Books & Authors

The crime fiction world gathers annually at Bouchercon (the World Mystery Convention), named for New York Times literary critic and editor Anthony Boucher, a mystery novelist in his own right who was the first mainstream critic to treat crime fiction seriously.

Mystery authors still feel a bit like literary stepchildren, which may be one reason for the abundance of awards given within the genre. Five different sets of awards were given at Bouchercon, and another set—the UK’s Crime Writers Association Dagger Awards—was announced at a gala televised event in London recently. Nor are these the only awards available to mystery and thriller writers.

What’s good about these awards, especially for readers new to the genre, is that they distinguish their winners from the thousands of other mystery titles published every year. At the risk of sweeping generalization, each award tends to honor the same type of book. That is, if you enjoyed a book that won last year’s Agatha Award, chances are you’ll like this year’s Agatha winners; if you liked last year’s Shamus winner, you should at least take a look at this year’s.

Fans vote for some of these awards, while others are chosen by panels of judges. This month we’ll look at awards chosen by judges.

• The Barry Awards have been given at Bouchercon since 1997, in honor of legendary fan reviewer Barry Gardner. The judges are the editorial staff of Deadly Pleasures magazine and—from 2007 to 2009—the editors of Mystery News. Barrys are given for Best Novel, Best First Novel, Best British Crime Novel (for any novel published in the U.K.), Best Paperback Original, Best Thriller, and Best Short Story. This year’s Best Novel award went to The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Indridason. Previous Best Novel winners include What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman, The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos, and Red Leaves by Thomas H. Cook.
  

  The Draining Lake

• The CWA Dagger Awards are given to crime fiction works published in the English language in the U.K., and—unlike their American counterparts—usually include a cash prize. The number and categories of these awards have changed over the years, as private firms have sponsored them. Daggers are currently awarded in nine categories (plus a lifetime achievement Cartier Diamond Dagger), including Gold and Silver Daggers for best novel, the John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger, the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller, The Ellis Peters Historical Dagger, the CWA International Dagger (for fiction in translation) and the Dagger in the Library (for best traditional mystery). Last month, the Gold Dagger went to A Whispered Name by William Brodrick; the Steel to The Last Child, by John Hart; and the John Creasy (New Blood) Dagger to Echoes from the Dead by Johan Theorin.

• The Edgar Awards are the granddaddy of American crime fiction awards, dating back to 1954 (when Beat Not the Bones by Charlotte Jay won for Best Novel). Other winners have included Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carre, and Bootlegger’s Daughter by Margaret Maron. This year’s Best Novel Edgar went to Blue Heaven by C.J. Box. The Mystery Writers of America announce these awards at an annual banquet in April; awards are given in 15 categories, including Best Novel, Best First Novel, Best Paperback Original, Best Fact Crime, Best Juvenile, and Best Young Adult. The Simon & Schuster—Mary Higgins Clark Award, given at the Edgars banquet, honors romantic suspense.

• The Hammett Prize is given annually (since 1991) by the International Association of Crime Writers/North American Branch for literary excellence in the field of crime writing. Past winners include Turtle Moon by Alice Hoffman; The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood; Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan; and, most recently, The Turnaround by George Pelecanos.

• The Shamus Awards have been given since 1982 by the Private Eye Writers of America to recognize excellence in the private eye genre. Awards are given for Best Novel, Best Paperback Original, Best First Novel, and Best Short Story. The PWA also bestows the Eye for lifetime achievement, and in 2007 announced a new award, The Hammer, to honor a memorable series character. This year’s Shamus winner for Best Novel was Empty Ever After by Reed Farrel Coleman; Coleman also won the 2008 Best Novel Shamus for Soul Patch, the previous book in his Moe Prager series. Other Shamus winners include B is for Burglar by Sue Grafton, Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley (for Best First Novel) and A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane (also for Best First Novel).

• The Thriller Awards were created in 2006 by the newly formed International Thriller Writers (ITW), and are given at the annual Thrillerfest banquet in July. Fiction is recognized in three categories: Best Thriller, Best First Novel, and Best Short Story. Best Novel winners include The Bodies Left Behind by Jeffery Deaver (2009), The Ghost by Robert Harris (2008), Killer Instinct by Joseph Finder (2007) and The Patriots Club by Christopher Reich (2006).

- Written by Clair Lamb, Bookreporter.com

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Tags: awards, mystery

This entry was posted by thomas_b on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 2:38 pm and is filed under mystery fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.