Mystery Melange

The shortlist was announced (in a membership newsletter from J. Madison Davis) for the 2024 Dashiell Hammett Award for Literary Excellence in Crime Writing. Canadian and United States residents are eligible for this eminent award sponsored by International Association of Crime Writers, North American Branch, given in recognition of exceptional writing. The "Hammett" has been awarded annually since 1991. Congratulations to the finalists, which include: The Long-Shot Trial by William Deverell (ECW Press); The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (Riverhead); Crooked by Dietrich Kalteis (ECW Press); Rough Trade by Katrina Carrasco (MCD Books) and Broiler by Eli Cranor (Soho).

Congratulations to The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, which was named the Best Independent Bookstore in America by USA Today's 10 Best Readers' Choice Awards. As USA Today noted, not only does the store sell a variety of crime fiction books, but it also produces its own Bibliomystery series of novellas by some of the biggest authors in the genre.

Entries are now open for the 2025 Sisters in Crime Award for Emerging LGBTQIA+ Crime Writers. The award offers $2,000 grant for unpublished crime fiction, 2,500-5,000 words, by an emerging writer in the LGBTQIA+ community who has not published more than ten pieces of short fiction or two books, with preference is given to previously unpublished authors. Entries may be aimed at readers of all ages, from children's chapter books through adults. The winner may be asked to share thoughts on their win and the impact the award has made as well as serve as a member of next year's award selection committee. Applicants should send a short story or first chapter(s) of a manuscript-in-progress, a resume, and a cover letter describing how the applicant is emerging in the genre and how the grant money would be used. The deadline is July 31.

Lee Child, the author behind the global phenomenon, Jack Reacher, will headline the inaugural Whitby Lit Fest in the UK, in conversation with the TV personality, Rob Rinder. Lee will be discussing the new Reacher book, Exit Strategy, co-written with his brother, Andrew Child, and will also discuss his first ever autobiographical collection, The Stories Behind the Stories. Over 40 authors are expected to descend on the coastal town for the inaugural festival, which runs from Thursday November 6 to Sunday November 9. A major theme of the first festival will celebrate Whitby’s dramatic coastline and landscapes, while other themes include crime fiction, gothic horror, and working-class writing.

Simon & Schuster Books UK has entered into an official collaboration with the Conan Doyle Estate on a program of new and backlist titles following on from their recent collaboration, Holmes & Moriarty by Gareth Rubin, The upcoming projects will include a short story collection and new biography of the Sherlock Holmes creator ahead of the centenary of his death in 2030.
 

A month after the 35th-anniversary British Book Awards, the "Nibbies," another contest has been announced for audiobooks recorded in the English language and available in the United Kingdom. The British Audio Awards will release a shortlist in September, with winners are expected to be presented for a first time on November 24. They mirror the "Audies" awarded in the U.S., produced by the Audio Publishers Association. The British Audio Awards are nicknaming themselves the "Speakies," and will encompass various categories including Fiction and Crime & Thriller.


This week's crime poem up at the 5-2 is "Silent Judgment" by Amy Grech.

In the Q&A roundup, Laura Lippman, author of the Tess Monaghan series and many standalone crime novels, applied the Page 69 Test to her latest work, Murder Takes a Vacation; and Charlie Kondek took "The First Two Pages" test for Art Taylor's blog about his contribution to the forthcoming anthology, Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers.