Mystery Awards presented in 2005

Note: This page includes nominees and winners for mystery awards presented in 2005. To see lists for previous years, click here. Page updated 30 August 2005.

Quills Awards: The Quills Literary Foundation has announced the nominees for the first annual awards, which will be announced on October 11 in New York City and will be presented during an awards ceremony on October 22nd that will be televised by NBC -- maybe they are peacock quills? The nominees in the Mystery/Suspense/Thriller category are:

The Closers by Michael Connelly (Little Brown and Co.)

Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin's Press)

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (Little Brown and Co.)

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith (Pantheon)

With No One as Witness by Elizabeth George (HarperCollins)

You can find the lists of nominees in other categories, as well as an on-line ballot for the awards, at this link.

Macavity Awards: The Macavity Award Nominations 2005 (for works published in 2004) have been announced. The Macavity Awards are nominated and voted on by members of Mystery Readers International. Winners will be announced at Bouchercon in September 2005.

Best Novel

The Killing of the Tinkers by Ken Bruen (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Cold Case by Robin Burcell (Avon)
Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay (Doubleday)
High Country Fall by Margaret Maron (Mysterious Press)
California Girl by T. Jefferson Parker (HarperCollins)
Playing with Fire by Peter Robinson (William Morrow)

Best First Novel

Uncommon Grounds by Sandra Balzo (Five Star)
Summer of the Big Bachi by Naomi Hirahara (Delta)
Whiskey Sour by J A Konrath (Hyperion)
Dating Dead Men by Harley Jane Kozak (Doubleday)
Misdemeanor Man by Dylan Schaffer (Bloomsbury)

Best Nonfiction

Famous American Crimes & Trials, Vol. 1 by Frankie Y Bailey & Steven Chermak, (Praeger Publishers)
Just the Facts: True Tales of Cops & Criminals by Jim Doherty (Deadly Serious Press)
The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Short Stories edited by Leslie S. Klinger (W.W.Norton)
Latin American Mystery Writers: An A-to-Z Guide by Darrell B. Lockhart (Greenwood Press)
Forensics for Dummies by D.P. Lyle, MD (Wiley Publishing)

Best Short Story

"Viscery" by Sandra Balzo (EQMM, December 2004)
"The Widow of Slane" by Terence Faherty (EQMM, March/April 2004)
"The Lady's Not for Dying" by Alana White (Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine, Winter 2004)

Anthony Awards: The Anthony Award Committe has announced the following nominees for the award, named for Anthony Boucher. The awards will be presented on Saturday, September 3, at Bouchercon 2005, the World Mystery Convention at the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago.

Best Novel

The Killing of the Tinkers by Ken Bruen (St. Martins/Minotaur)
The Madman's Tale by John Katzenbach (Random House/Ballantine)
Blood Hollow by William Kent Krueger (Simon & Schuster/Atria)
By a Spider's Thread by Laura Lippman (HarperCollins)
California Girl by T. Jefferson (HarperCollins)
Out of the Deep I Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming (St. Martins/Minotaur)

Best First Novel
Uncommon Grounds by Sandra Balzo (Five Star)
Until the Cows Come Home by Judy Clemens (Poisoned Pen Press)
Retribution by Juliane P. Hoffman (Putnam)
Whiskey Sour by JA Konrath (Hyperion)
Dating Dead Men by Harley Jane Kozak (Random House/Doubleday)
Best Non Fiction
Famous American Crimes & Trials by Frankie Bailey & Steven Chermak (Greenwood Publishing)
Men's Adventure Magazines by Max Allan Collins et al (Taschen)
Blue Blood by Edward Conlon (Penguin Putnam/Riverhead)
The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes edited by Leslie S. Klinger (Norton)
The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber by Julian Rubinstein (TimeWarner/Little, Brown)

