What's New - 2004 Archive

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For What's New? for 2005, click here

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12/31/04

Happy New Year from all of us at Black Raven Press!

The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association (IMBA) announces the nominees for the Dilys Winn award, given to the book the members most enjoyed selling during the past year. The winner will be announced at Left Coast Crime in February.

The Enemy by Lee Child (Delacorte)
Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde (Viking)
Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay (Doubleday)
The Intelligencer by Leslie Silbert (Atria)
Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear (Soho)
Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Penguin)

IMBA also started a new program several months ago called Killer Books, which is based on the premise "Who better to pick the best mystery books of the month than the people who run mystery bookstores?"

Each month, the 60 quirky stores that make up IMBA submit their favorite recent reads to a rotating editor who then trims the list to five. The general rule is that the book must be published within a three month period. However, since mystery booksellers don’t really like rules, they created a category called “the one that nearly got away” to include books that fall outside that period. Every selection is a gem that otherwise might have gotten lost among the more than 100 mysteries published each month.

The December Killer Books recommendations are listed below, but you probably want to go to the web site to read the reviews by the booksellers.

Queer Street by Curt Colbert (Uglytown)
Recommended by Bill Farley, Seattle Mystery Bookshop (Seattle, WA)

The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill (Soho)
Recommended by Dean James, Murder by the Book (Houston, TX)

Last Seen in Aberdeen by M.G. Kincaid (Pocket)
Recommended by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha's (Ann Arbor, MI)

The Surrogate Thief by Archer Mayor (Mysterious Press)
Recommended by Karen Spengler, I Love a Mystery (Mission, KS)

Death by Discount by Mary Vermillion (Alyson Books)
Recommended by Terri Bischoff, Booked for Murder (Madison, WI)


Updated the Conventions/Calendar page to include Magna Cum Murder in Muncie in October 2005, the Historical Novel Society's North American Conference (featuring several mystery writers) to be held in Salt Lake City in April 2005 and Book Expo, the largest book publishing event in the US, which is returning to New York in early June 2005.

12/29/04

The December/January 2005 issue of Mystery News was mailed on Monday, December 20, 2005. Our cover interview (by Gary Warren Niebuhr) is of Robert B. Parker, whose newest book, Melancholy Baby, features PI Sunny Randall. Other highlights of this issue include interviews with Benjamin M. Schutz, author of The Mongrel Reply, (by Reed Andrus), Jane Jakeman, who writes both historicals and contemporary mysteries (by Virginia R. Knight), and Steve Miller's "In the beginning" column on Michael Koryta, author of Tonight I Said Goodbye, winner of the St. Martin's Press/PWA prize for best first PI novel. Marv Lachman's "Out of the Past" column is on Nedra Tyre, whose books are sadly out of print. Dave Magayna reviews audiobooks by D.W. Buffa, Rochelle Krich and J.D. Robb in his "The Sound of Mystery" column. And our usual columns, reviews, previews and convention calendar.

Updated Back Issues and Authors pages to include info related to the new issue and updated the Conventions page with Love is Murder (February 2005 in the Chicago area) and to remove outdated info. Also updated the Awards page to include winners of the CWA Daggers presented in October and November in London and the Nero Award presented in NY in early December. And yes, our Bouchercon 2004 pictures are finally up!

Vintage Books is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the publication of The Maltese Falcon (2/14/30) with three brand new matching editions of The Maltese Falcon, The Thin Man, and Red Harvest. Vintage is also adding Hammett to our Vintage Readers series with his own book-Vintage Hammett. This is a collection of his work, including the short story "Nightshade," which has not been published for over 50 years. In addition, Turner Classic Movies is having a Hammett fest on January 17th in honor of this milestone. Twelve straight hours of blackmail and tough dames starting with the first, and lesser known, film version of The Maltese Falcon, Dangerous Women.

11/3/04

The handout from our Bouchercon panel, All-nighters: Books you can't put down, is now up -- you can find it here. My apologies for getting this up so late...

Updated the Conventions page to include Murder in the Magic City (February 2005 in Birmingham, Alabama), Murder in the Grove (June 2005 in Boise, Idaho), Harrogate Crime Writing Festival (July 2005 in Harrogate, UK), the new Con Misterio in Austin, Texas (July 2005, July 2006), Scene of the Crime (August 2005 in Wolfe Island, Ontario), and Left Coast Crime 2006 (March 2006 in Bristol, UK). Also updated the Authors page.

10/27/04

The October/November 2004 issue of Mystery News was mailed on Monday, October 25, about a week late due to our attendance at Bouchercon. Our cover interview is of S.J. Rozan, author of Absent Friends, a standalone set in New York in the aftermath of September 11th. Other highlights of this issue include interviews with Barry Eisler, author of the "Rain" series, (by Thomas McNulty) and Peter Tremayne, creator of Sister Fidelma, (by Virginia R. Knight), and Steve Miller's "In the beginning" column on Allan Guthrie, author of Two-Way Split, which was short-listed for the CWA Debut Dagger in 2001 and was published in June by Point Blank. Sally Fellows contributed an article on Rue Morgue Press, which has flourished by reprinting old-fashioned traditional mysteries. Marv Lachman's "Out of the Past" column is on Ed Lacy, who was one of the first mystery authors to realistically depict black characters. Dave Magayna's "The Sound of Mystery" column has reviews of audiobooks by Loren D. Estleman and T. Jefferson Parker. And, as always, our usual columns, reviews, previews and convention calendar.

Updated Back Issues and Authors pages to include info related to the new issue and updated the Conventions page to remove outdated info. Also updated the Awards page to include winners of the Anthony, Barry, Hammett, Macavity, Nehr and Shamus awards presented in October in Toronto.

9/26/04

Sandy Kurman sent along the following list of crime books that have been short-listed for the Nero Awards, given each year by The Wolfe Pack at the annual Black Orchid banquet. This year's banquet will occur on December 4th in New York.

The Vanished Man by Jeffery Deaver
Fat Ollie's Book by Ed McBain
Burning Garbo by Robert Eversz
Fear Itself by Walter Mosley
Where the Truth Lies by Rupert Holmes

The UK Crime Writers Association has announced the short list for this year's Ellis Peters Historical Dagger - the award for the best historical crime novel of 2004. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, October 19th, at a reception in London.

The Damascened Blade by Barbara Cleverly (Constable & Robinson)
The Shape of Sand by Marjorie Eccles (Allison & Busby Ltd)
Hell at the Breech by Tom Franklin (Flamingo)
The Thief-Taker by Janet Gleeson (Double/Transworld)
The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl (Vintage)
The Judgement of Caesar by Steven Saylor (Constable & Robinson)

The Lover by Laura Wilson (Orion)

The new issue of Hardluck, guest edited by Allan Guthie is now online. Click here to read it.

Jim Seels of A.S.A.P Press have announced that they are back from a two year vacation and have just published the 7th book in Margaret Coel's Arapaho Ten Commandments series. . Here’s a list of what is planned for the next year or so:
C.J. Box: This will be his 1st limited edition publication and the 1st short story featuring Joe Pickett. Introduction by Irish mystery author Ken Bruen.

Gar Anthony Haywood: This will be a complete collection of all his published short stories and several new stories written especially for this collection. Introduction by Lawrence Block.

Phil Parks: We are planning a combination art, bibliography and biography of our resident illustrator, Phil Parks. This book will contain hand tipped reproductions of selected Phil Park’s front cover illustrations. Our good friend Robin Smiley, the publisher of Firsts Magazine, will write the biography.

Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini: We’re still working out the details.


Margaret Coel: We hope to have the 8th book in the Arapaho Ten Commandment series in Spring 2005.

Also updated the Convention calendar page to include some the New England Crime Bake, Edgar Week events, and the First Annual Mystery Theatre Festival. Updated the Publishers page to include a new email address for A.S.A.P. Press.

9/6/04

The Baltimore Sun had a great feature article on Laura Lippman recently - click here to read it. Note the Sun site requires free registration. Congratulations to Dan Fesperman, who is the winner of this year's Baltimore Book Festival's top prize for fiction for The Small Boat of Great Sorrows. The prize will be presented during the Baltimore Book Festival, which runs from Sept. 17-19. For information about the festival, click here. Updated convention calendar page to removed outdated info.

8/29/04

Updated the Authors page to include additional links. Revamped and updated the Booksellers, Publishers and General Mystery Sites pages.

8/26/04

Updated the Conventions page to include Deadly Ink 2005, which has been scheduled for June 17th & 18th at the Sheraton Parsippany Hotel in Parsippany, New Jersey, not too far from New York City.

8/22/04

My hometown paper The New York Times did a nice write-up on Laura Lippman yesterday - click here to read it. Note the NYT site requires free registration.

Made some major changes to the Authors page, which has links to the web pages of many authors featured in Mystery News articles and features over the past 7 years. Authors are now listed alphabetically, making it easier to find their links. If we interviewed or featured you and you'd like us to link to your page, please email Chris. Reciprocal links are much appreciated. Also updated the About Us page with general info.

8/20/04

The August/September 2004 issue of Mystery News was mailed on Monday, August 16. Gary Warren Niebuhr did a terrific cover interview of Sue Grafton, who is inching closer to Z with the recent publication of "R" is for Ricochet. Other highlights of this issue include an interview with Kathy Lynn Emerson (by Virginia R. Knight) and Steve Miller's "In the beginning" column on Mike Siverling, author of The Sterling Inheritance, winner of the 2002 St. Martin's Press Best First Private Eye Mystery prize. Marv Lachman's "Out of the Past" column is on Margery Allingham, author of the Campion series. Dave Magayna's "The Sound of Mystery" column has reviews of three audiobooks by Agatha Christie. And, as always, our usual columns, reviews, previews and convention calendar. The publication of this issue marks the beginning of our eighth year as publishers of Mystery News. Thank you to all of our contributors, subscribers and other supporters.

Updated Back Issues and Authors pages to include info related to the new issue and updated the conventions page to remove outdated info.

8/8/04

We are pleased that Mystery News is one of the nominees for this year's Anthony Award for Best Fan Publication. Thank you to everyone who nominated us. You'll find a complete list of the Anthony nominees below. Special congrats to our own Gary Warren Niebuhr for his nomination for Make Mine a Mystery.

Our faces are red: The June/July issue of Mystery News contains an error in Stephen Miller's In the Beginning column. Throughout the article, Mark Conard is referred to as Mark Conrad.  The former is the correct spelling of his name.  Mr. Miller and Mystery News regret the error and we extend our apologies to Mr. Conard. We've updated our authors page with a link to Mark Conard's website.

Bouchercon 2004 has announced the Anthony Award nominations. The awards will be presented at a banquet at Bouchercon in Toronto on October 9.

Best Novel:

Blood is the Sky by Steve Hamilton (St. Martin's Minotaur)
The Delicate Storm by Giles Blunt (Random House)
Every Secret Thing by Laura Lippman (Harper Collins)
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (William Morrow )
The Summer That Never Was by Peter Robinson (McClelland & Stewart) (US title: Close to Home; Morrow)

Best First Novel:

Death Of A Nationalist by Rebecca Pawel (Soho Press)
Haunted Ground by Erin Hart (Simon &Schuster)
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (Soho Press)
Monkeewrench by P. J. Tracy (Putnam) (UK title: Want to Play?; Michael Joseph)
Wiley's Lament by Lono Waiwaiole (St. Martin's Press)

Best Paperback Original:

Deadly Legacy by Robin Burcell (Avon)
Dealing In Murder by Elaine Flinn (Avon)
Find Me Again by Sylvia Maultash Warsh (Dundurn Press)
Thicker Than Water by P. J. Parrish (Pinnacle Press)
Tough Luck by Jason Starr (Vintage/Black Lizard)

Best Short Story:

"Doppelganger" by Rhys Bowen (in Blood On Their Hands; edited by Lawrence Block, Berkley Prime Crime)
"The Grass is Always Greener" by Sandy Balzo (in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March 2003)
"Munchies" by Jack Bludis (in Hardbroiled; edited by Michael Bracken, Wild Side Press)
"Red Meat" by Elaine Viets (in Blood On Their Hands; edited by Lawrence Block, Berkley Prime Crime)
"Wanda Wilcox Is Trapped" by Eddie Muller (in Plots With Guns, Sept/Oct 2003)

Best Young Adult Mystery:

Artemis Fowl -The Eternity Code by Eoin Colfer (Viking Children's Books)
Feast Of Fools by Bridget Crowley (Hodder Children's Books)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling (Bloomsbury)
No Escape by Norah McClintock (Scolastic)
Seventh Knot by Kathleen Karr (Marshall Cavendish)

Best Historical Mystery:

Find Me Again by Sylvia Maultash Warsh (Dundurn Press)
For the Love of Mike by Rhys Bowen (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Let Loose the Dogs by Maureen Jennings (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (Soho Press)
The Bridge of Sighs by Olen Steinhauer (St. Martin's Minotaur)

Best Critical/Non-Fiction Work:

Beautiful Shadow by Andrew Wilson (Bloomsbury)
Interrogations by Jon Jordan (Mystery One Books)
Make Mine a Mystery by Gary Warren Niebuhr (Libraries Unlimited)
Mystery Women: An Encyclopedia of Leading Women Characters In Mystery Fiction, Vol III by Colleen Barnett (Poisoned Pen Press)
The Story of Jane Doe: A Book About Rape by Jane Doe (Random House)

Best Fan Publication:

Deadly Pleasures, editor: George Easter
The Drood Review, editor: Jim Huang
Mystery News, editors: Lynn Kaczmarek & Chris Aldrich
Mystery Readers Journal, editor: Janet A. Rudolph
Mystery Scene Magazine, editor: Kate Stine

The August/September issue is in the final editing stage -- check here in a few days for info on the contents!

7/18/04

Deadly Pleasures magazine has announced the nominees for the Barry Awards, which will be presented at a reception at Bouchercon in October. George Easter, editor of DP, advised that the rules for the nominations were changed this year so that some of the same names wouldn't appear year after year. If an author was nominated for Best Mystery Novel last year, that author is ineligible for this year. The nominees are:

Best Mystery Novel:

The Guards by Ken Bruen (St. Martin's Minotaur)
The Small Boat of Great Sorrows by Dan Fesperman (Knopf)
Keeping Watch by Laurie R. King (Bantam)
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (Morrow)
Every Secret Thing by Laura Lippman (Morrow)
A Fountain Filled With Blood by Julia Spencer-Fleming (St. Martin's Minotaur)

Best First Mystery Novel:

Mission Flats by Bill Landay (Bantam Press/Delacorte)
The Bridge of Sighs by Olen Steinhauer (St. Martin's Minotaur)
The Barbed-Wire Kiss by Wallace Stroby (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Monkeewrench by P. J. Tracy (Putnam)
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (Soho)
Clea's Moon by Edward Wright (Putnam)

Best British Mystery Novel:

Lazybones by Mark Billingham (Little, Brown)
Full Dark House by Christopher Fowler (Doubleday)
The Murder Exchange by Simon Kernick (Bantam Press)
The House Sitter by Peter Lovesey (Little, Brown)
The Distant Echo by Val McDermid (Harpercollins)
The American Boy (U.S. title: An Unpardonable Crime) by Andrew Taylor (Flamingo)

Best Paperback Original Mystery:

Dealing in Murder by Elaine Flinn (Avon)
Wisdom of The Bones by Christopher Hyde (Onyx)
The Courier by Jay Maclarty (Pocket Star)
Tough Luck by Jason Starr (Vintage Crime)
The Shadow of Venus by Judith Van Gieson (Signet)
Murder Between the Covers by Elaine Viets (Signet)

Best Mystery Short Story:

"The Blind Pig" by Doug Allyn (EQMM May 2003)
"Rogues' Gallery" by Robert Barnard (EQMM March 2003)
"Always Another War" by Brendan Dubois (AHMM July-August 2003)
"The Mask Of Peter" by Clark Howard (EQMM April 2003)
"Rogue's Run" by Donald Olson (EQMM April 2003)

6/25/04

Sally Fellows sent us the following information on next year's Malice in the Midlands.

Sixth Annual Mayhem in the Midlands
May 26 to May 29, 2005

Guest of Honor: Peter Robinson
Toastmaster: Donna Andrews

Registration limited to 200
Cost $75 ($80 after February 1, 2005) does not include the Brunch, the Sisters in Crime Buffet, or the Mystery Dinner

To be guaranteed a panel, authors must register by MARCH 15, 2005.

Hotel: Sheraton Downtown Omaha
402-342-2222 (ask for Mayhem rates)

Schedule:
Get-Acquainted Cocktail Party, Thursday, 7 pm
Panel Discussions, Conversations with Authors, Book Signings, Friday and Saturday 9:00 to 4:30
SinC Buffet Friday evening followed by auction
Mystery Dinner Saturday Evening
Brunch and Interview with Guest of Honor, Sunday morning

For details visit www.omaha.lib.ne.us/mayhem/index.htm or contact Maggie Tarrelli-Falcon, (MTarelliFalcon@omaha.lib.ne.us) or Sally Fellows (sallyfellows1@cox.net). For information about the auction contact Donna Andrews (donna@donnaandrews.com)

6/24/04

Sleuth of Baker Street in Toronto was named Specialy Bookseller of the Year by the Canadian Booksellers Association. Congratulations to JD, Marion and their staff!

Updated the conventions page to include the Harriette Austin Writers Conference, which will be held July 23-24, 2004 at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education in Athens, GA.

A number of award nominations and winners have been announced recently and the awards page has been updated with the following:

First off, the Private Eye Writers of America (PWA) has announced the following nominees for the Shamus Awards, which will be given during Bouchercon in Toronto on October 8th:

Best PI Short Story:
"Munchies" by Jack Bludis (Hardboiled)
"The Rock in the Orange Grove" by Mitch Alderman (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine)
"Slayer Statute" by Janet Dawson (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
"Valhalla" by Doug Allyn (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
"Lady on Ice" by Loren D. Estleman (A Hot and Sultry Night for Crime)

 

Best PI Novel:
Scavenger Hunt by Robert Ferrigno (Pantheon)
The Guards by Ken Bruen (St. Martins Minotaur)
Blood is the Sky by Steve Hamilton (Thomas Dunne Books)
Fatal Flaw by William Lashner (William Morrow/Harper Collins)
A Visible Darkness by Jonathon King (Dutton)

 

Best First PI Novel:
Spiked by Mark Arsenault (Poisoned Pen Press)
Black Maps by Peter Spiegelman (Knopf)
Lovers Crossing by James C. Mitchell (St. Martin's Press)

 

Best PI Paperback Original:

Cold Quarry by Andy Straka (Signet)
Thicker Than Water by PJ Parrish (Pinnacle)
Wet Debt by Richard Helms (Back Ally Books)
Dragonfly Bones by David Cole (Avon)

The Crime Writers of Canada announced the winners of the 2004 Arthur Ellis Awards on June 9 at a gala 21st anniversary dinner on Wednesday, June 9, at the Ontario Club in Toronto. (Winners are in blue below)

Best Novel:

The Delicate Storm by Giles Blunt (Random House Canada)

