Malice with Friends: Virtual Conversations

Malice Domestic has always been one of my favorite mystery conventions. Held in Bethesda, Md every Spring, it's been harder for me to attend in recent years, so I was thrilled to see this announcement about  virtual conversations from the organizers for Malice with Friends.

Excitement is in the air! Get ready to be part of something extraordinary with Malice Domestic’s new virtual event, Malice with Friends, a unique virtual crime fiction experience. It's an event like no other, and we want you to be there! 
 
Join us virtually for lively conversations!
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Sept. 20, 2026 - 3 p.m.  Mindy Quigley in conversation with Kathleen Marple Kalb
 
Nov 8, 2026 - 2 p.m.  Kelly Oliver in conversation with Alan Gordon/Allison Montclair
 
Dec. 6, 2026 - 2 p.m.  Adrian Andover in conversation with Catriona McPherson
 
Feb. 7, 2027 - 2 p.m.  Deborah Crombie in conversation with Connie Berry

Go here for more information and to register 

AGATHA AWARDS: MALICE DOMESTIC 2026

The 2026 Agatha Award winners were announced during Malice Domestic 38 on April 25, 2026. The Agatha Awards honor the “traditional mystery,” books typified by the works of Agatha Christie and others. Congratulations to all.  

The Agatha Award Winners (for works published in 2025)

Best Contemporary Mystery Novel

• At Death’s Dough, by Mindy Quigley (Minotaur)

Best Historical Mystery Novel

• The Case of the Christie Conspiracy, by Kelly Oliver (Boldwood)

Best Non-fiction

• Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover’s Travel Guide to the Mid-Atlantic States, by Dawn M. Barclay (Level Best)

Best First Mystery Novel

• Whiskey Business, by Adrian Andover (Chestnut Avenue Press)

Best Children’s/Young Adult Mystery Novel

• Death in the Cards, by Mia P. Manansala (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)

Best Mystery Short Story

•  “Six-Armed Robbery,” by Ashley Ruth-Bernier (from Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Humorous)

AGATHA AWARD NOMINEES: Malice Domestic 38

The Agatha Award nominees: Malice Domestic. Awards will be announced at Malice Domestic 38, April 24-26, 2026 in Bethesda, MD. Congratulations to all. 

AGATHA AWARD WINNERS 2025: Malice Domestic

The Agatha Awards were presented last night at Malice Domestic. Congratulations to all.

Best Contemporary Novel: Gigi Pandian for A Midnight Puzzle

Best First Novel: K.T. Nguyen for You Know What You Did 

Best Non-Fiction: Phyllis M. Betz for Writing the Cozy Mystery: Authors' Perspectives on Their Craft

Best Children's/YA: K.A. Jackson for Sasquatch of Harriman Lake

Best Historical Novel: Amanda Flower for To Slip the Bonds of Earth

Best Short Story: Barb Goffman for "The Postman Always Flirts Twice" in Agatha and Derringer Get Cozy

AGATHA AWARD NOMINEES: Malice Domestic 2025

Malice Domestic 2025 announced the Nominees for the Agatha Awards. Congratulations to all! 

MALICE DOMESTIC AGATHA AWARD WINNERS 2024

Best Contemporary Novel

THE WEEKEND RETREAT, Tara Laskowski

Best Historical Novel

THE MISTRESS OF BHATIA HOUSE, Sujata Massey

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Best First Novel

CRIME AND PARCHMENT, Daphne Silver

Best Short Story

"TICKET TO RIDE", Dru Ann Love and Kristopher Zgorski, Happiness is a Warm Gun

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Best Non-Fiction

FINDERS: JUSTICE, FAITH AND IDENTITY IN IRISH CRIME FICTION, Anjili Babbar

 

Best Children's/YA Mystery

THE SASQUATCH OF HAWTHOURNE ELEMENTARY, K. B. Jackson

AGATHA AWARD NOMINEES READING CHECKLIST

Here's the Malice Domestic Agatha Award Nominees List in an easier format. I love this Reading Checklist. Very convenient. Stay tuned for the winners. 

NEWS FROM MALICE DOMESTIC: Anthology, Website, and more!

The new Malice Domestic website is live. Visit: www.MaliceDomestic.net

Short Story authors chosen for the 18th Malice Domestic anthology titled Mystery Most Devious.

