive the Ellery Queen Award. 

Awards will be given at the 78^th Annual Edgar Awards Ceremony, which will be held May 1, 2024, at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City.

“Mystery Writers of America is delighted to announce the recipients of our 2024 special awards. Our Grand Masters, Katherine Hall Page and R.L. Stine, have given so much to our genre—not just through their writing, but also through their generosity to other writers, their hard-working professionalism, and their boundless enthusiasm for the written word,” said MWA Executive Vice President Donna Andrews.
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 for a body of work that is both significant and of consistent high quality. 
 
On being notified of the honor, Katherine Hall Page said, “I joined MWA in 1989, over a third of a century ago. In so doing I immediately felt a part of a supportive community and formed deep, long lasting friendships. And membership has also bestowed a link to MWA’s extraordinary past, beginning in 1945. The first Grand Master was Agatha Christie in 1955. I am stunned to be standing in her—and all the other’s—shoes. Thank you MWA for the thrill of a lifetime.”

Page wrote her first mystery, The Body in the Belfry, while living in France for year during her husband’s sabbatical from MIT. It was the 1991 Agatha Award winner for Best First Mystery Novel. The 15^th in the series, The Body in the Snowdrift, won the 2006 Agatha Award for Best Mystery Novel. Page was also awarded the 2001 Agatha for Best Short Story for “The Would-Be Widower” in the Malice Domestic X collection and received three more Agatha nominations, including one for her series cookbook, Have Faith in Your Kitchen, in the nonfiction category, making her the first author to be nominated or win in four different Agatha categories. She was an Edgar nominee for her juvenile mystery, Christie & Company Down East.  The Body in the Lighthouse (2003) was one of three nominees for The Simon & Schuster Mary Higgins Clark Award. The Body in the Boudoir was a finalist in the 2013 Maine Literary Awards. Page received the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from Malice Domestic and Crime Master for her work from the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance. The Body in the Web is out now from William Morrow in hardcover, paperback, large print, E-book, and audio editions. 

R.L. Stine is one of the best-selling children’s authors in history. Goosebumps, which recently celebrated its 30^th anniversary, has more than 400 million books in print in 32 languages. An all-new New York Times bestselling Goosebumps series, House of Shivers, debuted in September 2023, with two more books to be published in 2024.
 
The Goosebumps series made Stine a worldwide publishing celebrity (and Jeopardy answer). His other popular children’s book series include Fear Street, (recently revived as a feature film trilogy), The Garbage Pail Kids, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room, and Rotten School. Other titles include It's The First Day of School Forever, A Midsummer Night's Scream, Young Scrooge, Stinetinglers, and three picture books, with Marc Brown—The Little Shop of Monsters, Mary McScary, and Why Did the Monster Cross the Road (2023).
 
On learning of the honor, Stine said, “Tony Hillerman. Elmore Leonard. Mickey Spillane. Ruth Rendell: Those were the MWA Grand Masters when I first started attending the Edgar Awards over 30 years ago. If you had told me then I’d be on that list someday, would I have believed you? I don’t think so. I’m surprised and truly honored.” 
 
The Ellery Queen Award was established in 1983 to honor “outstanding writing teams and outstanding people in the mystery-publishing industry.” This year the Board chose to honor Michaela Hamilton, executive editor at Kensington and editor in chief of Citadel, which she joined after a 25-year career in publishing. Her importance in the discovery of new writers and emphasis on publishing traditional mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels cannot be underestimated. 

On learning she would receive the Ellery Queen Award, Hamilton said, “As a lifelong mystery fan, as well as a longtime supporter of MWA, I couldn’t be more tickled by this amazing recognition. When I think about previous recipients of the Ellery Queen Award, I feel quite humble. I’m just a bookworm who was lucky enough to spend the last 50-plus years working with authors I adore on books I love. Long live suspense fiction!” 

Hamilton acquires and edits commercial fiction and nonfiction including thrillers, true crime, and cozy mysteries. She has worked with authors including John Gilstrap, Gregg Olsen, M. William Phelps, Caitlin Rother, Barbara Allan, John Lutz, Lynn Cahoon, Nancy Coco, Rick Reed, and Leo J. Maloney. Her lifelong love of suspense fiction began in childhood, when she skipped the Nancy Drew mystery series in favor of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer novels, which she read clandestinely after finding her father’s copies in the bathroom. She likes her thrillers violent, her cozies amusing, and her beer well chilled. 

Previous Ellery Queen Award winners include The Strand Magazine, Juliet Grames, Reagan Arthur, Kelley Ragland, Linda Landrigan, Neil Nyren, Charles Ardai, and Janet Hutchings. “Michaela Hamilton has worked with dozens of new and seasoned writers over the decades,” Andrews said, “not only making Kensington a powerhouse in the mystery and thriller field, but also giving genre lovers hundreds of books—and thousands of hours of reading pleasure.”