Lament for a Lounge Lizard by Mary Jane Maffini (RendezVous Press)
The Glenwood Treasure by Kim Moritsugu (Simon & Pierre, Dundurn)
The Hua Shan Hospital Murders by David Rotenberg (McArthur & Company)
The Summer that Never Was by Peter Robinson (McClelland & Stewart) (US title: Close to Home)

Best First Novel:

Just Murder by Jan Rehner (Sumach)

Amuse Bouche by Anthony Bidulka (Insomniac)
Confession in Moscow by Michael Johansen (Breakwater)
Mazovia Legacy by Michael E. Rose (McArthur & Company)
The Sleeping Boy by Barbara J. Stewart (Anchor Canada, RHC)

Best Crime Writing in French:

On finit toujours par payer by Jean Lemieux(La Courte Echelle)

Indesirables by Chrystine Brouillet (La Courte Echelle)
La Salaire de la honte by Maxime Houde (Alire)
Les effets sont secondaires by Andre Marois (La Courte Echelle)
Au nom de Compostelle by Maryse Rouy (Quebec Amerique)

Best Short Story:

"Dead Wood" by Gregory Ward in Hard Boiled Love (Insomniac)

"A Christmas Bauble" by Therese Greenwood in The Kingston Whig-Standard (December 24, 2003)
"Dead in the Water" by Dennis Murphy in Storyteller (Summer 2003)
"When Laura Smiles" by Liz Palmer in Bone Dance (RendezVouz Press)
"The Gimmick" by Vern Smith in Hard Boiled Love (Insomniac)

Best Non-Fiction:

The Road to Hell by Julian Sher & William Marsden (Knopf Canada)

The Story of Jane Doe by "Jane Doe" (Random House Canada)
Nowhere to Run: The Killing of Constable Dennis Strongquill by Mike McIntyre (Great Plains Publications)
Where There's Life, There's Lawsuits by Jeffrey Miller (ECW)

Best Juvenile:

Acceleration by Graham McNamee (Wendy Lamb Books, RHC)

Theories of Relativity by Barbara Haworth-Attard (Harper Trophy Canada)
Truth by Tanya Lloyd Kyi (Orca Book Publishers)
The Deep End Gang by Peggy Dymond Leavey (Napoleon)
No Escape by Norah McClintock (Scholastic Canada)

Derrick Murdock Award: Cheryl Freedman, secretary-treasurer

Mystery Readers International announced the nominees for the Macavity Awards for works published in the US in 2003. Members of Mystery Readers International nominate and vote. The Macavity Awards will be given at Bouchercon, the World Mystery convention, in October in Toronto.

Best Mystery Novel:
 The Delicate Storm by Giles Blunt (Putnam)
For the Love of Mike by Rhys Bowen (St. Martin's)
The Guards by Ken Bruen (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Done for a Dime by David Corbett (Ballantine)
The House Sitter by Peter Lovesey (Soho Press)

Best First Mystery Novel:
 Night of the Dance by James Hime (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Death of a Nationalist by Rebecca C. Pawel (Soho Press)
The Bridge of Sighs by Olen Steinhauer (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (Soho Press)

Best Non-Fiction:
 Mystery Women: An Encyclopedia of Leading Women Characters in Mystery Fiction, Vol. 3 by Colleen A Barnett (Poisoned Pen Press)
A Second Helping of Murder by Jo Grossman & Robert Weibezahl (Poisoned Pen Press)
Make Mine a Mystery: A Reader's Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction by Gary Warren Niebuhr (Libraries Unlimited)
Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith by Andrew Wilson (Bloomsbury)

Best Short Story:
 "The Grass Is Always Greener" by Sandy Balzo (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March 2003)
"Rogues Gallery" by Robert Barnard (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March 2003)
"Texas Two-Step" by Diana Deverell (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, February 2003)
"No Man's Land" by Beth Foxwell (Blood On Their Hands, Berkley Prime Crime)
"War Crimes" by G. Miki Hayden (A Hot and Sultry Night for Crime, Berkley Prime Crime)
"Child Support" by Ronnie Klaskin (A Hot and Sultry Night for Crime, Berkley Prime Crime)
"Red Meat" by Elaine Viets (Blood On Their Hands, Berkley Prime Crime)

6/21/04

The June/July 2004 issue of Mystery News was mailed today - a few days late due to a surplus of day job travel. This issue features a cover interview of Jason Starr, who is single-handedly reinventing noir by Chris Aldrich. Other highlights of this issue include an article on Eric Ambler by James Clar, an interview with Charlaine Harris (by Virginia R. Knight) and Steve Miller's "In the beginning" column on Mark Conard (editor's note - originally misidentified as Mark Conrad), author of Dark as Night, recently published by Uglytown. The subject of Marv Lachman's "Out of the Past" column is John Creasey, whose prodigious output includes one of my early favorite British police series featuring George Gideon of Scotland Yard. Dave Magayna's "The Sound of Mystery" column has reviews of recent books by Lee Child and Sarah Lovett. Plus, of course, our usual columns, reviews, previews and convention calendar.

Updated Back Issues, Publishers and Authors pages to include info related to the new issue and updated the conventions page to include info on the Book Passage Mystery Writer's Conference and to remove outdated info.

5/16/04

A few updates - WGBH Boston has published the schedule for MYSTERY! for this summer and fall. Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee will be back in Tony Hillerman's A Thiel of Time in July, followed by four new cases in the Foyle's War series. Late August will bring reprises of a couple of Inspector Morse classics, while Lynley and Barbara Havers will be back in four new epiodes in September. Click here for more info.

The second annual South Dakota Festival of Books, which will be held August 27- 29 in downtown Sioux Falls, SD.

THE POISON TEA PARTY 2004, a Mystery Writer's Conference will be held June 18-19, 2004, at the Lamplighter Inn in Springfield, Missouri. Click here for more info.

Our list of Edgar winners omitted the winner of the Mary Higgins Clark award, M.K.. Preston for Song of the Bones.

Malice Domestic has announced the winners of this year's Agatha Awards, which honor traditional mysteries - books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie. The Agatha Awards were presented at the Malice Domestic banquet on May 1, 2004 in Arlington, VA. Find the complete list of nominees on our awards page.

Best Novel: Letter From Home by Carolyn Hart (Berkley Prime Crime)

Best First Novel: Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (Soho Press Inc.)

