Writers' Rooms

There is a wonderful series of the spaces where authors create in the Guardian online. Great links to photos and articles about the authors published over the years. A few mystery authors are sprinkled among the group. Also included are comments from the writers about their rooms. You'll love them all.

Photo above is of Ian Rankin's writing room (from May 2007/have things changed?) For pure clutter, go to Russell Hoban's room. Great writing comes out of great chaos. My kind of room.

For the Complete Series, go here.

Glass Key Award

Johan Theorin won the Scandinavian prize for Nattfak (Night Blizzard). Theorin is on the far left with the cap. Theorin was nominated by the Svenska Deckarakademin (Swedish Crime Novel Academy). The Glass Key was presented at Nordic House in Reykjavik. The Glass Key has been awarded by the SKS/CWS since 1992.

For the nominees, go here.

Johan Theorin was born in 1963 in Gothenburg, Sweden, and has spent every summer of his life on northern Oland. He is a journalist and scriptwriter. His second novel, Night Blizzard, will be published by Delacorte in September. It will be called The Darkest Room.

Hat Tip to Scandinavian Fiction for the news!

Kate Atkinson, reluctant author

Kate Atkinson tells Hay Festival she'd rather not be a published author.

Her reclusive streak was revealed on stage this morning at the Guardian Hay festival, where she confessed her ideal situation would be "to have enough money … [to] write and not be published". She doesn't, she told Guardian Review editor Lisa Allardice, like reviews or critics. "It's a very uncomfortable thing for a writer, we're very tender," she said.
Read entire article in the Guardian.

When Will There be Good News? Well, Kate Atkinson is in the middle of a fourth novel with former Police Inspector Jackson Brodie. Good news to me.

Lambda Awards

The 21st Annual Lambda Awards were given out last night in New York. The Lambda Literary Foundation is the country's leading organization for LGBT writers and readers.. Winners in the Mystery/Crime Fiction category are:

LESBIAN MYSTERY
Whacked by Josie Gordon (Bella Books)

Nominees:
Blind Faith, Diane and Jacob Anderson-Minshall, Bold Strokes Books
Sweet Poison, Ellen Hart, St. Martin's Press
Losers Weepers, Jessica Thomas, Bella Books
Calling the Dead, Ali Vali, Bold Strokes Books)

GAY MYSTERY:
First You Fall by Scott Sherman, Alyson Books

Nominees
The Fisher Boy, Stephen Anable, Poisoned Pen Press
Sundowner Ubuntu, Anthony Bidulka, Insomniac Press
Mahu Fire, Neil Plakcy, Alyson Books
Spider Season, John Morgan Wilson, St. Martin's Press

Hat tip to @ErinHere on Twitter for the timely reporting. Erin McHugh is the author of The Little Road Trip Handbook.

Ian Fleming: 101

I must confess that I enjoy spy thrillers. My first introduction to them must have been Ian Fleming's James Bond series. Over the years, my taste changed--or should I say continued to grow- and branched out to John LeCarre and many of the contemporary thriller authors. I was very pleased when Penguin reprinted all the James Bond books in lovely paper editions, and I was finally able to replace my tattered much read books. (Collectors need not worry. They were in terrible shape).

Today would have been Ian Fleming's 101st birthday. Sadly Fleming died of a heart attack at the early age of 56 in 1964. How many more terrific books might he have written?

Some odd facts:
Fleming wrote not only the 14 James Bond books, but did you know that he also wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang? and two non-fiction books. The James Bond novels weren't popular in the U.S. until John F. Kennedy included From Russia with Love on his list of favorite books. What is President Obama reading?

So today is Ian Fleming's 101st birthday. Raise a glass--" a vodka martini, shaken not stirred."

Happy Birthday, Dashiell Hammett

Dashiell Hammett, father of the American Hardboiled Detective novel, was born on May 27, 1894. Happy Birthday, Dash.

Perhaps the most enduring characters of Dashiell Hammett were Sam Spade and Nick and Nora Charles. Everyone who is a Hammett Fan has read The Maltese Falcon, and if you haven't, you should. Of course, you've seen one of the three movies based on the novel, but the book is great and one of my favorites. The novel introduces Sam Spade and many other characters-Brigid O'Shaughnessy, the Fat Man Casper Gutman, Joel Cairo and Wilmer Cook--all searching for a black statue-the Maltese Falcon. The two Continental Op novels, The Red Harvest and The Dain Curse should also be read. Actually you should read everything.

Hammett holds a place near and dear to me, as he spent much of his time in San Francisco. You can still walk those mean streets with Don Herron, author of The Dashiell Hammett Tour. No trip to San Francisco is complete without it. Herron is an expert on Hammett.

Some interesting links about Dashiell Hammett: American Masters (PBS) page. The Thrilling Detective has a complete list of Dashiell Hammett trivia-fiction, non-fiction, movies, stories, plays and more. J. Kingston Pierce wrote a great article in January Magazine: "Let's Talk about the Black Bird."

And, here's a Trailer from The Maltese Falcon.