Mystery Melange

Congratulations go to this year's nominees for the Strand Critics Awards. They include:

Best Novel

• The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye (Putnam)
• Broken Harbor by Tana French (Viking)
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (Crown)
• Defending Jacob by William Landay (Delacorte Press)
• Live by Night by Dennis Lehane (William Morrow)

Best Debut Novel

• A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash (William Morrow)
• The Yard by Alex Grecian (Putnam)
• The Expats by Chris Pavone (Crown)
• Disappeared by Anthony Quinn (Mysterious Press/Open Road)
• The 500 by Matthew Quirk (Hachette)

The latest issue of Lit Noir, edited by Jack Lehma, includes stories by Paul D. Brazill, Allan Leverone, Jack Lehman and more, as well as poems, original art and articles.

The latest issue of the ezine Plots With Guns is also out and includes crime stories by Joseph D'Agnese, J. David Gonzalez, Ben Morris, Arthur Piper, and Tim L. Williams.

Early-bird registration has begun for the 2013 Deadly Ink Mystery Conference, to be held August 2-4. Following a two-year hiatus, the conference returns with a bang, including Guest of Honor, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Toastmaster, Rosemary Harris, and Fan Guest of Honor, Bob Daniher. The conference kicks off with a full day of Deadly Ink Writer’s Academy classes for aspiring writers, on Fri., Aug. 2. Hank Phillippi Ryan will present Writing Your Mystery—All You Need to Know Before You Start; Rosemary Harris will teach Characters and Setting; Jane Cleland discusses Red Herrings; and author/agent Lois Winston ends with "The Top 10 Reasons Your Novel is Rejected."

Fans of graphic novels and the late Steig Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, including Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, will be happy to hear that Larsson's estate has signed author Denise Mina to write the remaining two graphic novels in that trilogy.

The Q&A roundup this week includes Hilary Davidson, talking about her new book Evil in All Its Disguises with the Mystery People; Brian Lindenmuth chats up Snubnose Press author JA Kazimer; Barbara Fister pops over at the Hey Dead Guy blog to talk about libraries and mystery novels; and Paul D. Brazill continues his "Short, Sharp Interview" series with K.A. Laity, about her latest, It's a Curse.