Best Nonfiction: Amelia Peabody’s Egypt: A Compendium, edited by Elizabeth Peters and Kristen Whitbread (William Morrow)

Best Short Story: “No Man’s Land” by Elizabeth Foxwell in Blood On Their Hands (Berkley Prime Crime)
Best Children's/Young Adult: The 7th Knot by Kathleen Karr (Marshall Cavendish)

4/30/04

The Edgar Allan Poe awards were presented last night. Here is the complete list of the winners.

Best Novel: Resurrection Men by Ian Rankin (Little, Brown)

Best First Novel by an American Author: Death of a Nationalist by Rebecca Pawel (Soho Press)

Best Paperback Original: Find Me Again by Sylvia Maultash Warsh (Dundurn Group)

Best Critical/Biographical: Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith by Andrew Wilson (Bloomsbury)

Best Fact Crime: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (Random House - Crown Books)

Best Short Story: "The Maids" by G. Miki Hayden (from Blood on Their Hands published by Berkley Prime Crime)

Best Young Adult: Acceleration by Graham McNamee (Wendy Lamb Books/Random House Childrens)

Best Juvenile: Bernie Magruder & the Rats in the Belfry by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (Simon & Schuster/Atheneum)

Best Television Episode Teleplay: The Practice: "Goodbye", teleplay by Peter Blake & David E. Kelley

Best Motion Picture Screenplay: Dirty Pretty Things, screenplay by Steve Knight (BBC, Celador Productions, Jonescompany)

Robert L. Fish Memorial Award: Sandy Balzo for "The Grass is Always Greener" (EQMM - March 2003)

Grand Master: Joseph Wambaugh

Ravens: Ray and Pat Browne Library for Popular Culture Studies at Bowling Green State University, in recognition of its long-standing work in collecting and preserving detective fiction, and Vanity Fair Magazine, Graydon Carter, editor, in recognition of their coverage of true crime

Special Edgar Award: Home Box Office, in recognition of the creation and production of their ground-breaking crime series such as The Sopranos, Oz and The Wire

Our awards page will be updated later today.

The April/May 2004 issue of Mystery News was mailed Monday, April 26 - about a week late due to the problem at our printer. This issue features Lynn Kaczmarek's terrific cover interview of Julia Spencer-Fleming, who took the mystery world by storm with the publication of In the Bleak Midwinter in 2002. Other highlights include an interview with Alan Gordon (by Virginia R. Knight) and Steve Miller's "In the beginning" column on Naomi Hirahira, author of Summer of the Big Bachi, which was published last month by Delta. Two of our reviwers have contributed articles for this issue -- James Clar give us "Murder at Thelma Todd's Sidewalk Cafe: A Short Walk into the Dark Heart of Hollywood History" and John Leech presents the four five-quill mysteries featuring Inspector Montalbano by Andrea Camilli. The subject of Marv Lachman's "Out of the Past" column is Thomas Walsh. Dave Magayna contributes audio reviews of recent books by Barry Eisler, David Ellis, Patricia Lewin and Stuart Woods. Plus, of course, our usual columns, reviews, previews and convention calendar.

Updated Back Issues and Authors pages to include info related to the new issue

4/20/04

The April/May issue will be mailed about a week late, on April 26, due to a technical glitch at our printers. A recent technological upgrade caused all of our artwork to appear as black blobs, so the paper is being reprinted and will be mailed on Monday, 4/26. Lynn and I feel awful about this but we're committed to providing our subscribers and other readers with a quality product, but in content and presentation. This issue is definitely worth the wait, with a cover story on Julia Spenser-Fleming and and assortment of other mystery goodies. I'll be posting an excerpt from the new issue this weekend, along with the full table of contents.

And a week from tonight, the Edgar Allan Poe awards will be presented by the Mystery Writers of America. We will post the full list of winners late that night (or in the very early hours of the morning, depending on the amount of celebrating that happens that night.

3/21/04

The NY Daily News did a roundup of New York mystery bookstores last week. Click here to read it. Thank you to Steve Miller for forwarding the link.

3/10/04

Updated the conventions page to include Of Dark and Stormy Nights XXII to be held June 12 in Schaumberg IL, Magna Cum Murder to be held October 22 -24 in Muncie IN, and Cape Fear Crime Festival to be held October 29 - 21in Wilmington DE.

And yesterday, while on the way to the post office at lunchtime, I caught the end of Leonard Lopate's show on our local NPR station, WNYC. This is a great daily arts and ideas show and yesterday's guests were George Pelecanos and Ian Rankin, currently touring together on the east coast. You can find listen to the interview here. Scroll down towards the bottom.

3/8/04

Fans of the Nero Wolfe series may be pleased to hear that the Biography Channel has begun airing episodes of the Maury Chaykin/Timothy Hutton version. In my area, it's on Sunday nights at 8 pm - check your local listings. Click here for more info.

If you're lucky enough to get the new pop culture channel Trio, you can see episodes of the highly acclaimed series Johnny Staccato, starring John Cassavetes as a NY jazz pianist/PI. Click here.

3/7/04

The Los Angeles Times has announced the nominees for the 2003 Book Prizes, which will be awarded on April 24 in conjunction with the 2004 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.

The nominees in the Mystery/Suspense category are:

The Company You Keep by Neil Gordon (Viking)
The House Sitter by Peter Lovesey (Soho Press)
The Dogs of Riga: A Kurt Wallander Mystery by Henning Mankell [translated from the Swedish by Laurie Thompson] (The New Press)
Death of a Nationalist by Rebecca Pawel (Soho Press)
Soul Circus: A Novel by George P. Pelecanos (Little, Brown)

See the complete list of nominees here.

There's finally an official website for Bouchercon 2004 in Toronto. Click here.

3/2/04

Steve Miller forwarded on the news about a new publisher that's starting up a hardboiled crime fiction line called Hard Case Crime. Their website lists their first 6 titles, which will be published at the rate of two a month starting in September. The covers are stunning...and the list of authors ain't too shabby either!

The A&E store is now selling the DVD of the second season of the late lamented Nero Wolfe series, as well as a nine-DVD Agatha Christie megaset. Click here for more info.

2/23/04

At Left Coast Crime 14, in Monterey, CA, the following awards were presented. For the full list of nominees, click here.

2004 Dilys Award winner: Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde

2004 Lefty Award winner: Mumbo Gumbo by Jerrilyn Farmer

2004 Otter Award winner: More Than You Know by Meg Chittenden

2004 Bruce Alexander Historical Award winner: For the Love of Mike by Rhys Bowen

Malice Domestic has announced the nominees for this year's Agatha Awards, which honor traditional mysteries - books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie. The Agatha Awards will be presented at the Malice Domestic banquet on May 1, 2004 in Arlington, VA.

