As some of you might already know, they announced the Nominees for the 2011 Agatha Awards. The Malice Domestic Convention will be April 27-29 in Bethesda, Maryland.
Congratulations to all 2011 Agatha Award Nominees!
Best Novel:
The Real Macaw by Donna Andrews
The Diva Haunts the House by Krista Davis
Wicked Autumn by G.M. Malliet
Three-Day Town by Margaret Maron
A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny
Best First Novel:
Dire Threads by Janet Bolin
Choke by Kaye George
Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry
Who Do, Voodoo? by Rochelle Staab
Tempest in the Tea Leaves by Kari Lee Townsend
Best Historical Novel:
Naughty in Nice by Rhys Bowen
Murder Your Darlings by J.J. Murphy
Mercury’s Rise by Ann Parker
Troubled Bones by Jeri Westerson
A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear
Best Short Story:
“Disarming” by Dana Cameron, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine – June 2011
“Dead Eye Gravy” by Krista Davis, Fish Tales: The Guppy Anthology
“Palace by the Lake” by Daryl Wood Gerber, Fish Tales: The Guppy Anthology
“Truth and Consequences” by Barb Goffman, Mystery Times Ten
“The Itinerary” by Roberta Isleib, MWA Presents the Rich and the Dead
Best Children’s/Young Adult:
Shelter by Harlan Coben
The Black Heart Crypt by Chris Grabenstein
Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby
The Wizard of Dark Street by Shawn Thomas Odyssey
The Code Busters Club, Case #1: The Secret of the Skeleton Key by Penny Warner
Best Non-fiction:
Books, Crooks and Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law and Courtroom Procedure by Leslie Budewitz
Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making: More Stories and Secrets from Her Notebooks by John Curran
On Conan Doyle: Or, The Whole Art of Storytelling by Michael Dirda
Wilkie Collins, Vera Caspary and the Evolution of the Casebook Novel by A. B. Emrys
The Sookie Stackhouse Companion by Charlaine Harris
Lifetime Achievement: Simon Brett
Amelia Award: Elizabeth Peters
Guest of Honor: Jan Burke
Toastmaster: Dana Cameron
Malice Remembers: Tony Hillerman
By the way, the Best Historical Novel (Mystery) is a new Agatha Award category. Must mean that a lot of us are reading (and enjoying) them!
Wow! What a line-up of wonderful mystery authors! Those of you who are lucky enough to be going to the Malice Domestic Convention this year are sure to have a mysteriously wonderful time!
Kay says
Just curious. What is the Amelia Award? I haven’t heard of it before.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Kay, I was sort of wondering the same thing. I am guessing that it might be the first time they “came up” with the “Amelia Award” – as a tribute to the recipient (Elizabeth Peters), named for Peters’ Amelia Peabody phenomenally popular Amelia Peabody Mystery Series. But, this is just a guess. (I tried to do a somewhat quick Google search, but was unable to find out any information.)
Shawn says
Congratulations to ALL our nominees!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
I second that, Shawn!
Margaret says
I am so happy my favorite author Krista Davis is nominated twice. I cannot believe how much I love this series. I have some other series I really love, but when I start a Domestic Diva Mystery I cannot put it down. She ends every chapter with a “cliff hanger” and I just cannot wait to see what happens. The plots are thought out so well and the characters are so well described. When I read this I really visualize the whole scene.
I wish her luck, as well as all the nominees!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
I know, Margaret. Isn’t it great when our favorite authors get special recognition?
And, thank you so much for telling us how much you enjoy the Domestic Diva mysteries by Krista Davis.
(I am so delighted they added the Agatha Awards for Historical Mysteries.)
susie calkins says
Nice to see the children/young adult category. My son is starting to enjoy mysteries although is mainly at the 39 Clues/Encyclopedia Brown level. Good to know about these!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susie, also, I have a list of Mystery Books for Pre Teens that many Cozy Mystery readers helped me compile.
susie calkins says
awesome, thanks! (I should have known you’d have a list for this category!!) 🙂
Maria (BearMountainBooks) says
I”m really glad to see Elizabeth Peters recognized–no matter what they call the award!
As for the rest of the list–every year about this time when I see the list…I feel woefully under-read!!! If I have read 3 of the books I feel like I did well. If I’ve read 5 of the authors (not necessarily the books) I feel proud. :>)
Danna - cozy mystery list says
I agree, Maria, about finding books on the annual Agatha Award lists that I have read. The Agatha Awards are really the coziest of the mystery book awards.
Angela says
Wow, Louise Penny is certainly on a winning streak in her category…I’m gonna have to read those books!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Angela, I know I’ve talked about this before, but I love it when already-established mystery authors write mystery books for children and/or young adults!
Julia says
The Best Novel category is a tough one – the novels they have nominated are very different types of books. Personally I’m rooting for either Donna Andrews or Margaret Maron, but I wouldn’t want to be the one to choose between them.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Julia, I totally agree with your comment about the nominated novels being very different types of books. The good news is that being nominated let’s people know how good your mysteries are. I know that everyone prefers being “the winner”>>> but to me, just being nominated makes them all winners.
