Mystery Melange

 

The International Thriller Writers announced this year's winners of the ITW Thriller Awards (and check out all the finalists here):

• Best Hardcover Novel: Adrian Mckinty, The Chain
• Best First Novel: Angie Kim, Miracle Creek
• Best Paperback Original Novel: Dervla Mctiernan, The Scholar
• Best Short Story: Tara Laskowski, “The Long-Term Tenant” (EQMM)
• Best E-Book Original Novel: Kerry Wilkinson, Close To You
• Best Young Adult Novel: Tom Ryan, Keep This To Yourself
• ThrillerMaster Lifetime Achievement Award recipient: Diana Gabaldon
• 2020 Silver Bullet Award recipient: Michael Connelly
• 2020 Thriller Legend Award recipient: Writers House (a literary agency)

Mystery in the Midlands, a mid-summer conference sponsored by the Palmetto Chapter of Sisters in Crime and the Southeastern Region of Mystery Writers of America, is going online and offering free registration. The date is Saturday, July 25, 2020, 10:00 am - 2:30 pm ET, with scheduled events to include a half-day workshop moderated by Dana Kaye. The special guests will be Charlaine Harris; John Floyd; Tara Laskowski; Art Taylor; Alexia Gordon; Toni L.P. Kelner; and Gigi Pandian. Charlaine Harris, Dana Cameron, and Jeffery Deaver will also participate in a panel on turning novels into screenplays.

Also going virtual is the 2020 Tampa Bay Times Festival of Reading, scheduled for Nov. 12-14. Special guests will include James Lee Burke, talking about A Private Cathedral, his 40th book and his 23rd about Louisiana police detective Dave Robicheaux; Michael Connelly, author of the 22 Harry Bosch books, about his upcoming book, The Law of Innocence, the sixth in his series about “Lincoln Lawyer” Mickey Haller; Laura Lippman, author of the bestselling Tess Monaghan mystery series and other novels, including Sunburn and Lady in the Lake; and Colson Whitehead, who won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for fiction for The Nickel Boys, his compelling novel inspired by the story of the Florida School for Boys.

AL DÍA News profiled Maria Elvira Bermudez, the "Mexican Agatha Christie." A pioneer of the crime novel and a lawyer by profession, Bermúdez invented the first woman detective of Latin American noir. The mystery genre offered her a tool to express her political ideals including the struggle for women's rights, especially the right to vote.

It appears that a lot of folks are increasing their reading during coronavirus quarantines. As Publishers Weekly reported, in what is perhaps the biggest surprise in publishing since the Covid-19 pandemic began roiling the U.S. economy, unit sales of print books in the first half of 2020 were up 2.8% over the same period in 2019 (at outlets the report to NPD BookScan). As you might expect, children's book and educational materials led the way, but the adult fiction category also had a 2.9% increase in the first six months of 2020.

The latest crime poem at the 5-2 Weekly is "Firebug" by Rusty Barnes.

In the Q&A roundup, Deborah Kalb interviewed Kevin Myers, a comedian, journalist, and speechwriter, who just published the thriller novel, Hidden Falls; Quentin Bates stopped by the Mrs. Peabody Investigates blog to chat about his latest novel, Cold Malice, featuring Icelandic police officer Gunnhildur ‘Gunna’ Gísladóttir; CrimeReads chatted with Smith Henderson and Jon Marc Smith on the ups and downs of collaborative writing and the years-long quest to create a thriller; CR also welcomed Steve Berry to talk about his Cotton Malone series and his slow ride to bestseller status.