Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel 2010

From Craig Sisterson comes this news of the winner of the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel. New Zealand’s first-ever crime fiction award went to ‘Alix Bosco’, the crime writing pseudonym for a “successful writer in other media,” for her debut thriller Cut & Run, at the conclusion of the  Whodunnit and Whowunnit? event in Christchurch Tuesday November 30,  2010. The award was accepted on Bosco’s behalf by staff from Penguin New Zealand, her publisher.

“Cut & Run is a great page-turning thriller, filled with characters of depth and complexity, set right here in New Zealand,” said Judging Convenor Craig Sisterson. “It was a tough decision for the judges, given the high quality of the finalists, but Bosco’s debut is a worthy winner of the first-ever Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel, which recognises the best of our contemporary crime writers, while also honouring the memory of one of our country’s true literary legends, who we have at times overlooked or underappreciated in the past.”

Bosco won a distinctive handcrafted trophy designed and created by New Zealand sculptor and Unitec art lecturer Gina Ferguson, a selection of 22 Ngaio Marsh-related books from HarperCollins, and a cheque for $500 from the Christchurch Writers Festival Trust.

New Zealand television audiences may also soon be able to view Bosco’s award-winning story on screen, with Cut & Run having been optioned by Screenworks for production as a television mini-series. Chris Hampson of Screenworks confirmed that the mini-series based on Cut & Run has been scripted, actress Robyn Malcolm has been cast as Anna Markunas, and a great crew has been confirmed.

Thanks, Craig, for the news!