This was a big week for crime fiction awards outside the U.S.:
- Paul Thomas' Death on Demand won New Zealand's 2013 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel. It is the fourth installment in the series about unorthodox Maori police detective Tito Ihaka, and the first new entry to appear in fifteen years. (Hat tip to Craig Sisterson and Jeff Pierce.)
- The winners of the 2013 Swedish Crime Novel Awards were also announced, in the categories of Best Swedish Novel, Best Translated Novel, Best Debut Novel and Best Non-Fiction Book.
- The Irish Crime Fiction Book of the Year Award for 2013 was handed out to Louise Phillips for The Doll's House. In November, John Banville, who writes crime fiction under the pen name of Benjamin Black, was presented with the Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Irish literature. (Hat tip to Omnimystery News.)
- Plus, members of the Goodreads reader community also chose their selections for Best Mystery/Thriller books of 2013. Dan Brown's Inferno topped the list, followed by The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (a/k/a JK Rowling), Stephen King's Joyland and How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny.
The Mystery Writers of America just announced that the 2014 Grand Masters are Robert Crais and Carolyn Hart. The Raven Award was also handed out to Aunt Agatha's of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
For UK readers: The Crime Readers Association is giving away a copy of the Crime Writers' Association latest anthology, Deadly Pleasures, signed by a selection of the authors. Deadline to enter this and the other "seven days of celebrations" is Saturday 7th December.
The December issue of Gumshoe Review is now available online, featuring reviews of new books by Cleo Coyle, Tim O'Mara, Douglas E. Richards, Terry Odell, Donna Andrews, Ellen Larson, Laurie Cass, Anna Lee Huber, Lillian Stewart Carl and more.
The print edition of All Due Respect Issue #1 was just released, featuring new crime fiction from featured author Chris F. Holm and stories from Thuglit editor Todd Robinson, Renee Asher Pickup, Paul D. Brazill, Travis Richardson, Mike Miner, Walter Conley. Plus there are reviews of Steve Weddle’s Country Hardball and Chris Holm's Collector series, and a section devoted to the books of legendary paperback publisher Hard Case Crime.
The featured crime poem over at the 5-2 this week is "But People Just Don't Act That Way" by Allen Stein, and the featured short story at Beat to a Pulp is "Circling" by Jen Conley.
Shelf Awareness reported that the first "Indies First" celebration was a huge success this past weekend. More than 1,000 authors helped out at 400+ indie bookstores, "adding to the excitement generated by Small Business Saturday." And the holiday shopping season isn't over yet, so don't forget your local independent bookstores when hunting for that perfect gift.
If you're a new or struggling writer, Ian Rankin has words of advice for you regarding perseverance. In a Q&A with the Telegraph, he said that it took him 14 years for his writing to pay.
Several publishers are offering online "advent calendars" this year, giving readers a chance to win prizes in the countdown to Christmas.
Think you are an expert on literary pets? The Guardian has a quiz about famous authors and their beloved cats and dogs.
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