Stories by

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Susan Love Brown

Jackie McMahon

Mary Adler

Leone Ciporin

Sue Anger

Sarah Stephens

P.A. De Voe

Roberta Gibson

Jill K. Quinn

Jennifer Slee

Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier

Joslyn Chase

Christine Eskilson

Linda Norlander

Smita Harish Jain

Hope Hodgkins

Josh Pachter

Agatha Award Nominees 2024: Malice Domestic

 Malice Domestic 36 announced the nominees for the Agatha Awards. Congratulations, All! 

AGATHA AWARDS: Malice Domestic

The Agatha Award Winners were announced at Malice Domestic tonight. Congratulations to all.

Best Contemporary Novel

A World of Curiosities, Louise Penny (Minotaur)

Best Historical Novel

Because I Could Not Stop for Death, Amanda Flower (Berkley)

Best First Novel

Cheddar Off Dead, Korina Moss (St. Martin’s)

Best Short Story

"Beauty and the Beyotch," Barb Goffman (Sherlock Holmes Magazine, Feb. 2022)

Best Non-Fiction 

 Promophobia: Taking the Mystery Out of Promoting Crime Fiction, Diane Vallere Ed. (Sisters in Crime)

Best Children's/YA Mystery

Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade, Nancy Springer (Wednesday Books)

AGATHA AWARD NOMINATIONS: Malice Domestic

MALICE DOMESTIC announced the Agatha Award Nominees. Congratulations to all. The Agatha Awards will be presented Saturday, April 29, 2023, during Malice Domestic 35.

Best Contemporary Novel

Bayou Book Thief, Ellen Byron (Berkley Prime Crime)
Death By Bubble Tea, Jennifer J. Chow (Berkley)
Fatal Reunion, Annette Dashofy (Level Best Books)
Dead Man's Leap, Tina de Bellegarde (Level Best Books)
A World of Curiosities, Louise Penny (Minotaur)

Best Historical Novel

The Counterfeit Wife, Mally Becker (Level Best Books)
Because I Could Not Stop for Death, Amanda Flower (Berkley)
The Lindbergh Nanny, Mariah Fredericks (Minotaur)
In Place of Fear, Catriona McPherson (Mobius)
Under a Veiled Moon, Karen Odden (Crooked Lane Books)

Best First Novel

Cheddar Off Dead, Korina Moss (St. Martin’s)
Death in the Aegean, M. A. Monnin (Level Best Books)
The Bangalore Detectives Club, Harini Nagendra (Constable)
Devil’s Chew Toy, Rob Osler (Crooked Lane Books)
The Finalist, Joan Long (Level Best Books)
The Gallery of Beauties, Nina Wachsman (Level Best Books)

Best Short Story

"Beauty and the Beyotch," Barb Goffman (Sherlock Holmes Magazine, Feb. 2022)
"There Comes a Time," Cynthia Kuhn, Malice Domestic Murder Most Diabolical (Wildside Press)
"Fly Me to the Morgue," Lisa Q Mathews, Malice Domestic Mystery Most Diabolical (Wildside Press)
"The Minnesota Twins Meet Bigfoot," Richie Narvaez, Land of 10,000 Thrills, Bouchercon Anthology (Down & Out Books)
"The Invisible Band," Art Taylor, Edgar & Shamus Go Golden (Down & Out Books)

Best Non-Fiction

The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and Their Creators, Martin Edwards (HarperCollins)
The Handbook to Agatha Christie: The Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie, Mary Anna Evans and J. C. Bernthal (Bloomsbury Academic)
The Science of Murder: The Forensics of Agatha Christie, Carla Valentine (Sourcebooks)
Promophobia: Taking the Mystery Out of Promoting Crime Fiction, Diane Vallere Ed. (Sisters in Crime)
Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman, Lucy Worsley (Pegasus Crime)

Best Children's/YA Mystery

Daybreak on Raven Island, Fleur Bradley (Viking Books for Young People)
In Myrtle Peril, Elizabeth C. Bunce (Algonquin Young Readers)
#shedeservedit, Greg Herren (Bold Strokes Books)
Sid Johnson and the Phantom Slave Stealer, Frances Schoonmaker (Auctus Publishers)
Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade, Nancy Springer (Wednesday Books)

