The winners of the 2025 Lambda Literary Awards (fondly known as the Lammys), established in 1989 to garner national visibility for LGBTQ books, were announced this past weekend. The winner of the Best LBGTQ+ Mystery was Rough Trade by Katrina Carrasco (MCD). The other finalists include: Charlotte Illes is Not a Teacher by Katie Siegel (Kensington); One of Us Knows by Alyssa Cole (William Morrow); Rough Pages by Lev AC Rosen (Tor Publishing Group); and The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani, Translated by Sam Bett (Soho Crime).


Down & Out Books, founded by Eric Campbell, announced this week they're shutting down operations after 15 years. The small publisher has released over 1,000 books, collaborating with over 500 authors, and racked up 50 awards in the process, including Anthony, Shamus, Macavity, and Thriller Awards. In a statement on social media, they added that "a sharp decline in sales since 2020 has made continued financial investment unsustainable. As a result, no further payments will be issued. In the coming weeks, all titles will be withdrawn from distribution channels, and rights will revert to their respective authors and editors in accordance with their contracts." The majority of those books were crime fiction titles, including novels and short story anthologies. Jay Hartman, with Misti Media and its various imprints, has offered to republish the orphaned titles as the schedule allows. Hopefully, all the book and authors will be able to find new homes for their works via other means.


Blackstone Publishing announced the launch of AWE, a new imprint formed with military thriller author duo Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson's Andrews & Wilson Entertainment operation. AWE plans to "showcase both established authors in the military thriller genre and emerging voices committed to telling stories focused on service and sacrifice, grit and perseverance, heroism, faith, and moral courage," per the publisher. The inaugural AWE title, Andrews and Wilson’s The Adversary, which is the next novel in their Tier One series, will publish on November 4. The imprint plans to publish 12 books over the course of 2026 and 2027, ramping up to 20 titles annually after that. The current slate includes work from Don Bentley, Joshua Hood, and Jack Stewart. New titles in Andrews and Wilson’s Sons of Valor and Shepherds series, as well as standalone titles from the pair, will also be published under the AWE banner.


There's a new website, magazine, and podcast in the UK called Aspects of Crime, with plans to feature interviews, articles, reviews and short stories related to the crime field. It's the brainchild of Paul Burke, whose been an interviewer, reviewer, writer, and podcaster in his own right for many years. The inaugural issue has an interview with Richard Foreman, a look at women police officers in the UK, an appreciation of John le Carré’s George Smiley, and more.


Mystery Fanfare's editor, Janet Rudolph, announced that they've had so many articles, reviews and author essays for their Northern California issue, they decided to have two issues. If you missed the deadline for NorCal Mysteries, you still have time to contribute. They're looking for Author! Author! essays: 500–1500 words, first person, up-close and personal about yourself, your books, and the NorCal connection, as well as reviews and articles. The deadline for submissions is November 1.


The new anthology On Fire and Under Water set out to showcase the devastating the effects of climate change on everyday people, discuss the growing urgency of the climate emergency, and focus on the ongoing dismantling of environmental protection efforts. CrimeReads hosted some of the authors for "A Roundtable Discussion on Climate Change and Crime Fiction’s Role in Meeting the Moment."

 
Art Taylor's "The First Two Pages" blog, M.E. Proctor discussed her story "Garbo's Ghost," included in the new Celluloid Crime anthology edited by Deborah Well from Level Best Books.


This week's crime poem up at the 5-2 Crime Poetry Weekly is "The Making of a Soldier" by A.C. Perri.


In the Q&A roundup, Deborah Kalb spoke with J.A. Jance, author of the J.P. Beaumont series and the new novel The Girl from Devil's Lake, the latest in her Joanna Brady series; and thriller author Ronald Chapman chatted with Lisa Haselton about his new psychological thriller, The Reckoning of Grace, Book 3 of the Sage of Grace series.