Best Novel
Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon by Donna Andrews (St. Martin’s Minotaur)
Mumbo Gumbo by Jerrilyn Farmer (William Morrow)
Letter From Home by Carolyn Hart (Berkley Prime Crime)
Dream House by Rochelle Krich (Ballantine Books)
Last Lessons of Summer by Margaret Maron (Mysterious Press)
Shop till You Drop by Elaine Viets (Signet)

 

Best First Novel

Dealing in Murder by Elaine Flinn (Avon)
Haunted Ground by Erin Hart (Scribner)
Take the Bait by S. W. Hubbard (Pocket)
Alpine for You by Maddy Hunter (Pocket Books)
Murder Off Mike by Joyce Krieg (St. Martin’s Minotaur)
O’ Artful Death by Sarah Stewart Taylor (St. Martin’s Minotaur)
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (Soho Press Inc.)

Best Nonfiction

Mystery Women: An Encyclopedia of Leading Women Characters in Mystery Fiction, vol. 3 (parts 1 & 2) by Colleen A. Barnett (Poisoned Pen Press)
A Second Helping of Murder: More Diabolically Delicious Recipes from Contemporary Mystery Writers, edited by Jo Grossman and Robert Weibezahl (Poisoned Pen Press)
Atomic Renaissance: Women Mystery Writers of the 1940s and 1950s by Jeffrey Marks (Delphi Books)
Amelia Peabody’s Egypt: A Compendium, edited by Elizabeth Peters and Kristen Whitbread (William Morrow)
Dick Francis Companion by Jean Swanson and Dean James (Berkley Prime Crime)

 

Best Short Story
“Doppleganger” by Rhys Bowen in Blood On Their Hands (Berkley Prime Crime)
“No Man’s Land” by Elizabeth Foxwell in Blood On Their Hands (Berkley Prime Crime)
“Safety First” by Marcia Talley in Blood On Their Hands (Berkley Prime Crime)
“Red Meat” by Elaine Viets in Blood On Their Hands (Berkley Prime Crime)
“Sex and Bingo” by Elaine Viets in High Stakes (Signet)

 

Best Children's/Young Adult

Gangsters at the Grand Atlantic by Sarah Masters Buckey (Pleasant Company)
Danger, Dynamite by Anne Capecci (Peachtree Publishers)
Ghost Light on Graveyard Shoal by Elizabeth McDavid Jones (Pleasant Company)
The 7th Knot by Kathleen Karr (Marshall Cavendish)
The Secret of the Equestrian Park by Gay Toltl Kinman (Amber Quill Press)

 

Updated conventions and awards pages & moved info on awards presented in 2003 to a new page.

2/18/04

The February/March 2004 issue of Mystery News was mailed yesterday, Tuesday, February 17th, right on time.This issue features a great cover interview of John Lescroart by Lynn Kaczmarek. Other highlights include an interview with Jim Fusilli (by Chris Aldrich) and Steve's "In the beginning" column on Sue Rann, author of Looking for Mr Nobody, which was published in May 2003 by No Exit Press. The subject of Marv Lachman's "Out of the Past" column is the fiction of Anthony Boucher. Dave Magayna contributes audio reviews of recent books by Anne Perry and George P. Pelecanos. Plus, of course, our usual columns, reviews, previews and convention calendar. And our annual special treat -- each reviewer's list of the top 5 books read in 2003.

Updated Back Issues and Authors pages to include info related to the new issue

2/15/04

Mystery News subscription rates will increase on March 1, 2004: We’ve held our subscription and single issue rates stable for 6 years now, but continuous increases in our costs, primarily for postage, are forcing us to raise our prices. We wish we didn’t have to do this, but we have no alternative if we are to continue publishing Mystery News. Each year we bring you 15-25 interviews and over 400 reviews, along with a multitude of additional features like a convention calendar and special articles. It is our mission is to help guide our readers to find the books and authors that they will enjoy reading, and we think we do a pretty good job of it. We’re always open to suggestions and even (although it pierces our little hearts) constructive criticism that advances that mission. We hope all of our readers will understand that this price hike is critical to our survival and will stay with us despite the higher prices.

Effective March 1, our new subscription prices (all in US$) will be:
One-year US subscription: $ 25
Two-year US subscription: $ 46
One-year all other countries via surface: $35
One-year all other countries via air mail: $50

The new US cover price will be $4.50 (CDN 6.00), and back issues will be $5.00, including first-class postage & handling. US libraries will continue to receive 3 copies of each issue for the regular subscription price.

Effective with this month's issue, two more bookstores will be selling Mystery News. They are Dead End Books, in Hicksville, New York, and Whodunit? Mystery Bookstore in Winnipeg, Manitoba. We hope you will patronize them and our other bookstore supporters.

Updated conventions page to include the 9th Annual Flatirons Blunt Instrument Workshop and the Conference on the Future of the Book, and to remove outdated information.

2/10/04

The Mysterious Press has created the Sara Ann Freed Memorial Award for a First Mystery, providing a $10,000 advance for publication by the Time Warner imprint. CEO Larry Kirshbaum says, "Sara Ann Freed nurtured many outstanding mystery writers at the beginning of their careers. I can think of no better way to honor her memory than the establishment of this award whose purpose is to launch the career of a talented new mystery writer." Submissions will be accepted from April 1 through July 1 only, for publication in September 2005. Click here for complete details.

2/7/04

The Sacramento Bee has a feature article on Robin Burcell. You can read it here.

2/6/04

The New York Times Sunday Magazine for this coming Sunday will include an interview with Walter Mosley called " It's the Money, Stupid". You can read it in the paper or by clicking here. (Note the NYT site requires registration, which is free)

2/5/04

The North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers has announced the nominees for the annual Hammett Prize, given for a work of literary excellence in the field of crime writing by a US or Canadian author.

The Delicate Storm by Giles Blunt
The Seduction of Water by Carol Goodman
Tropic of Night by Michael Gruber
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
Every Secret Thing by Laura Lippman

2/4/04

I'm on Michael Connelly's email list, and today I received a message that said, in part:

"Visit MichaelConnelly.com to get a special look inside the next Harry Bosch novel, The Narrows. In this 11 minute video Michael shares with you locations in Los Angeles, reads you excerpts from The Narrows, and gives you his personal insight into the writing of his book. This streaming video can be viewed with either Quicktime, RealPlayer, or Windows Media. "

In addition to the video, they've posted an excerpt from The Narrows on Michael's web site. The Narrows is a sequel to the Poet.