Agatha Awards: Malice Domestic 2022

Agatha Awards: Malice Domestic 2022 Congratulations to all! Best Contemporary Novel Cajun Kiss of Death by Ellen Byron (Crooked Lane Books) Best Historical Novel Death at Greenway by Lori Rader-Day (HarperCollins) Best First Novel Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala (Berkley) Best Short Story "Bay of Reckoning" by Shawn Reilly Simmons in Murder on the Beach (Destination Murders) Best Non-Fiction How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America by MWA with editors Lee Child and Laurie R. King (Simon & Schuster)   Best Children's/YA Mystery I Play One on TV by Alan Orloff (Down & Out Books)

 

AGATHA AWARD NOMINEES: Malice Domestic

Agatha Award Nominations: Malice Domestic 2022 Best Contemporary Novel Cajun Kiss of Death by Ellen Byron (Crooked Lane Books) Watch Her by Edwin Hill (Kensington) The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny (Minotaur) Her Perfect Life by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge) Symphony Road by Gabriel Valjan (Level Best Books) Best Historical Novel Murder at Mallowan Hall by Colleen Cambridge (Kensington) Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara (Soho Crime) The Bombay Prince by Sujata Massey (Soho Crime) Death at Greenway by Lori Rader-Day (HarperCollins) The Devil's Music by Gabriel Valjan (Winter Goose Publishing) Best First Novel The Turncoat's Widow by Mally Becker (Level Best Books) A Dead Man's Eyes by Lori Duffy Foster (Level Best Books) Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala (Berkley) Murder in the Master by Judy L. Murray (Level Best Books) Mango, Mambo, and Murder by Raquel V. Reyes (Crooked Lane Books) Best Short Story "A Family Matter" by Barb Goffman (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine Jan/Feb 2021) "A Tale of Two Sisters" by Barb Goffman in Murder on the Beach (Destination Murders) "Doc's at Midnight" by Richie Narvaez in Midnight Hour (Crooked Lane Books) "The Locked Room Library" by Gigi Pandian (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine July/Aug 2021) "Bay of Reckoning" by Shawn Reilly Simmons in Murder on the Beach (Destination Murders) Best Non-Fiction The Combat Zone: Murder, Race, and Boston's Struggle for Justice by Jan Brogan (Bright Leaf Press) Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter by Chris Chan (Level Best Books) The Irish Assassins: Conspiracy, Revenge, and the Phoenix Park Murders that Stunned Victorian England by Julie Kavanaugh (Atlantic Monthly Press) How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America by MWA with editors Lee Child and Laurie R. King (Simon & Schuster) Best Children's/YA Mystery Cold-Blooded Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Algonquin Young Readers) The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur (Fiewel and Friends/Macmillan) I Play One on TV by Alan Orloff (Down & Out Books) Leisha's Song by Lynn Slaughter (Fire and Ice/Melange Books) Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer (Wednesday Books)

Congratulations to all of the nominees!

The Agatha Awards will be presented Saturday, April 23, 2022, during Malice Domestic 32.33.34. Malice Registrations and Agatha Banquet Tickets are available on our website.

 

2021 AGATHA AWARD WINNERS: More Than Malice!

The 2021 MALICE DOMESTIC AGATHA AWARDS WINNERS were announced tonight at More Than Malice, the Virtual Malice Domestic Festival this year.

Best Contemporary Novel

All the Devils are Here by Louise Penny (Minotaur)

Best Historical Novel 

The Last Mrs. Summers by Rhys Bowen (Berkeley)

Best First Novel

Murder at the Mena House by Erica Ruth Neubauer (Kensington)

Best Short Story 

"Dear Emily Etiquette" by Barb Goffman (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Sep/Oct)

Best Non-Fiction

Phantom Lady: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, the Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock by Christina Lane (Chicago Review Press)

Best Children's/YA

Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco by Richard Narvaez (Piñata Books) 

Congratulations to all of the winners! 

The Agatha Awards were presented during MORE THAN MALICE, an online virtual crime festival this weekend. All the panels and special events have been recorded and will be available to registered participants for a few weeks. You can still register to view the great panels!

Register Now for MORE THAN MALICE

MORE THAN MALICE 2021: Registration Open

More Than Malice Registration is Now Open 

More Than Malice (July 14th-17th) is a crime fiction festival designed to fill the void left when the 2021 live Malice Domestic had to be cancelled. 

