Crème de la CrimeFest - The Winners

The Bristol, UK crime writing convention CrimeFest announced the 2024 winners of the CrimeFest Awards at the convention's Gala Awards Dinner last evening. The honors are bestowed on the best crime books released in the UK in the last year, with eligible titles submitted by publishers and voted on by a team of British crime fiction reviewers. Congrats to all the winners and finalists!

Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award:  Stig Abell for Death Under a Little Sky (Hemlock Press/HarperCollins)

Also nominated:

• Jo Callaghan for In The Blink Of An Eye (Simon & Schuster)
• Megan Davis for The Messenger (Zaffre)
• Jenny Lund Madsen for Thirty Days of Darkness; translated by Megan Turney (Orenda Books)
• Natalie Marlow for Needless Alley (Baskerville)
• Alice Slater for Death of a Bookseller (Hodder & Stoughton)

Edunnit Award (Ebooks):  Laura Lippman for Prom Mom (Faber & Faber)

Also nominated:

• Rachel Abbott for Don’t Look Away (Wildfire)
• Jane Casey for The Close (HarperCollins)
• Martin Edwards for Sepulchre Street (Head of Zeus)
• Christina Koning for Murder at Bletchley Park (Allison & Busby)
• Craig Russell for The Devil’s Playground (Constable)

Last Laugh Award (Humorous Crime Novels):  Mick Herron for The Secret Hours (Baskerville)

Also nominated:

• Mark Billingham for The Last Dance (Sphere)
• Elly Griffiths for The Great Deceiver (Quercus)
• Mike Ripley for Mr Campion’s Memory (Severn House)
• Jesse Sutanto for Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (HQ)
• Antti Tuomianen for The Beaver Theory (Orenda Books)

H.R.F. Keating Award (Biographical/Critical):  Adam Sisman for The Secret Life of John Le Carré (Profile Books)

Also nominated:

• M, J, F & A Dall’Asta, Migozzi, Pagello & Pepper for Contemporary European Crime Fiction: Representing History and Politics (Palgrave)
• Lisa Hopkins for Ocular Proof and the Spectacled Detective in British Crime Fiction (Palgrave)
• Kate Jackson for How To Survive a Classic Crime Novel (British Library Publishing)
• Steven Powell for Love Me Fierce In Danger: The Life of James Ellroy (Bloomsbury Academic)
• Nicholas Shakespeare for Ian Fleming: The Complete Man (Harvill Secker)

Thalia Proctor Memorial Award For Best Adapted TV Crime Drama:  Slow Horses (series 3), based on the Slough House books by Mick Herron (Apple)

Also nominated:

• Dalgliesh (series 2), based on the Inspector Dalgliesh books by P.D. James (Channel 5)
• Reacher (series 2), based on the Jack Reacher books by Lee Child (Amazon Prime)
• Shetland (series 8), based on the Shetland books by Ann Cleeves (BBC)
• The Serial Killer’s Wife, based on the Serial Killer books by Alice Hunter (Paramount+)
• Vera (series 12), based on the Vera Stanhope books by Ann Cleeves (ITV)

Best Crime Novel For Children:  J.T. Williams for The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries: Portraits and Poison, illustrated by Simone Douglas (Farshore)

Also nominated:

• A.M. Howell for Mysteries At Sea: Peril On The Atlantic (Usborne Publishing)
• Lis Jardine for The Detention Detectives (Penguin Random House Children’s UK)
• Beth Lincoln for The Swifts (Penguin Random House Children’s UK)
• Marcus Rashford (with Alex Falase-Koya) for The Breakfast Club Adventures: The Ghoul in the School (Macmillan Children’s Books)
• Robin Stevens for The Ministry of Unladylike Activity 2: The Body in the Blitz (Penguin Random House Children’s UK)

Best Crime Novel For Young Adults:  Elizabeth Wein for Stateless (Bloomsbury YA)

Also nominated:

• Jennifer Lynn for Barnes The Brothers Hawthorne (Penguin Random House Children’s UK)
• Nick Brooks for Promise Boys (Macmillan Children’s Books)
• Ravena Guron for This Book Kills (Usborne Publishing)
• Ravena Guron for Catch Your Death (Usborne Publishing)
• Karen M. McManus for One of Us is Back (Penguin Random House Children’s UK)