Mystery Melange

Book sculpture (and working clock) "Make Time to Read" by Jodi Harvey-Brown

The Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year was awarded to Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer at this past weekend's conference in Harrogate. The other finalists included The Red Road by Denise Mina; The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter by Malcolm Mackay; The Chessmen by Peter May; Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths; and Eleven Days by Stav Sherez. (Thanks to Karen Meek at EuroCrime.)

The British publisher Weidenfeld & Nicolson (with HarperCollins handling U.S. distribution) has acquired 15 unpublished early stories written by the late Elmore Leonard, most written while Leonard was working as a copywriter at a Detroit advertising agency in the 1950s. The book is scheduled to be released in Fall of 2014.

MysteriousPress and Open Road Media are bringing The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael Series by Ellis Peters to ebooks for the first time.

The saga of publication rights to Sherlock Holmes continues with one more legal gambit by the Arthur Conan Doyle estate.The 7th Circuit of Appeals ruled in June that Holmes stories written prior to 1923 are in the public domain and therefore can be used by anyone (media, pastiches, new stories, etc.). However, Doyle's estate is taking their fight to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking for a temporary stay of the appeal court ruling while they file an appeal before SCOTUS. (Hat tip to Mike Stotter at Shots Mag.)

Author Val McDermid has a new item to add to her resume: she won the University of Dundee's naming contest, and their new morgue will be christened in her honor. The new Val McDermid Mortuary will also include the Stuart MacBride Dissecting Room and submersion tanks named after other authors, including Jeffery Deaver, Kathy Reichs, and Harlan Coben. It's all part of the university's efforts to raise £1 million to build the new facilities, asking members of the public to vote for the writer for whom they would like the morgue to be named and donate money.

The Weekly Lizard suggested "6 Scandinavian Crime Novels for Fans of Jo Nesbø’s Police."

Crime Fiction Lover has a recap of the recent Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, noting "16 wonderful things about Harrogate 2014."

As the Criminal Element blog notes, London is gussying up some of their public benches with literary makeovers. They include classics such as Shakespeare and Dickens, but will also feature Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly, Ian fleming's James Bond stories, and Anthony Hurowitz's Alex Rider series.

Some good news for both authors and readers: the latest American Association of Publishers report indicates that trade publishing sector revenues grew by 6.5% in the first quarter over the same period past year, audiobooks sales grew by 24.8%, and ebooks increased by 5.1%. Meanwhile, across the Pond, book sales soared to £23m last week in the UK, 8.4% up on the same week last year.

The new crime poem at the 5-2 this week is "Incident At A Polling Place, After The Supreme Court Ruling Against The Voting Rights Act" by Robert Cooperman.

In the Q&A roundup this week, Declan Burke interviews author Chris Pavone on how a cookbook editor wound up writing crime thrillers; Mav Skye takes Paul D. Brazill's "Short, Sharp Interview Challenge" about her new suspense novella.