2023 EDGAR AWARD WINNERS: Mystery Writers of America

Mystery Writers of America announced the winners of the 2023 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2022. The 77th Annual Edgar® Awards took place April 27, 2023, at the New York Marriott Marquis Times Square (and on YouTube). I loved following along!

BEST NOVEL

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka (HarperCollins – William Morrow)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

Don’t Know Tough by Eli Cranor (Soho Press – Soho Crime)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
 Or Else by Joe Hart (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)
 
BEST FACT CRIME

Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation by Erika Krouse (Flatiron Books)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and Their Creators by Martin Edwards (HarperCollins – Collins Crime Club)

 
BEST SHORT STORY

"Red Flag," Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by Gregory Fallis (Dell Magazines)

BEST JUVENILE

Aggie Morton Mystery Queen: The Seaside Corpse by Marthe Jocelyn (Penguin Random House Canada - Tundra Books)


BEST YOUNG ADULT

The Red Palace by June Hur (Macmillan Children’s Books – Feiwel & Friends)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY

“Episode 1” – Magpie Murders, Written by Anthony Horowitz (Masterpiece/PBS)

 
 ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD

"Dogs in the Canyon," Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Mark Harrison (Dell Magazines)
 

* * * 

 
THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD

A Dreadful Splendor by B.R. Myers (HarperCollins – William Morrow)

THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD
 Hideout by Louisa Luna (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group – Doubleday)

 
THE LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN MEMORIAL AWARD

Buried in a Good Book by Tamara Berry (Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press)
 

SPECIAL AWARDS

 
GRAND MASTER
 
Michael Connelly
Joanne Fluke
 
RAVEN AWARD
 
Crime Writers of Color
Eddie Muller for Noir Alley and The Noir Foundation
 
ELLERY QUEEN AWARD
 
The Strand Magazine

MWA 2023 Grand Master, Raven, and Ellery Queen Award Recipients

Mystery Writers of America (MWA) announced the recipients of its special awards. The board chose Michael Connelly and Joanne Fluke as the 2023 Grand Masters, the 2023 Raven Award recipients are Crime Writers of Color and Eddie Muller, and The Strand Magazine will receive the Ellery Queen Award. They will accept their awards at the 77^th Annual Edgar Awards Ceremony, which will be held April 27, 2023, at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City.

“Mystery Writers of America is thrilled to announce the recipients of our special awards for 2023. It’s always such a joy to recognize deserving individuals for their outstanding contributions to our genre. Michael Connelly and Joanne Fluke have contributed so much to the genre through their hard work and amazing careers, and they will continue to influence and inspire future generations of writers long after they receive their awards,” said MWA Executive Vice President Greg Herren.

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 for a body of work that is both significant and of consistent high quality. 

 

Connelly’s nomination cited Bosch’s mantra from the first in the series, The Black Echo, to the present day also sums up Connelly’s approach to his craft: “Everybody counts or nobody counts,” adding “What those five words have meant to the readers of mystery fiction in the past 37 years can’t be overstated.”

 

On being notified of the honor, Connelly said, “All I can say is I’m overwhelmed. When you look at the list of previous Grand Masters you see every writer that ever inspired you. So overwhelming. I first got published thirty years ago and I remember everything about it. To think that that guy of thirty years ago would end up with this honor is really quite amazing. I am truly honored.”

 

Connelly is the author of 31 novels, including multiple #1 New York Times bestsellers. His books, which include the Harry Bosch series and Lincoln Lawyer series, have sold more than 74 million copies worldwide. Connelly is a former newspaper reporter who has won numerous awards for his journalism and his novels and is the executive producer of both Bosch TV series and The Lincoln Lawyer. He spends his time in California and Florida.

 

Fluke launched her series 21 years ago with Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (2001). Since then, she has written 30 Hannah Swenson Mysteries, the most recent being 2022’s Caramel Pecan Roll Murder. The series also has the distinction of being turned into five hugely successful Murder, She Baked films for the Hallmark Channel. Fluke has also written suspense, thriller, and romance novels under her own name and pseudonyms. Like Hannah Swensen, she was born and raised in a small town in rural Minnesota, but now lives in sunny Southern California.

 

On learning of the honor, Fluke said, “I am very grateful to be mentioned in the same breath as such legends as Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen and John le Carré . . .  Speaking of breathing, I'm very glad I still am!”

 

Previous Grand Masters include Laurie R. King, Charlaine Harris, Jeffery Deaver, Barbara Neely, Martin Cruz Smith, William Link, Peter Lovesey, Walter Mosley, Lois Duncan, James Ellroy, Robert Crais, Ken Follett, Sara Paretsky, James Lee Burke, Sue Grafton, Stephen King, Ira Levin, Mary Higgins Clark, Lawrence Block, P.D. James, Ellery Queen, Daphne du Maurier, Alfred Hitchcock, Graham Greene, and Agatha Christie, to name a few.