More Than Malice is not intended to be a recreation of the standard Malice Domestic in virtual format; rather it is a new entity designed to bring together a unique collection of invited authors exploring every avenue on the crime fiction map. 

Over the coming weeks, there will be announcements of the stellar line-up of confirmed invitees. You will see names like David Baldacci, James Lee Burke, S. A. Cosby, Carol Goodman, Peter Lovesey, Lisa Scottoline, and Lisa Unger, just to name a few. 

Registration fee has an introductory rate of $60. 

Click here to register now for More than Malice: A Virtual Crime Fiction Festival: July 14th-17th at the special early-bird price of $60. Stay tuned for much more exciting information and updates in the coming days and weeks.

MALICE DOMESTIC NEWS: MORE THAN MALICE

Here's the latest from the Malice Domestic Board of Directors:

After careful consideration, we have decided to postpone Malice 32/33 to 2022. We are looking forward to honoring our invited guests and to seeing you all again in person next year! 

Instead of a live event in 2021, we are excited to announce MORE THAN MALICE, a virtual (online) festival. MORE THAN MALICE will be held on July 14 - 17, 2021, and will feature special guests, unique panels, and the Agatha Awards. We will have much more exciting information for you in the coming days and weeks. Information regarding MD32/33 registrations will be sent in the next few days. 

The Agatha Award nomination forms will be emailed tomorrow, February 24. Everyone who is currently registered for Malice will receive a form and be invited to nominate their favorite books and stories from 2020.

MWA announces GRAND MASTER and RAVEN RECIPIENTS

Mystery Writers of America (MWA) announced the recipients of its special awards. The board chose Charlaine Harris and Jeffery Deaver as the 2021 Grand Masters, and the 2020 Raven Award recipient is Malice Domestic.

“Mystery Writers of America is thrilled to honor Jeffery Deaver and Charlaine Harris as MWA’s 2021 Grand Masters,” said MWA President Meg Gardiner. “Over the course of decades, Deaver and Harris have gripped tens of millions of readers while broadening the reach of the genre with transformative books—notably, Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series, and Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse novels—and while generously encouraging and supporting fellow writers and the reading public. We’re delighted to recognize their achievements.” 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.

Jeffery Deaver has published more than forty novels since the early 1990’s, including two series besides the Lincoln Rhyme novels, numerous stand-alone and short story collections. On being notified of the honor, Deaver said, “When I was a (relatively) young writer new to this business of penning novels, many years ago, the first professional organization I joined was Mystery Writers of America. Signing on felt to me like coming home—being welcomed into a community of fellow authors willing to share their expertise and offer support in a profession that was largely, well, a ‘mystery’ to me. Besides, how could I not join? MWA was the real deal; for proof, one had only to look at those in the ranks of the Grand Masters: Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, Ellery Queen, James M. Cain . . . and so many others whose works populated my bookshelves. Yet it never once occurred to me, in all my years as a member and my two terms as president, that I might be invited into those very ranks. I wish to express by boundless gratitude to MWA for this honor, which stands, without question, as the highpoint of my career.”

Charlaine Harris has published 13 novels in the Southern Vampire series (adapted into the popular HBO series True Blood), which proved so popular that at one point her novels took half of the top ten slots on New York Times’ bestseller list. Her other series include the Aurora Teagarden novels, the Lily Bard (Shakespeare) books, the Midnight Texas trilogy (adapted for television) and numerous others, as well as several standalones. Harris said, “This is like winning the lottery and the Pulitzer Prize in one day. I am so honored and thrilled to join the ranks of revered writers who are Grand Masters. I thank the MWA Board from the bottom of my heart.” 

The Raven Award recognizes outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing. For 2021, Mystery Writers of America selected the Malice Domestic mystery conference, founded in 1989 and held every spring since. Malice Domestic focuses primarily on traditional mysteries, their authors and fans, and also presents the Agatha Awards, with six categories. “Who says Friday the 13th is an unlucky day?” said Verena Rose, currently chair of the Malice Domestic Board of Directors. “Certainly, not me. This morning I received a call from Greg Herren, Executive Vice President of Mystery Writers of America, letting me know that Malice Domestic has been selected to receive the Raven Award in 2021. What an absolutely, amazing surprise and as the Chair, I can’t wait to give my fellow Board members the news. This is an honor we are beyond thrilled to receive.”

