The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

Malice Domestic's Agatha-Like Agathas…

As I said in my previous blog entry, the Agatha Awards are given out at the Malice Domestic conventions each year. I did not, however, list the different  categories that are awarded.

The different categories include awards for the best novel, the best first mystery written by an author, best mystery short story, and non-fiction. Also included among the categories are best children’s mystery…. for either children or young adults, less than 18 years of age.

The Agatha Committee tallies nominations that are sent in by registrant of the Malice Domestic convention and Friends of Malice, and then make a list with the top five eligible works for each category.  During the Malice Domestic convention, the final votes are made and the awards are given out. They will be awarding the 2006 awards this May. 

The 2005 Agatha Award winners are as follows:

Best Novel:  The Body in the Snowdrift…  Katherine Hall Page

Best First Novel:  Better Off Wed…  Laura Durham

Best Short Story:  Driven to Distraction…  Marcia Talley

Tie** Best Children/Young Adult:  Down the Rabbit Hole…  Peter Abrahams

Tie** Best Children/Young Adult:  Flush…  Carl Hiaasen 

Best Non-Fiction:  Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her…  Melanie Rehak

Also given at the Malice Domestic convention is the Malice Domestic Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2005 this award was given to H. F. R. Keathing.

 

Domestic Malice …. Malice Domestic

Malice Domestic is like Bouchercon in that a convention is held annually, but the Malice conventions always take place in the Washington, D.C. area. They have been a formal group since 1989. The Malice group is unlike the Bouchercon group because it specializes in mysteries that are more “cozy” in nature.  The group is loosely based on  the Agatha Christie type of mysteries….. and let’s face it, she’s the Queen of Cozy!

The Malice Domestic requirements of a mystery are: no excessive violence, no explicit sex, the characters are usually known to each other, and a lot of the time the main character is an amateur sleuth. (I have the definition of a cozy posted on this site, and it looks like it meets all of the guide lines for the Malice Domestic group.) This year’s convention is going to be held on May 4-6, in Arlington, Virginia.

This year’s guest of honor will be Rochelle Krich, the toastmaster will be Elaine Viets, and the Lifetime Achievement will go to Carolyn Hart.  They expect more than 175 authors to attend the convention. If you are interested in checking out their site, you will probably be as floored as I was when you see the different authors who will be there. The program of scheduled events probably includes several of your very favorite authors…. I recognized many of mine!

 

Anthony Awards …. Who Is Anthony?

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.

Before the Awards ……. Bouchercon???

A lot of you know about Bouchercon. I found out about it several years ago, while I was a member of several online mystery reading groups. I don’t know why it had taken me so many years to discover it… It’s been around since 1970. I have never attended a convention, but a few of the people in one of my online reading groups got together at a Bouchercon, and apparently they had a great time. During the convention, several awards are given. (Which is why I am prefacing my blogs about awards with this one.)

Bouchercon gets its name from Anthony Boucher, who was an author, editor, and, even a reviewer. I have to admit that I had never heard of him…. shame on me (apparently.) Each year, it is held in a different city. The host city’s volunteers line up the guests and decide on the different schedules for that year. The convention is for authors, readers/fans, publishers, book sellers, authors’ agents, (ETC)….. anyone who has a passion/career/interest/ ETC  for mystery/detective/crime novels. 

Glancing at the list of cities that have previously hosted the Bouchercons, it appears that almost all of the conventions have been held in the United States, with two taking place in Canada and another two in England. This year’s Bouchercon convention is going to be held in Anchorage, Alaska, September 27-30. Sounds like fun to me!

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