Added VA Festival of the Book, March 24 - 28, to the conventions page. Click here to see the lineup of mystery participants.

2/3/04

I just added a link to Murder Out There, a Canadian Noir site that includes fiction and reviews. There's also a link (on the home page) to Trouble, Trenchcoats & Femmes Fatales, A Film Noir Retrospective that makes me wish I could be put on assignment to the area southwest of Toronto for a month and a half. Between February 4 and March 19, 2004, they'll be showing some fantastic films at the Staircase Theatre in Hamilton Ontario. Contact info is on our conventions and events page.Thank you to Kerry Schooley for the info!

2/2/04

The MWA emailed a correction to the Best Short Story nominee list -- apparently "Totaled" by Clayton Emery was originally published in 2002 and was therefore not eligible for a 2004 Edgar. And, Michael Connelly has withdrawn Lost Light from Edgar consideration. He is the current President of MWA.

Updated the conventions page to include the Wolfe Island Scene of the Crime Festival.

2/1/04

The Mystery Writers of America has announced the nominations for the Edgar Allan Poe Awards 2004, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television and film published or produced in 2003. The Edgars will be presented at the 58th Gala Banquet, April 29, 2004 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City.

Best Novel

The Guards by Ken Bruen (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Lost Light by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)
Out by Natsuo Kirino (Kodansha International)
Resurrection Men by Ian Rankin (Little, Brown)
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (Soho Press)

Best First Novel by an American Author

12 Bliss Street by Martha Conway (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Offer of Proof by Robert Heilbrun (William Morrow)
Night of the Dance by James Hime (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Death of a Nationalist by Rebecca Pawel (Soho Press)
The Bridge of Sighs by Olen Steinhauer (St. Martin's Minotaur)

Best Paperback Original

Cut and Run by Jeff Abbott (NAL-Penguin)
The Last Witness by Joel Goldman (Pinnacle)
Wisdom of the Bones by Christopher Hyde (NAL-Penguin)
Southland by Nina Rovoyr (Akashic Books)
Find Me Again by Sylvia Maultash Warsh (Dundurn Group)

Best Critical/Biographical

Mystery Women, Volume 3 by Colleen Barnett (Poisoned Pen Press)
Amelia Peabody's Egypt: A Compendium edited by Elizabeth Peters and Kristen Whitbread (Morrow)
Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light by Patrick McGilligan (HarperCollins)
The American Police Novel: A History by Leroy Lad Panek (McFarland)
Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith by Andrew Wilson (Bloomsbury)

Best Fact Crime

Black Dahlia Avenger: A Genius for Murder by Steve Hodel (Arcade Publishing)
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (Random House - Crown Books)
Judgment Ridge: The True Story Behind the Dartmouth Murders by Dick Lehr and Mitchell Zuckoff (HarperCollins)
And The Dead Shall Rise: The Murder of Mary Phagan & the Lynching of Leo Frank by Steve Oney (Pantheon Books)
Rothstein: The Life, Times & Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series by David Pietrusza (Carroll & Graf)

Best Short Story

"Bet on Red" by Jeff Abbott (from High Stakes published by NAL-Penguin)
"Black Heart & Cabin Girl" by Shelly Costa (from Blood on Their Hands published by Berkley Prime Crime)
"Aces and Eights" by David Edgerley Gates (from AHMM - December 2003) "Totaled" by Clayton Emery (from Undertow published by Level Best Books)
"The Maids" by G. Miki Hayden (from Blood on Their Hands published by Berkley Prime Crime)
"Cowboy Grace" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (from The Silver Gryphon published by Golden Gryphon Press)

Best Young Adult

The Last Treasure by Janet Anderson (Dutton Children's Group)
Feast of Fools by Bridget Crowley (McElderry - Simon & Schuster)
Acceleration by Graham McNamee (Wendy Lamb Books/Random House Childrens)
Death and the Arrow by Chris Priestly (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
Uncovering Sadie's Secrets by Libby Sternberg (Bancroft Press)

Best Juvenile

The Malted Falcon by Bruce Hale (Harcourt Children's Books)
Bernie Magruder & the Rats in the Belfry by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (Simon & Schuster/Atheneum)
Lily's Ghosts by Laura Ruby (HarperCollins Children's Books)
Dust by Arthur Slade (Wendy Lamb Books/Random House Childrens)
Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception by Wendelin Van Draanen (Knopf Books for Young Readers/Random House Childrens)

Best Television Episode Teleplay

Law & Order Criminal Intent: "Probability", teleplay by Gerry Conway. Story by Rene Balcer & Gerry Conway
Law & Order SVU: "Coerced", teleplay by Jonathan Greene
Monk: "Mr. Monk and the 12th Man", teleplay by Michael Angeli
Monk: "Mr. Monk and the Very, Very Old Man", teleplay by Daniel Dratch
The Practice: "Goodbye", teleplay by Peter Blake & David E. Kelley

Best Motion Picture Screenplay

The Cooler, screenplay by Wayne Kramer & Frank Hannah (Lions Gate Films)
Dirty Pretty Things, screenplay by Steve Knight (BBC, Celador Productions, Jonescompany)
Monster, screenplay by Patty Jenkins (MDP Worldwide)
Mystic River, screenplay by Brian Helgeland, based on the novel by Dennis Lehane (Malpaso Productions)
Runaway Jury, screenplay by Brian Koppelman, David Levien, Rick Cleveland, Matthew Chapman, based on the novel by John
Grisham

The Simon & Schuster - Mary Higgins Clark Award

Ricochet by Nancy Baker Jacobs (Five Star Publishing)
A Bloodhound to Die For by Virginia Lanier (HarperCollins)
The Samurai's Daughter by Sujata Massey (HarperCollins)
The Body in the Lighthouse by Katherine Hall Page (Morrow)
Song of the Bones by M.K. Preston (Intrigue Press)

 

Robert L. Fish Memorial Award

Sandy Balzo for "The Grass is Always Greener" (EQMM - March 2003)

Grand Master

Joseph Wambaugh

Raven

Ray and Pat Browne Library for Popular Culture Studies at Bowling Green State University, in recognition of its long-standing work in collecting and preserving detective fiction

Vanity Fair Magazine, Graydon Carter, editor, in recognition of their coverage of True Crime

 

Special Edgar(r) Award

Home Box Office, in recognition of the creation and production of their ground-breaking crime series such as The Sopranos, Oz and The Wire

 

WNYC, New York's NPR station, has a feature called "Survival Kit", a half-hour show hosted by Leonard Lopate, where a celebrity talks about what he or she would take on a long retreat to a desert island or similar lonely place. Lopate has hosted (among others) mystery authors Walter Mosley, Anthony Bourdain, Kinky Friedman, Elmore Leonard, P.D. James and Sara Paretsky. You may need to scroll down to see the link.