Best Paperback Original

Cold Case by Robin Burcell (HarperCollins/Avon)
Putt to Death by Roberta Isleib (Penguin/Berkley Prime Crime)
Blue Blood by Susan McBride (HarperCollins/Avon)
The Halo Effect by M.J. Rose (Harlequin/Mira)
Twisted City by Jason Starr (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)
Best Short Story
"Voodoo" by Rhys Bowen (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Nov. 2004)
"The Widow of Slane" by Terence Faherty (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, March/April 2004)
"It's Crackers to Slip a Rozzer the Dropsey in Snide" by Ted Hertel, Jr. (Small Crimes; Betancourt/Wildside)
"Hunter Trapper" by Arthur Nersesian (Brooklyn Noir; Akashic Books)
"Wedding Knife" by Elaine Viets (Chesapeake Crimes;Quiet Storm)
Best Cover Art
Sohrab Habibion for Brooklyn Noir (Akashic)
Gregory Manchess for Fade to Blonde (Hard Case Crime)
Sal Barracca/Bradford Foltz Design for Whiskey Sour (Hyperion)
Robert Santora for Good Morning Darkness (TimeWarner/Mysterious)
Michael Kellner for Monkology (Dennis McMillan)

Hammett Prize: The North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers has announced the nominees for the Hammett Prize, which is given each year for "a work of literary excellence in the field of crime writing by a US or Canadian author". The winner will be announced at Bouchercon in Chicago in early September.

The Havana Room by Colin Harrison (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan (Scribner)
The Madman's Tale by John Katzenbach (Ballantine)
California Girl by T. Jefferson Parker (William Morrow)
Playing with Fire by Peter Robinson (William Morrow)

Arthur Ellis Awards: Crime Writers of Canada is pleased to announce the winners of the 2005 Arthur Ellis Awards. The winners were announced at the gala 22nd anniversary Arthur Ellis Awards dinner on Thursday, June 9, at Mysteriously Yours…Dinner Theatre in Toronto. (Winners in blue below)


Best Short Story

"Crocodile Tears" by Leslie Watts (Revenge: A Noir Anthology; Insomniac Press)

"The Robbie Burns Revival" by Cecilia Kennedy (The Robbie Burns Revival; Broken Jaw Press)
"Sound of Silence" by Dennis Murphy (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, December 2004)
"Death of a Dry-Stone Wall" by Dennis Murphy (Storyteller, Summer 2004)
"Sunnyside" by Coleen Steele (Storyteller, Summer 2004)

Best Nonfiction

The Irish Game: A True Story of Crime and Art by Matthew Hart (Viking Canada)

Mobsters, Gangsters and Men of Honour by Pierre de Champlain (HarperCollins Canada)
Night Justice: The True Story of the Black Donnellys by Peter Edwards (Key Porter Books)
Instruments of Murder by Max Haines (Viking Canada)
Crime School: Money Laundering by Chris Mathers (Key Porter Books)

Best Juvenile

The Beckoners by Carrie Mac (Orca Book Publishers)

Thread of Deceit by Susan Cliffe (Sumach Press)
The Hippie House by Katherine Holubitsky (Orca Book Publishers)
Kat's Fall by Shelley Hrdlitschka (Orca Book Publishers)
Sea Chase by Curtis Parkinson (Tundra Books)

Best Crime Writing in French

Les Douze Pierres by Ann Lamontagne (Vents d'Ouest)

La Souris et le rat by Jean-Pierre Charland (Vents d'Ouest)
Le Transmetteur by Jacques Diamant (Stanké)
Virgo intacta by Louise Lévesque (La Veuve noire)
La Femme de Berlin by Pauline Vincent (Libre Expression)

Best First Novel

Dark Places by Jon Evans (HarperCollins Canada)

Death in the Age of Steam by Mel Bradshaw (RendezVous Press)
Raw Deal by Rick Gadziola (ECW Press)
Mad Money by Linda L. Richards (MIRA Books)
The Border Guards by Mark Sinnett (HarperCollins Canada

Best Novel

Fifth Son by Barbara Fradkin (RendezVous Press)

The Last Good Day by Gail Bowen (McClelland & Stewart)
The Magyar Venus by Lyn Hamilton (Berkley Prime Crime)
Playing with Fire by Peter Robinson (McClelland & Stewart)
Sweep Lotus by Mark Zuehlke (Dundurn)

Derringer Awards: The Short Mystery Fiction Society has announced the winners of their 2005 Derringer Awards given for the best short mystery fiction published during the calendar year 2004.