 

The Raven Award recognizes outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing. For 2023, Mystery Writers of America selected Crime Writers of Color (CWoC), “an association of authors seeking to present a strong and united voice for members who self-identify as crime/mystery writers from traditionally underrepresented racial, cultural and ethnic backgrounds,” and Eddie Muller, host of the Turner Classic Movies series Noir Alley and founder and president of the Film Noir Foundation.

 

Speaking for CWoC, cofounders Gigi Pandian, Kellye Garrett, and Walter Mosley wrote, “When we first started talking about the idea that became Crime Writers of Color, we never imagined the small informal group would become such a big and thriving community in just a few years. Our goal was always to create a safe and supportive space for fellow writers of color to network and thrive. So, to know that the group is making a positive impact in the mystery community as a whole is so gratifying, and to be recognized by MWA in our fifth year is such an honor! We thank you on behalf of all our 350-plus members who are in all stages of their career." 

Muller is best known as the host of the Turner Classic Movies series Noir Alley, a weekly showcase for the best of crime cinema and for his lively, erudite intros and outros to these movies, in which he always foregrounds writers—novelists and screenwriters both—in the conversation. At the Film Noir Foundation (FNF), which makes restoring and preserving films from around the globe a priority, Muller has personally saved many motion pictures from disappearing, among them acclaimed titles like The Prowler, written by blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, and Too Late for Tears.

In response to learning he would receive the Raven Award, Muller wrote, “I was completely surprised! The crime and mystery fiction community—writers, editors, booksellers, and readers—is a wonderfully warm, supportive, and generous tribe and I’m happy to have been a small part of it for the past 20 years. Having my eclectic endeavors rate a Raven—what a delightful surprise, and what an honor! I'm extremely grateful to MWA.”

Previous Raven Award recipients include Lesa Holstine, Malice Domestic, Left Coast Crime, Marilyn Stasio, The Raven Bookstore, Sisters in Crime, and Oline Cogdill.

 

The Ellery Queen Award was established in 1983 to honor “outstanding writing teams and outstanding people in the mystery-publishing industry.” This year the Board chose to honor The Strand Magazine, a bimonthly periodical known as much for its incisive articles about the mystery world and its practitioners and penetrating interviews with top authors like James Patterson and Lee Child, as for unearthing lost short stories penned by now-dead literary greats, such as a 600-word short story by Raymond Chandler, written in the 1950s toward the end of his life, as well as the forgotten fiction of such giants as Dashiell Hammett, William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams and H.G. Wells.

 

On learning they would receive the Ellery Queen Award, managing editor Andrew Gulli said, “When The Strand started 25 years ago, we had no idea how big it would get. So, it’s great to see The Strand being honored with the Ellery Queen Award from Mystery Writers of America. MWA has always felt more like a community—one in which I’ve formed strong friendships and where The Strand has found some of its best authors. As a print publication with a strong online presence, The Strand has had to continuously adapt to an ever-changing industry and being honored with the Ellery Queen Award from MWA serves as definite proof that print is not only alive but kicking! Here’s to another 25 years!”

Previous Ellery Queen Award winners include Juliet Grames, Reagan Arthur, Kelley Ragland, Linda Landrigan, Neil Nyren, Charles Ardai, and Janet Hutchings.

“Eddie Muller’s dedication to preserving the marvelous legacy of noir and crime films by bringing classics to new generations of viewers through his work with TCM and his foundation is more than worthy of recognition,” Herren said. “The Strand Magazine’s legacy of quality has never faltered and remains a must-read for crime fans. The impact of Crime Writers of Color, not only in crime fiction but across the board in publishing, may not be quantifiable, but can be seen at every conference, awards ceremony, and bestseller list. It’s an incredible list of honorees. We are in a golden age of crime fiction, and it’s very exciting to see.”

  

2022 EDGAR AWARDS: Mystery Writers of America

Mystery Writers of America  -- 2022 Edgar Allan Poe Award Winners

 

April 28, 2022, New York, NY - Mystery Writers of America is proud to announce the Winners for the 2022 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2021 The Edgar® Awards were presented at the New York Marriott Marquis Times Square and livestreamed on YouTube.

 

BEST NOVEL

Five Decembers by James Kestrel (Hard Case Crime)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
 
Deer Season by Erin Flanagan (University of Nebraska Press)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
 
Bobby March Will Live Forever by Alan Parks (Europa Editions – World Noir)

BEST FACT CRIME

Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York

by Elon Green (Celadon Books)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock: An Anatomy of the Master of Suspense 

by Edward White (W.W. Norton & Company)
 

BEST SHORT STORY

“The Road to Hana,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by R.T. Lawton (Dell Magazines)

 

BEST JUVENILE

Concealed by Christina Diaz Gonzalez (Scholastic – Scholastic Press)

BEST YOUNG ADULT
 
Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley 

(Macmillan Children’s Publishing – Henry Holt and Company BFYR)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY

“Boots on the Ground” – Narcos: Mexico, Written by Iturri Sosa (Netflix)