CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!
Wow! Last week was a great week for mystery readers everywhere. Both the Malice Domestic and the Mystery Writers of America held their annual conventions! I’m most interested in the Malice Domestic convention, simply because these are the mystery awards that are closest to what we know as Cozy Mysteries. As I have mentioned many times before, there is a reason the Agatha Awards have that name. They are the mystery books that are the closest to what Agatha Christie wrote for us. No graphic violence, sex, language >>> pretty much >>> Cozies! However, both awards are very important to us as mystery lovers.
AGATHA AWARDS MALICE DOMESTIC AWARDS
2016: Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient: Katherine Hall Page *** How neat is this!
AGATHA AWARDS BEST NOVEL
2015: Long Upon the Land by Margaret Maron (Winner)
Bridges Burned by Annette Dashofy
The Child Garden by Catriona McPherson
The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny
What You See by Hank Phillipi Ryan
AGATHA AWARDS BEST HISTORICAL NOVEL
2015: Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King (Winner)
Malice at the Palace by Rhys Bowen
The Masque of a Murderer by Susanna Calkins
Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante by Susan Elia MacNeal
Murder on Amsterdam Avenue by Victoria Thompson
AGATHA AWARDS BEST FIRST NOVELS
2015: On the Road with Del and Louise by Art Taylor (Winner)
Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman by Tessa Arlen
Macdeath by Cindy Brown
Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron
Just Killing Time by Julianne Holmes
AGATHA AWARDS BEST SHORT STORY
2015: A Year Without Santa Claus by Barb Goffman (Winner)
A Questionable Death by Edith Maxwell
A Killing at the Beausoleil by Terrie Farley Moran
Suffer the Poor by Harriette Sackler
A Joy Forever by B.K. Stevens
AGATHA AWARDS BEST CHILDREN/YOUNG ADULT
2015: Andi Unstoppable by Amanda Flower (Winner)
Pieces and Players by Blue Balliett
Need by Joelle Charbonneau
Woof by Spencer Quinn
Fighting Chance: A Martial Arts Mystery by B.K. Stevens
AGATHA AWARDS BEST NON-FICTION
The Golden Age of Murder: The Mystery of the Writers Who Invented the Modern Detective Story by Martin Edwards (Winner)
The Great Detective: The Amazing Rise and Immortal Life of Sherlock Holmes by Zack Dundas
A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie by Kathryn Harkup
Unsolved Murders and Disappearances in Northeast Ohio by Jane Ann Turzillo
The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook: Wickedly Good Meals and Desserts to Die For by Kate White, editor
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD GRAND MASTER
2016: Walter Mosley
EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARDS BEST NOVEL
2016: Let Me Die in His Footsteps by Lori Roy (Winner)
EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD BEST FIRST NOVEL
2016: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Winner)
EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
2016: The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney (Winner)
EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD BEST SHORT STORY
2016: Obits by Stephen King (Winner) found in The Bazaar of Bad Dreams
EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD BEST FACT CRIME
2016: Whipping Boy: The Forty-Year Search for My Twelve-Year-Old Bully by Allen Kurzweil (Winner)
EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL WORK
2016: The Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards (Winner)
EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD BEST JUVENILE
2016: Footer Davis Probably is Crazy by Susan Vaught (Winner)
EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD BEST YOUNG ADULT
2016: A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis (Winner)
MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
2016: Little Pretty Things by Lori Rader-Day (Winner)
A Woman Unknown by Frances Brody
The Masque of a Murderer by Susanna Calkins
Night Night, Sleep Tight by Hallie Ephron
The Child Garden by Catriona McPherson
EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD BEST EPISODE OF A TV SERIES
2016: Gently with the Women by Peter Flannery, George Gently (Winner)
Again, CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!
Ellen Byron says
Thanks so much! It was a fabulous experience. Danna and cozy readers and authors, if you’ve never gone to Malice, you must find a way sometime. It’s just heaven for us cozy and traditional mystery lovers and writers. Wonderful people, great panels, and just a fun time all around!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Ellen, I’m going to have to try to coordinate one of my trips out to see my daughter with a Malice Domestic convention. It always sounds like the attendees enjoy themselves so much.
Ellen Byron says
Danna, that would be perfect!! You must. You’ll love it.
KG says
Thank you. I found some new authors to explore.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
KG, the Agatha awards are a great place to find new authors to try.
Margaret StashEmpress says
Disappointed my faves didn’t win! (I’m reading the second Tessa Arlen book now & love it & Rhys Bowen’s Malice at the Palace is my absolute MOST FAVORITE OF ALL — can’t imagine why it didn’t win???)
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Margaret StashEmpress, probably because they had such stiff competition. I think it would be incredibly difficult to vote for one book over another in some of the divisions.
Ellen Byron says
Danna’s right, all of the categories were very competitive. But what’s wonderful is that the authors weren’t. Us Best First Novel nominees really got to know each other as friends as well as fellow authors. I can’t wait to read Tessa’s books! I feel like the five of us have embarked on our cozy journeys together and we’ll always be there for each other.
MJ says
WOW! I’m so pleased to read that a lifetime Achievement Award was given to one of my most favorite authors — Katherine Hall Page. A well-deserved honor!
I totally agree with ‘Best Novel’ by Margaret Maron – another most favorite author. An excellent story. Although I think Hank Phillipi Ryan also wrote an excellent story, and am glad to see she was recognized with a nomination.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
MJ, I know. >>> Katherine Hall Page deserves all sorts of mystery accolades, and it’s terrific they honored her by giving her the Agatha Lifetime Achievement Award!