Flash Story (Up to 500 Words)
"The Big Guys" by JA Konrath (Small Bites; Coscom Entertainment)

Short-Short Story (501-2000 Words)
"The Test" by Mike Wiecek (Woman's World, 11/30/04)

Midlength Story (2001-6000 Words)
"Viscery" by Sandy Balzo (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, 12/04)

Longer Story (6001 - 15000 Words)
"Secondhand Heart" by Doug Allyn (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Jan/Feb 2004)

 

Barry Awards: The editor of Deadly Pleasures has announced the nominees for their Barry Award. The winners will be announced at Bouchercon in Chicago in September.

Best Novel

The Enemy by Lee Child
Alone at Night by K.J. Erickson
Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
Remembering Sarah by Chris Mooney
Little Scarlet by Walter Mosley
Hard Revolution by George Pelecanos

Best First Novel

Relative Danger by Charles Benoit
Walking Money by James O. Born
The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill
Skinny-Dipping by Claire Matturro
Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas
The Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Best UK Novel

The Burning Girl by Mark Billingham
The Dramatist by Ken Bruen
Flesh and Blood by John Harvey
Tokyo by Mo Hayder
The Crime Trade by Simon Kernick
First Drop by Zoe Sharp

Best Paperback Original

The Librarian by Larry Beinhart
Into the Web by Thomas H. Cook
Tagged for Murder by Elaine Flinn
Last Seen in Aberdeen by M.G. Kincaid
The Confession by Domenic Stansberry
Twisted City by Jason Starr

Best Thriller Award

Scarecrow by Matthew Reilly
Rain Storm by Barry Eisler
Bagman by Jay Maclarty
Whirlwind by Joseph Garber
A Death in Vienna by Daniel Silva
Paranoia by Joseph Finder

Best Short Story Award

"Cold Comfort" by Catherine Aird (Chapter And Hearse And Other Mysteries)
"The War in Wonderland" by Edward D. Hoch (Green For Danger)
"Facing Up" by Melodie Johnson Howe (EQMM July,2004)
"Rumpole And The Christmas Break" by John Mortimer (The Strand Magazine No. XIV)
"Murder, The Missing Heir And The Boiled Egg" by Amy Myers (Criminal Appetites)
"Ledgers" by Neil Schofield (EQMM July, 2004)

Agatha Awards: Malice Domestic announced the winners for the Agatha Awards for the best mystery works of 2004 at the Agatha Banquet on April 30, 2005 in Arlington, Virginia. (Winners in blue below)

Best Novel

Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear (Soho Press)

We'll Always Have Parrots by Donna Andrews (Thomas Dunne Books)
By a Spider's Thread by Laura Lippman (HarperCollins)
High Country Fall by Margaret Maron (Mysterious Press)
The Pearl Diver by Sujata Massey (HarperCollins)

Best First Novel

Dating Dead Men by Harley Jane Kozak (Doubleday)

Till The Cows Come Home by Judy Clemens (Poisoned Pen Press)
Arson and Old Lace by Patricia Harwin (Pocket Books)
I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason by Susan Kandel (HarperCollins)
The Clovis Incident by Pari Noskin Taichert (University of New Mexico Press)

Best Nonfiction

Private Eye-Lashes: Radio's Lady Detectives by Jack French (Bear Manor Media)

The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Short Stories edited by Leslie Klinger (W. W. Norton & Company)

Best Short Story

"Wedding Knife" by Elaine Viets (from Chesapeake Crimes, Quiet Storm Publishing)

"The Butler Didn't Do It" by Maria Y. Lima (from Chesapeake Crimes, Quiet Storm Publishing)
"The Two Marys" by Katherine Hall Page (from Mistletoe and Mayhem, Avon Books)

Best Children's/Young Adult Novel

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett (Scholastic Press)

Betrayal at Cross Creek by Kathleen Ernst (American Girl)
Green Streak by Daniel J. Hale and Matthew LaBrot (Top Publications)

Edgar Awards: The Mystery Writers of America have announced the winners for the Edgar Allan Poe Awards 2005, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television, and film published or produced in 2004. The Edgar Awards were presented at the 59th Gala Banquet, April 28, 2005 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York.

