On with my quest for determining what exactly these mystery book awards mean…
As I stated in my previous entry, "Anthony" is the first name of Anthony Boucher. (Actually, it’s his second name… William Anthony Parker White, but whose counting?) Since he is "the name" of the Bouchercon mystery convention, it is only fair that he is "the name" of the Anthony Awards. I have found out that he was instrumental in the founding of the Mystery Writers of America, which of course, is a wonderful thing for the mystery readers amongst all of us.
The Anthony awards are given for several different categories: best first novel, novel, short story, paperback (has to be the original form in which the book was introduced…. not a hardcover to paperback book), fan publication and something called "criticism/biography." Since each year’s Bouchercon is pretty much an entity in its own right, that year’s committee is in charge of designing the Anthony Awards for that particular year.
On September 30, the 2006 Anthony Awards Winners were given out at the Bouchercon which took place in Madison, Wisconsin. The winners are as follows:
Best Mystery Novel: Mercy Falls….. William Kent Krueger (An interesting note … Best Mystery Novel for 2005 was awarded to another one of William Kent Krueger’s books: Blood Hollow)
Best First Mystery: Tilt-a-Whirl….. Chris Grabenstein
Best Paperback Original: The James Deans….. Reed Farrel Coleman
Best Short Story: Misdirection….. Barbara Seranella from Greatest Hits, edited by Robert J. Randisi
Best Critical/Nonfiction: Heirs of Anthony Boucher….. Marv Lachman
Best Fan Publication: Crimespree Magazine….. edited by Jon and Ruth Jordan
Special Service to the Field: Janet Rudolph….. for Mystery Readers International
The Anthony Awards are awards that are actually voted on by the people attending the convention. So, if you want an author’s work to be at least considered for the award, you better make sure that you (or other readers who appreciate your favorite author) are present at the convention.
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