Applauding the Anthonys

 

The finalists were announced today for the Anthony Awards, literary awards for excellence in crime fiction, which have been presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for the author, critic, and editor, Anthony Boucher (1911–1968). Voting will take place at Bouchercon in Calgary, with the winners announced at an awards ceremony on October 24, 2026. Congratulations to all the finalists!


Best Hardcover Novel

• All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan, Minotaur Books
• The Black Wolf by Louise Penny, Minotaur Books
• Crooks by Lou Berney, William Morrow & Company
• Death of an Ex by Delia Pitts, Minotaur Books
• King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby, Flatiron Books: Pine and Cedar

Best First Novel

• History Lessons by Zoe B. Wallbrook, Soho Crime
• Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang, Atria Books,
• Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove, Berkley Books
• The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs, William Morrow & Company
• Voices of the Elysian Fields by Michael Rigg, Level Best Books
• Whiskey Business by Adrian Andover, Chestnut Avenue Press

Best Paperback Original/E-Book/ Audiobook Original Novel

• Crimson Thaw by Bruce Robert Coffin, Severn River Publishing
• Edge by Tracy Clark, Thomas & Mercer
• River of Lies by James L'Etoile, Oceanview Publishing
• This Violent Heart by Heather Levy, Montlake
• Tricks of Fortune by Lina Chern, Bantam

Best Short Story

• "AITA for Using My Husband's Hobby to Teach Him a Lesson", by Mindy Carlson, in Myopic Duplicity: Do the Ends Ever Justify the Means?, Kindle/Audible
• "Brotherly Love", by Cheryl A. Head, in Every Day a Little Death: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Stephen Sondheim, Level Short
• "Finding Jimmy Baldwin", by Cheryl A. Head, in Crime Ink: Iconic: An Anthology of Crime Fiction Inspired by Queer Icons, Bywater Books
• "Hollywood Prometheus", by Christa Faust, in Crime Ink: Iconic: An Anthology of Crime Fiction Inspired by Queer Icons, Bywater Books
• "Six-Armed Robbery" by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier, in Donna Andrews Presents Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Humorous, Wildside Press
• "The Skies Are Red", by Richie Narvaez, in On Fire and Under Water: A Climate Change Crime Fiction Anthology, Rock and a Hard Place Press

Best Juvenile or YA

• Death in the Cards by Mia P. Manansala, Delacorte Press
• Miles in Time by Lee Matthew Goldberg, Wise Wolf Books
• Risky Pursuit by Nancy G. West, Fire & Ice Young Adult Books
• The Scammer by Tiffany D. Jackson, Quill Tree Books
• Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History by Chris Chan, Level Best Books

Best Critical or Nonfiction Work

• Bone Valley: A True Story of Injustice and Redemption in the Heart of Florida by Gilbert King, Flatiron Books
• L.A. Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood by Anne Soon Choi, Third State Books
• Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser, Penguin Press
• The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story by Pagan Kennedy, Vintage
• Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover's Travel Guide to New England by Dawn M. Barclay, Level Tru

Best Anthology or Collection

• Blood on the Bayou: Case Closed: Bouchercon Anthology, Don Bruns (ed.), Down & Out Books
• Crime Ink: Iconic: An Anthology of Crime Fiction Inspired by Queer Icons, John Copenhaver (ed.) and Salem West (ed.), Bywater Books
• Hollywood Kills: An Anthology, Adam Meyer (ed.) and Alan Orloff (ed.), Level Short
• On Fire and Under Water: A Climate Change Crime Fiction Anthology, Curtis Ippolito et al., Rock and a Hard Place Press
• Whatever Kills the Pain by C.W. Blackwell, Rock and a Hard Place Press