MALICE DOMESTIC 2021 GUESTS OF HONOR

Malice Domestic, one of my favorite mystery conventions, announced their Guests of Honor for 2021. Great to see they're planning ahead. I hope to be there next year. Here's their slate! What a great group! Registration is now open.

Guests of Honor: Julia Spencer-Fleming & Rhys Bowen 

Toastmasters: Jeff Cohen & Barb Goffman 

Lifetime Achievement: Ellen Hart & Walter Mosley 

International Guest of Honor: Sophie Hannah 

Fan Guests of Honor: Dina Wilner & Dru Ann Love 

Amelia Award: The Faithful Few 

Malice Remembers: Ruth Cavin & H.R.F. Keating

Registration for Malice 32-33 is Now Open! 

Comprehensive: $310 

Basic: $260 (Registration Fees increase on October 1, 2020) 

AGATHA NOMINEES: Malice Domestic

Malice Domestic announced the 2019 Agatha Award Nominees. Winners will be announced at Malice Domestic 32 (May 1-3)

Best Contemporary Novel
Fatal Cajun Festival by Ellen Byron (Crooked Lane Books)
The Long Call by Ann Cleeves (Minotaur)
Fair Game by Annette Dashofy (Henery Press)
The Missing Ones by Edwin Hill (Kensington)
A Better Man by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
The Murder List by Hank Philippi Ryan (Forge)

Best First Mystery Novel
A Dream of Death by Connie Berry (Crooked Lane Books)
One Night Gone by Tara Laskowski (Graydon House, a division of Harlequin)
Murder Once Removed by S. C. Perkins (Minotaur)
When It’s Time for Leaving by Ang Pompano (Encircle Publications)
Staging for Murder by Grace Topping (Henery Press)

Best Historical Mystery 

Love and Death Among the Cheetahs by Rhys Bowen (Penquin)
Murder Knocks Twice by Susanna Calkins (Minotaur)
The Pearl Dagger by L. A. Chandlar (Kensington)
Charity’s Burden by Edith Maxwell (Midnight Ink)
The Naming Game by Gabriel Valjan (Winter Goose Publishing)

Best Nonfiction
Frederic Dannay, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and the Art of the Detective Short Story by Laird R. Blackwell (McFarland)
Blonde Rattlesnake: Burmah Adams, Tom White, and the 1933 Crime Spree that Terrified Los Angeles by Julia Bricklin (Lyons Press)
Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep (Knopf)
The Mutual Admiration Society: How Dorothy L. Sayers and her Oxford Circle Remade the World for Women by Mo Moulton (Basic Books)
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold (Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt)

Best Children/Young Adult
Kazu Jones and the Denver Dognappers by Shauna Holyoak (Disney Hyperion)
Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen MacManus (Delacorte Press)
The Last Crystal by Frances Schoonmaker (Auctus Press)
Top Marks for Murder (A Most Unladylike Mystery)
by Robin Stevens (Puffin)
Jada Sly, Artist and Spy by Sherri Winston (Little Brown Books for Young Readers)

Best Short Story
"Grist for the Mill" by Kaye George in A Murder of Crows (Darkhouse Books)
"Alex’s Choice" by Barb Goffman in Crime Travel (Wildside Press)
"The Blue Ribbon" by Cynthia Kuhn in Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible (Wildside Press)
"The Last Word" by Shawn Reilly Simmons, Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible (Wildside Press)
"Better Days" by Art Taylor in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

AGATHA AWARD WINNERS: Malice Domestic

MALICE DOMESTIC announced the winners the Agatha Awards last night! Congratulations to all!

Best Contemporary Novel 
Mardi Gras Murder by Ellen Byron (Crooked Lane Books)

Best Historical Novel
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey (Soho Crime)

Best First Novel 
Tie: A Lady's Guide to Etiquette and Murder by Dianne Freeman (Kensington)
Curses Boiled Again by Shari Randall (St. Martin's)

Best Short Story 
Tie: "All God's Sparrows" by Leslie Budewitz (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine)
"The Case of the Vanishing Professor" by Tara Laskowski (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine)

Best Children's/Young Adult Mystery 
Potion Problems (Just Add Magic) by Cindy Callaghan (Aladdin)

Best Nonfiction 
Mastering Plot Twists: How to Use Suspense, Targeted Storytelling Strategies, and Structure to Captivate Your Readers by Jane Cleland (Writer's Digest Books)