Mystery Melange

This was a big week for crime fiction award nominations, with at least five different groups offering up their "bests" of the year:

The CWA Gold Dagger longlists for the best crime novel of the year were announced this week, including some familar bestsellers such as Stephen King and Robert Galbraith (a/k/a JK Rowling). The Crime Writers Association also released the longlists for the Ian Fleming Silver Dagger for spy/action thrillers and the John Creasey New Blood Dagger for debut novels.

The Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year announced its shortlist on Monday. The list was whittled down from a longlist of 18 crime novels published by British and Irish authors over the last year and includes three debuts:

• The Facts Of Life And Death, Belinda Bauer
• The Axeman’s Jazz, Ray Celestin
• The Outcast Dead, Elly Griffiths
• Someone Else’s Skin, Sarah Hilary
• The Devil in the Marshalsea, Antonia Hodgson
• Entry Island, Peter May

The Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin appreciation society, The Wolfe Pack, announced the list of finalists for the 2015 Nero Award, handed out annually "for the best American mystery written in the tradition of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe stories":

• Herbie’s Game, by Timothy Hallinan  
• The Detective & the Pipe Girl, by Michael Craven  
• First Light, by Al Lamanda
• The Detective, by James Patrick Hunt  
• Peter Pan Must Die, by John Verdon

The Deadly Ink Conference announced the finalists for this year's David Award for best crime novel of the year:

• Blood Rubies by Jane Cleland
• The Question Of The Missing Head by E.J. Copperman and Jeff Cohen
• Circle Of Influence by Annette Dashofy
• Death And White Diamonds by Jeff Markowitz
• The Roar Of The Crowd by Janice MacDonald
• The Outsmarting Of Criminals by Steven Rigolosi

Paula Hawkins, Steve Cavanagh, Clare Mackintosh and Jo Nesbo are among the writers in the running for the inaugural Dead Good Reader Awards. The awards in six different categories are nominated and voted on by readers and will be presented in Harrogate at the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in July.

And in other news:

Craig Johnson, author of the Sheriff Walt Longmire series (which was the inspiration for the popular TV drama), will host the fourth annual Longmire Days in Buffalo, Wyoming. The event takes place June 17-19 and is expected to draw over 8,000 fans and several Hollywood actors. In addition to the parade, there will be a "poker school for novices," trap shooting, and more. A charity is chosen to receive funds from each festival, and this year, it's the American Indian College Fund.

On July 10, Edinburgh University will host Protect and Serve: Crime Fiction and Community, a one-day symposium exploring how ideas of community feature in crime fiction. The panels will include "Criminalising Communities," "Arab Noir," "Femmes and Men Fatales," "Border Control," and "Imagined Communities."

The Edinburgh International Book Festival just announced its schedule for the next event, scheduled for August 15-31. The lineup includes Val McDermid discussing her new crime novel with the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon; Ian Rankin chatting with some of his favorite writers and musicians; S.J. Watson explaining how "Honesty is Not the Best Policy in Crime Fiction"; Staurt MacBride talking about his crime fiction works set in Scotland; Icelandic author Ragnar Jónasson and Scottish author Malcolm Mackay discussing the "International Language of Murder" and much more.

The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature released the early lineup for the 2016 festival in Dubai, March 8-12. Festival fave crime writer Ian Rankin will be returning with another Detective Rebus mystery, and he'll be joined by Anthony Horowitz, author of the new James Bond novel, Trigger Mortis.

Sherlock's Benedict Cumberbatch and Amerian Gangster's Chiwetel Ejiofor were both awarded CBEs (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen's Birthday Honours, announced June 13 by Buckingham Palace. American actor Kevin Spacey was also bestowed with an Honorary Knighthood.

Jeffrey Marks is working on a biography of Ellery Queen, the pen name of authors Fred Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee. In an article for Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine's blog, Marks discussed Dannay and his pioneering efforts to collect, document, and pubicize short crime fiction.

The Film Noir Foundation's quarterly magazine is called Noir City and previously was available only by subscription, but now readers can purchase individual back issues. Topics have included silent movie noir, the unsung directors known as the Poverty Row Professionals, and articles from crime writers like Christa Faust, who discussed noir vixens of recent vintage. You'll also find an overview of heist movies from Ken Bruen, Laura Lippman and Scott Phillips, and a regular "Five Favorites" feature with masters like Dennis Lehane, Michael Connelly and Lawrence Block giving you their noir picks. (HT to co-managing editor Vince Keenan)

The Irish times profiled Patricia Highsmith 20 years after her death, with a look at her books that created what Graham Greene called “a world claustrophobic and irrational which we enter each time with a sense of personal danger." Virago has reissued six of her novels, including The Blunderer, Deep Water and a "gorgeous hardback" of The Talented Mr Ripley.

The Agatha Christie Festival in September in Torquay will include a cooking demonstration with poisonous twist as French writer Anne Martinetti recreates recipes from the Queen of Crime’s books that are well suited for concealing poison. For the full schedule, which was just released, check out the festival website.

AARP Magazine profiled six bestselling female crime authors, which article writer Deirdre Donahue called the "A-team of crime and punishment."

Sarah Weinman penned an article for The Guardian titled, "The anti-Gone Girl: Mary Higgins Clark's likeable heroines are key to her longevity." Clark turns 88 this year and reflects on the secrets to her success after forty years in the publishing business.

Although the late Ruth Rendell was arguably best known for her Inspector Wexford series, she also wrote a series of standalone suspense novels. Leo Robson, writing for Guardian Books took a look at how these novels made her the "favorite" of French cinema, including the latest adaptation, François Ozon’s film The New Girlfriend.

Via Mental Floss:  "How Edgar Allan Poe Inspired Scrabble." (Hint: Poe’s short story “The Gold-Bug,” uses a cipher based on the popularity of English letters.)

Who says crime fiction isn't sexy? Lingerie company Passionata released a crime thrillers collection.

This week's featured poem at the 5-2 is "Confidence" by Charles Rammelkamp.

In the Q&A roundup, historical thriller writer Jerry Amernic chats with Omnimystery News; Kevin Cummings took Paul D. Brazill's "Short, Sharp Interview" challenge; Grant Blackwood chatted with the Huff
ington Post about taking over Tom Clancy's novel franchise; and Terry Shames was snared by the Mystery People to discuss her latest book A Deadly Affair at Bobtail Ridge.