Mystery Melange

The North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers announced that Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King is the winner of the annual Hammett Prize for a work of literary excellence in the field of crime writing. The other finalists included Wayfaring Stranger: A Novel, by James Lee Burke; Smoke River, by Krista Foss; Gangsterland: A Novel, by Tod Goldberg; and Goodhouse: A Novel, by Peyton Marshall. (Hat tip to Mystery Fanfare)

The Southern California Independent Booksellers Association (SCIBA) announced the finalists for the T. Jefferson Parker Award, which recognizes excellence in books that reflect Southern California culture or lifestyle: Marry, Kiss, Kill by Anne Flett-Giordano; The Replacements by David Putnam; and The Cartel by Don Winslow. The winner will be announced on October 24.

Paul Cleve is the winner of this year's Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel by a New Zealand author or resident. This is the author's second such award, having previously won in 2011 for Blood Men. For a list of the other finalists, check out award founder Craig Sisterson's blog.

Peter May's Entry Island won the Trophée 813, awarded for the last 20 years by the French crime writing review magazine, Review 813. The trophy was awarded at the annual crime writing festival at Villeneuve les Avignon.

We lost another crime fiction icon this week, with the death of Henning Mankell from cancer at the age of 67. Mankell's books and his plays have sold more than 40 million copies and been translated into 40 languages. His popular series featuring police inspector Kurt Wallender, said to have helped created the Nordic noir genre, was turned into a TV series starring Kenneth Brannagh. There are many tributes and obits pouring in, including The New York Times and the BBC.

Noir at the Bar invades Queens on Friday, October 16th, at 7pm, at Astoria Coffee (30-04 30th Street, Astoria). The lineup incudes Lawrence Block, Rob Hart, Jason Starr, Dennis Tafoya, SJ Rozan, Henry Chang, Julia Dahl, Jill Block, Nancy Bilyeau, and Arthur Nersesian, with Alex Segura serving as emcee.

Thrillerfest announced new spotlight guests for the 2016 festival, including C.J. Box, Gillian Flynn, and Walter Mosley. There will also be a new feature this year, a special screenwriting class at Master CraftFest taught by Richard Krevolin. Early bird registration is open until midnight EST on October 31st.

A few years ago, David F. Walker and Bilquis Evely teamed up for the graphic novel Shaft: A Complicated Man, focused on the first case for the legendary private eye. Yesterday, Dynamite Entertainment announced that Walker will return to Shaft with Imitation of Life, a new comic with artist Dietrich Smith, as well as penning Shaft’s Revenge, the first new prose novel about the character in over forty years. The character of Shaft first appeared in a 1970 novel by Ernest Tidyman and was adapted into an iconic film starring Richard Roundtree a year later.

Pulp Modern editor Alec Cizak announced he's returning the publication to feature strictly crime-themed stories (no mysteries), i.e., hard-core stories "about criminals and the wonderful decisions they make." The next reading period for submissions will be December 1-31.

Simon Winder (author of The Man Who Saved Britain: A Personal History of James Bond) penned an essay for The Guardian on "Why James Bond is a religion."

Via Bustle: "15 Books For Twin Peaks Fans To Enjoy With A Damn Fine Cup Of Coffee."

The Irish Times profiled "Dead man’s shoes: a top 10 of literary ventriloquism." In honor of Anthony Horowitz joining the list of Bond authors with his new novel Trigger Mortis, the Times offered up a list of ten books that have brought back the voices of much loved works.

In the first of what will undoubtedly be many such commemorations, one of the UK's iconic blue historic plaques will be created in honor of the late Ruth Rendell and placed on a house in Millsmead Way, Loughton, where Mrs Rendell lived when she was married.

The new crime poem at the 5-2 is "Failure" by Charles Rammelkamp.

In the Q&A roundup this week, Australian crime writer Leigh Redhead spoke at Belfast’s “Setting the Scene” conference, organized by the ICRH at Queen’s University; the Mystery People welcomed Nathan Ward, author of The Lost Detective: Becoming Dashiell Hammett; Jake Needham, who is one of the biggest-selling English-language authors in Asia, stopped by Crime Watch; and Teresa LaRue visited Omnimystery News to promote her new series that begins with A Talent for Murder.