1/31/2004

The Crime Writers' Association has awarded its Cartier Diamond Dagger for 2004 to the American writer, Lawrence Block. The Diamond Dagger, sponsored by Cartier, has been awarded annually for nineteen years to mark a lifetime's achievement in crime writing. Previous winners have included John Le Carre, P.D. James, Ruth Rendell and Colin Dexter. The Diamond Dagger will be presented to Block on Wednesday 12 May at the Savoy Hotel in London.

Good news from Atlanta - the Science Fiction and Mystery Bookstore will not be closing after all! Mark Stevens wrote to say "Due to a very generous patron we will be staying in business after all. It will take a few weeks to reverse the process of closing, which we were within days of completing. The store will have new books arriving as soon as next week. Until then, we still would like to clear out as much of the older stock as possible so, until February 4, we will continue our 50% off sale. We call it the staying in business sale. So come on down and give us a hand in preparing the store for the next 20 years of great sf and mystery bookselling! And thanks for all the support during this difficult period." The SF & Mystery Bookshop is located at 2558 Shallowford Rd, Suite 202, Atlanta, GA 30345. You can write to Mark at sf.mystery.books@mindspring.com.

Speaking of mystery bookstores, The San Jose Mercury News did a piece earlier this week on M is for Mystery, the San Mateo mystery specialty store. You can find it here.

Caryl Thompson has announced that ClueFest will not be held this year, due to family health concerns, but she is hopeful of resuming in 2005.

Check out this article, called "Southern Mystery Writers Make a Killing" from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Scotsman has a lovely article about Alexander McCall Smith, author of the No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. They'll also be serializing his new novel, 44 Scotland Street, written especially for the paper's subscribers, over the next six months, with installments to appear every weekday. It's tempting me to think about an online subscription...

Last Sunday's New York Times Book Review contained an article by Laura Miller called "The Swinging Detective". I won't say any more but you can click here to read it. Note that the NYT site requires registration, which is free.

The Private Eye Writers of America (PWA) has issued a call for Shamus Award submissions for works with a first copyright date of 2003. The deadline for submissions is March 1, 2004. Contact S.J. Rozan, the overall awards chair, at 212-675-3135 or SJRozan@SJRozan.com, for additional information.

1/18/2004

There's going to be a mystery convention in Manhattan -- Kansas, that is! It's called "The Great Manhattan Mystery Conclave -- a Celebration of the Small Town Mystery" to be held October 1-3, 2004 and sponsored by the Manhattan Library Association. When I saw that the schedule included an opening night pub crawl, my eyes lit up. Click here for more info. Updated the conventions page accordingly.

St. Martin's Press has launched a new program called "Read-it-First" that allows readers to sign up to have excerpts of new books emailed every day. Click here for more info.

1/11/2004

The Board of Malice Domestic will give its 2004 Poirot Award to RuthCavin and Thomas Dunne of St. Martin's Press for their creation and nurturing of a contest for best first traditional mystery novel. The award will be presented at the Agatha Awards Banquet on May 1, 2004, during Malice's annual convention.

The Poirot, which was established in 2003, is awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions to the world of the traditional mystery through means other than writing. The first ever such award went to the actor David Suchet for his marvelous television interpretation of Hercule Poirot. It was a role that won him the hearts of the mystery fans who gather yearly for Malice Domestic.

The mystery contest that Cavin and Dunne established in 1990 has been encouraging mysteries with less sex and violence, suspects who were somewhat related personally...in other words, "Malice-type" books. Called the St. Martin's/Malice Domestic Contest for Best First Traditional Mystery Novel, the contest has had 13 winners with the winning novels usually published the following year. Several of these winners have gone on to win other mystery awards such as the Edgar and the Agatha while establishing themselves and their stories in the mystery world.

St. Martin's Press also sponsors a contest for the best first private eye novel with the Private Eye Writers of America (PWA).

The San Francisco Chronicle recently ran a feature article on six Bay Area woman crimewriters: Gillian Roberts, Ayelet Waldman, Marcia Muller, Nadia Gordon, Cara Black and Jacqueline Winspear. You can find it here.

Updated the conventions page to include several web links for future events and to clarify the date for the MWA Symposium, which will be held April 28, 2004 in New York.

1/1/2004

Happy New Year from all of us at Mystery News!

Subscribers -- it seems to be taking the Post Office upwards of two weeks to deliver the December/January issue. If you have not yet received yours, please email me and I will send out another copy. It took 16 days for my copy to get to me -- an average speed of 55 miles/day...

A wonderful holiday surprise for those of us who live near Hicksville, New York -- a brand-new mystery bookstore in our backyard! Dead End Books is a cozy retreat located in a busy strip mall near the Hicksville train station, at 210 E. Old Country Road (At Newbridge Rd, aka Route 106). I dropped by a couple of weeks ago and was happily surprised to find great books, a comfy seating area and congenial booksellers. Between my sister and me, we found gifts for nearly every member of the family. Check out their web site here. Long Island has needed a mystery book store for a long time - how cool that we finally have one!

You can read Oline H. Cogdill's list of the best mystery fiction published in 2003 here. Cogdill's mystery reviews are published in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and are syndicated to papers around the US. Cogdill won the American Crime Writers League's Ellen Nehr Award for Excellence in Mystery Reviewing reviewing several years ago. (Note - the Sun-Sentinel site requires registration, but it is free and if you are registered with the LA Times or Newsday, you can use that logon to see Sun-Sentinel articles.

Today's New York Times has a feature article called "Pulp Fiction by Women With Protofeminist Roots", about some of the pulp novels written by women that are being reissued by The Feminist Press. Three were published in November of last year, and there are more to come. Click here for the article.

 

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The What's New? page is updated regularly by Chris Aldrich, one of the partners in Black Raven Press. Items of general interest to fans of mystery and crime fiction may be emailed to her at whatsnew@blackravenpress.com. Please do not send promotional announcements for individual authors or books - they will likely not be used and will likely only cause annoyance. Please refer to our submission guidelines for information on submitting books for review. Please report any broken links to webmaster@blackravenpress.com