BEST NOVEL

California Girl by T. Jefferson Parker (William Morrow)

Evan's Gate by Rhys Bowen (St. Martin's Minotaur)
By a Spider's Thread by Laura Lippman (William Morrow)
Remembering Sarah by Chris Mooney (Atria Books)
Out of the Deep I Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming (St. Martin's Minotaur)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

Country of Origin by Don Lee (W.W. Norton & Company)

Little Girl Lost by Richard Aleas (Hard Case Crime)
Relative Danger by Charles Benoit (Poisoned Pen Press)
Cloud Atlas by Liam Callanan (Delacorte Press)
Tonight I Said Goodbye by Michael Koryta (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Bahamarama by Bob Morris (St. Martin's Minotaur)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

The Confession by Domenic Stansberry (Hard Case Crime)

The Librarian by Larry Beinhart (Nation Books)
Into the Web by Thomas H. Cook (Bantam)
Dead Men Rise Up Never by Ron Faust (Dell)
Twelve-Step Fandango by Chris Haslam (Dark Alley)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Short Stories edited by Leslie S. Klinger (W.W. Norton)

Latin American Mystery Writers: An A-to-Z Guide by Daniel B. Lockhart (Greenwood Press)
Booze and the Private Eye: Alcohol in the Hard-Boiled Novel by Rita Elizabeth Rippetoe (McFarland & Co.)
The Life of Graham Greene, Vol. 3: 1956-1991 by Norman Sherry (Viking Books)

BEST FACT CRIME

Conviction: Solving the Moxley Murder: A Reporter and a Detective's Twenty-Year Search for Justice by Leonard Levitt (Regan Books)

Ready for the People: My Most Chilling Cases as Prosecutor by Marissa N. Batt (Arcade Publishing)
Forensics for Dummies by D.P. Lyle, MD (Wiley Publishing - For Dummies)
Are You There Alone?: The Unspeakable Crime of Andrea Yates by Suzanne O'Malley (Simon & Schuster)
Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts by Julian Rubinstein (Little, Brown)
Green River, Running Red: The Real Story of the Green River Killer - America's Deadliest Serial Murderer by Ann Rule (Free Press)

BEST SHORT STORY

"Something About a Scar" by Laurie Lynn Drummond (from Anything You Say Can and Will Be Used Against You, HarperCollins)

"The Widow of Slane" by Terence Faherty (EQMM - March/April 2004)
"The Book Signing" by Pete Hamill (from Brooklyn Noir, Akashic Books)
"Adventure of the Missing Detective" by Gary Lovisi (from Sherlock Holmes: The Hidden Years, St. Martin's Minotaur)
"Imitate the Sun" by Luke Sholer (EQMM - November 2004)

BEST YOUNG ADULT

In Darkness, Death by Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler (Philomel Books)

Story Time by Edward Bloor (Harcourt Children's Books)
Jude by Kate Morgenroth (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing)
The Book of Dead Days by Marcus Sedgwick (Wendy Lamb Books)
Missing Abby by Lee Weatherly (David Fickling Books)

BEST JUVENILE

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett (Scholastic Press)

Assassin: The Lady Grace Mysteries by Patricia Finney (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)
Abduction! by Peg Kehret (Dutton Children's Books)
Looking for Bobowicz by Daniel Pinkwater (HarperCollins Children's Books)
The Unseen by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)

BEST PLAY

Spatter Pattern (Or, How I Got Away With It) by Neal Bell (Playwrights Horizons)

Eliot Ness: An Untouchable Life by Max Allan Collins (The Art House)
An Evening of Murder and the Like by Edward Musto (Barrow Group Studio Theatre)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY

Law & Order: Criminal Intent: "Want", teleplay by Elizabeth Benjamin, story by René Balcer & Elizabeth Benjamin

