Mystery Melange

 

Debut author Clare Whitfield has been awarded the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award 2021 for People of Abandoned Character, a thrilling and atmospheric take on the Jack the Ripper story (published by Head of Zeus). It follows the perspective of the newly married Susannah, who begins to wonder whether her abusive and volatile husband might be responsible for the Whitechapel Murders. Whitfield won praise from the judging team, calling her story "a thoughtful and compelling exploration of the endless violence faced by women of all walks of life."

During an online live event this week, The Strand Magazine announced the winners of the 2021 Strand Critics Awards, recognizing excellence in the field of mystery fiction and publishing. The winners include Best Mystery Novel: Snow, by John Banville; Best Debut Novel: When No One Is Watching, by Alyssa Cole; and Lifetime Achievement Awards: Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, and Alexander McCall Smith. Josh Stanton of Blackstone Publishing was chosen to receive the 2021 Publisher of the Year Award.

The Bloody Scotland hybrid festival, which ran from September 17-30, had a record-breaking attendance this year, with 16,000 visitors (both in person and online) from over 30 countries. Organizers are so encouraged by this, they are already making plans for Bloody Scotland 2022, the event's 10th anniversary, increasing the in-person event to run for four consecutive days. Founding chair, Jenny Brown, is stepping down and handing over the reins to publisher and TV presenter, James Crawford, who added "This is a festival that has a very strong identity and a clear and ambitious vision for the future, and I am very much looking forward to helping shape the plans for its 10th anniversary in 2022." There's no word yet on whether next year's event will be once again a hybrid affair, but I'm assuming more word on that will be forthcoming, depending upon the state of the pandemic at that time.

New England Crime Bake is scheduled to take place live at the Hilton in Dedham, Massachusetts from November 12-14. The planning committee is weighing many considerations right now, but the good news is that Crime Bake 2021 will happen no matter what. A subcommittee has planned a virtual event, Crime Bake: Online, Plugged-In and Exclusive, that will take place from November 14 – 19, even if the live event does not happen as planned. Registration is separate from the in-person event, and folks from far-flung locations will be able to join in from the comfort of home. It will offer different programming from the in-person Crime Bake, which is currently still on. (HT to Brenda Buchanan)

The latest issue of Mystery Readers Journal, with a theme of Lone Star Mysteries, is out and available in print. You can catch some sneak previews online with the essays, "The Basis for The Bottoms by Joe R. Lansdale"; "My Grandfather and Samuel Craddock" by Terry Shames; and "Just the Facts: A Ranger Hall of Fame" by Jim Doherty.

The American Comparative Literature Association has issued a call for papers for their upcoming meeting in June of 2022. The symposium is titled "Global Histories of Crime Fiction: Redefining a Popular Genre," and organizers would like to see papers dealing with any aspects of world crime fiction and the historiographical challenges it presents. Abstracts must be received by Sunday, October 31.

The Melville House blog reminded us that a recent study at Yale University, which was reported on in a Washington Post article, showed "book readers experienced a 20 percent reduction in risk of mortality over the 12 years of follow-up compared to non-book readers." The data was obtained from a longitudinal Health and Retirement Study sponsored by the National Institute on Aging. The study looked at 3,635 subjects, all older than 50, whom the researchers divided into three groups: those who didn’t read books, those who read up to 3.5 hours a week and those who read more than 3.5 hours a week. The findings were remarkable: Book readers survived almost two years longer than those who didn’t crack open a book.

A team of more than 40 retired and amateur investigators claim they have identified the Zodiac Killer, up to this point an unnamed serial killer that operated in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1960s. The team, calling themselves The Case Breakers, which consists of former law enforcement officials, DNA experts, and journalists, believe they have identified the Zodiac Killer as Gary Francis Poste, who died in 2018. But the FBI and police in California say, "Not so fast."

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "Private Enterprise" by Harris Coverley.