The Guardian has a lengthy tribute—including extra interviews, videos, pictures, quotes, and the official obituary—for crime fiction icon PD James, who died last week. The creator of the much-loved detective Adam Dalgliesh once said "I love the idea of bringing order out of disorder, which is what the mystery is about. I like the way in which it affirms the sanity of human life and exorcises irrational guilts."
The results of the Goodreads Choice Awards for 2014 were announced, and the winner in the Mystery and Thriller category is Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes. For all the other nominees, check out the Goodreads finalists website.
The Tucson Festival of Books announced the lineup of authors for the upcoming event March 14-15 on the University of Arizona Campus. Crime fiction authors scheduled to appear include Ace Atkins, Cara Black, Rhys Bowen, C.J. Box, Robert Crais, Libby Fischer Hellmann, Greg Isles, J.A. Jance, Craig Johnson, T. Jefferson Parker, Olen Steinhauer, Scott Turow, and Betty Webb.
The Guardian reported on the early, never-before-published work by crime novelist Raymond Chandler discovered in the Library of Congress in Washington. The 48-page libretto to the comic opera The Princess and the Pedlar, with music by Julian Pascal, was first registered on 29 August 1917, and is a "missing link between Chandler’s English boyhood and his detective fiction."
The Human Journal is seeking essay submissions for a special issue to be published in June 2015 devoted to crime writing (fiction and non-fiction). Topics could range from "journalistic reportage, online fansites for aficionados of crime, detective fiction broadly construed, crime writing for children and young adults, hacking, true crime writing, historical crime writing, and other subjects." Interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged, as are treatments that deal with global (non-Western) writing or that bridge East and West. Completed essays of 4500-5500 words will be due no later than March 1, 2015, to guest editor, Rebecca Martin ([email protected]).
Britain’s Next Bestseller and Scriggler.com have launched a short story competition for aspiring crime writers, with entries accepted through January 31, 2015. The ten crime stories accepted will be printed in an anthology to raise funds for The Hope Academy for Girls, a school for girls at risk in western Sierra Leone.
Was Warren G. Harding's love interest a German spy? The National Archives takes a look at the case. (Hat tip to Elizabeth Foxwell.)
The Hollywood Reporter listed "Hollywood's 25 Most Powerful Authors" whose books are source material for more than 300 movie and TV projects.
Janet Rudolph over at the Mystery Fanfare blog has begun posting her Christmas mysteries listing, staring with A through D.
Meanwhile, another crime fiction resource bites the dust, as the authors of Sleuths, Spies, and Alibis have chosen to end the three-year-old blog. It's sad to see the blog go, but we wish all the authors the very best with their individual publishing endeavors.
This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "Robbed" by Australian author Brenton Booth, and the newest story at Beat to a Pulp is "Night Sweats" by Garnett Elliott.
The Q&A roundup includes C.B. McKenzie, whose debut novel, Bad Country, won the Tony Hillerman Award; authors Judy Dailey and Jonathan Ashley chat with Omnimystery News; and both Benedict J. Jones and Nigel Bird take Paul D. Brazill's "Short, Sharp Interview" challenge.
Finally, in honor of my birthday, Played to Death is on sale today for 99c (or UK £.77) at Amazon US and Amazon UK, Nook US and Nook UK, Kobo, and Apple. If you snag a copy, I hope you enjoy it, and if you feel so inclined, post a little review on your favorite merchant site (even if it's just a sentence). The book is also featured today on eBookSoda.
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