Law & Order: Criminal Intent: "Conscience", teleplay by Gerry Conway, story by René Balcer & Gerry Conway
Law & Order: Criminal Intent: "Consumed", teleplay by Warren Leight, story by René Balcer & Warren Leight
Law & Order: Criminal Intent: "Pas De Deux", teleplay by Warren Leight, story by René Balcer & Warren Leight
Monk: "Mr. Monk and the Girl Who Cried Wolf", teleplay by Hy Conrad

BEST TELEVISION FEATURE OR MINI-SERIES TELEPLAY

State of Play by Paul Abbott (BBC America)

Prime Suspect 6: The Last Witness by Peter Berry (Granada TV & WGBH Boston)
Death in Holy Orders by Robert Jones, based on the novel by P.D. James (BBC Worldwide)
Amnesia by Chris Lang (BBC America)
Wire in the Blood: "The Darkness of Light" by Alan Whiting (Coastal Productions)

BEST MOTION PICTURE SCREENPLAY

A Very Long Engagement, screenplay by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, based on the novel by Sebastien Japrisot (2003 Productions)

The Bourne Supremacy, screenplay by Tony Gilroy, based on the novel by Robert Ludlam. (The Kennedy/Marshall Company, Universal Pictures, Hypnotic)
Collateral, screenplay by Stuart Beattie (DreamWorks SKG)
I'm Not Scared, screenplay by Francesca Marciano, based on the novel by Niccolo Ammaniti. (Miramax Films)
Maria Full of Grace, screenplay by Joshua Marston (HBO Films)

ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD
Thomas Morrissey for "Can't Catch Me" (from Brooklyn Noir (Akashic Books)

GRAND MASTER
Marcia Muller
ELLERY QUEEN AWARD
Carolyn Marino, Vice President/Executive Editor, HarperCollins
RAVEN AWARDS
Cape Cod Radio Mystery Theatre (founded by Steve Oney)
DorothyL listserv (founded by Diane Kovacs and Kara Robinson)
Murder by the Book, Houston, TX (Martha Farrington, Owner)
SPECIAL EDGAR AWARDS
David Chase (writer/producer - The Sopranos, The Rockford Files, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and many other breakthrough TV shows)
Tom Fontana (writer/producer - Homicide: Life on the Street, Oz, The Jury, and many other breakthrough TV shows)
THE SIMON & SCHUSTER-MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD

Grave Endings by Rochelle Krich (Ballantine Books)

Perfect Sax by Jerrilyn Farmer (William Morrow/Avon)
The Drowning Tree by Carol Goodman (Ballantine Books)
Scent of a Killer by Christiane Heggan (MIRA Books)
Murder in a Mill Town by P.B. Ryan (Berkley Prime Crime)

LCC Awards: The organizers of Left Coast Crime have announced the winners for various awards that were presented at LCC in El Paso on February 26, 2005. (Winners in blue below)

The LEFTY is for the best humorous mystery novel published in 2004.

Blue Blood by Susan McBride
We'll Always Have Parrots by Donna Andrews

Carnage on the Committee by Ruth Dudley Edwards
Holy Guacamole by Nancy Fairbanks
Perfect Sax by Jerrilyn Farmer

The BRUCE ALEXANDER HISTORY MYSTERY AWARD is for the best historical mystery (set anywhere and in any time period up to the end of World War II) published in 2004.

The Witch in the Well by Sharan Newman

Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear
Five for Silver by Mary Reed and Eric Mayer
Murder on Marble Row by Victoria Thompson
Tyrant of the Mind by Priscilla Royal

The CALAVERA, like the Otter in 2004, is for the best mystery set in the geographic area covered by Left Coast Crime and published in 2004.
Grave Endings by Rochelle Krich

Family Claims by Twist Phelan
Shadow Play by David Cole
Snap Shot by Meg Chittenden
What Others Know by L.C. Hayden

The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association (IMBA) announced the winner of the Dilys Winn award, given to the book the members most enjoyed selling during the past year.

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

The Enemy by Lee Child
Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde
The Intelligencer by Leslie Silbert
Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear
Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Click here to see Awards presented in 2003

Click here to see Awards presented in 2002

Click here to see Awards presented in 2001

Mystery News home page