Barbara Thompson says
Just a BIG thank you for the time and effort you put into this web site. I have discovered many new authors from the lists and the blog posts. It is always a great start to my day when I check your site each morning.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thank you, Barbara! (Reading your blog always makes me want to go right out and adopt a new family pet!!!)
Lynn T. says
I never realized that fans could go to the Malice Domestic Convention. What fun that would be! What would really be fun is if a group of us from the Cozy site went and met each other. I would be in awe upon seeing/hearing the authors. Looked at the registered list of fans and authors. Quite a list of who’s who in the mystery field. Wish the convention was closer to where I live.
Always like to see who is on the nominated list of mystery awards and also see who won.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
I know, Lynn T. This is yet another case of it being really, really nice to live on the East coast!
Margaret says
I joined Sisters in Crime and SinC New England as a reader and if you check the sites, you can see all the wonderful conventions, programs, work shops, signings, events, etc. that are listed that all can attend. I am so excited Bouchercon Mystery Convention is coming to my home town in 2013. I am so excited to see what authors will be in attendance.
The nice thing about most events is readers are always welcome, but of course authors would not be without readers. I find most Cozy Mystery Authors are very open, gracious and willing to share with and meet their readers.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thanks for the information, Margaret, about non-mystery authors and the programs and conventions we are able to go to. How exciting for you to be able to attend Bouchercon this year.
Donna says
Thanks for posting this nice synopsis! So many books, so little time to read them all. :-/ Does anyone know who nominates books for awards like this one, or what the process is for nomination? I’ve always wondered about that.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
This is an interesting question, Donna. I guess I never thought about the nominating process for the Agatha Awards. Now I’m going to wonder about this, also!
Judith says
People who registered for this year’s Malice Domestic by 12/31/11 could nominate works for the Agatha Awards. Attendees vote for the awards. I know I’m busy reading the nominees!
susie calkins says
I know how the Bouchercon process works for Anthony awards (just learned this a few months ago), and I just looked up Malice Domestic Agatha Awards–same process. Every person who registers for the conference before a given date (May for Bouchercon) is emailed an open nomination form for the categories. Somehow, all those nominations are whittled down to 5 per category. At the conference, registered attendees receive a ballot when they check in; they must turn it in by a given time. Some committee then copiously compiles them all, and the winners are announced. I have to admit I wonder if the process favors books published early in the calendar year, but my husband (a psychologist) says the “recency effect” may actually favor the most recent books published. But I turned to your list when I submitted my ballot because I couldn’t remember when some of my favorites came out. Hope this helps! http://www.malicedomestic.org/agathaawards.html
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Aha, Susie. So that is how the Agatha Award nominees are chosen. Thanks for the very helpful information.
I would have to go with your psychologist husband’s “recency effect” >>> I wonder if authors take that into account when they decide to publish their books. (Or rather, I wonder if the publishers take that into account.)
Donna says
Thanks, Danna, Judith and Susie. 🙂 I’ve always wondered if authors were nominated by their peers or if someone else participated in the process. It seems that the Agatha and Anthony awards are the most respected. I only recently discovered Boucher and he quickly became one of my favorite writers, although it seems that his fiction is difficult to find nowadays. His short story “Elsewhen” is simply brilliant, kind of like Dame Agatha visits The Twilight Zone!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Donna, I haven’t read any of Anthony Boucher’s mysteries yet. That’s quite a blend: Christie meets Twilight Zone!
Donna says
I found that little story in an old anthology of locked room mysteries. It’s a classic mystery story, but more of an inverted detective story than a whodunit, about an eccentric inventor who creates a very unusual way of establishing an alibi.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thanks, Donna! I just might take a look at Boucher’s work. (Although, I was just going through the mystery books you all have recommended for March, and I have a lot of them waiting for me to turn on my Kindle. In the future, I will need to control myself when I see the recommended books!)
Barb Goffman says
Hi. I’m the Malice Domestic program chair (and an Agatha nominee this year in the short-story category). It’s so exciting that you’re all discussing the convention. I hope some (all!) of you can make it. There are still spaces available if you want to register. http://www.MaliceDomestic.org. Anyway, I saw that someone asked about the Amelia Award. Here’s some info on that from a Malice newsletter that came out last summer:
The Board of
Directors of Malice Domestic is pleased to
announce our newest award – the “Amelia.”
Because Malice Domestic would not exist without
her, this award is named in honor of Elizabeth
Peters’ and her most famous character, Amelia
Peabody Emerson. The first presentation of this
award will be given to Elizabeth Peters at the
Agatha Awards Banquet at Malice Domestic 24 in
2012 . In the future, this award will be given to
individuals whom the Board feels have
contributed both to the Malice Domestic
community and to the Malice Domestic
convention.
Barb Goffman
Donna says
Thank you for posting and good luck on the nomination!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thank you, Barb, for all of the “Amelia Award” information. I think it’s great they have added a new award in honor of Elizabeth Peters.
Thanks, again for the info AND congratulations on the nomination!
Barb Goffman says
Thank you, Donna and Danna.