Mystery Melange

The final Crime Writers' Association Dagger Awards of the year were handed out last night, including the Goldsboro Gold Dagger for crime novel of the year, won by Michael Robotham for Life or Death. Karin Slaughter was awarded the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger (for best thriller) for her novel, Cop Town, and the CWA John Creasey (new blood) Dagger was awarded to Smith Henderson for his novel Fourth Of July Creek.

Otto Penzler, President and publisher of MysteriousPress.com, announced a new contest for the Mysterious Press Award, to be given for the best e-book original mystery novel. The winning entry, which will receive a prize of $25,000 and guaranteed world-wide publication, will be announced at the 2016 Frankfurt Book Fair.

The Goethe-Institut London and New Books in German are hosting a Krimi (crime fiction) evening on Tuesday November 10 titled "In the Library with the Lead Piping." The event will feature readings and a panel on German and British crime fiction by authors Mechtild Borrmann, Mario Giordano, Michael Ridpath and Louise Welsh. (HT to Mrs. Peabody Investigates)

The International Thriller Writers organization will once again offer an online "Thriller School" with seven weeks of instruction beginning March 14th, 2016. Each week, a bestselling author will teach an aspect of craft though a podcast, with written materials that include further reading and study suggestions, and an entire week of on-line Q&A with the registered students. Participating authors for the course will include David Corbett, Meg Gardiner, F. Paul Wilson, Hank Phillippi Ryan, James Scott Bell, Peter James, and Lee Child.

The International Crime Fiction group posted a look at the history of crime fiction in Greece, from its precursors, the “roman feuilleton” (or serial) that was very popular during the 19th century, through the hard-boiled writers of the 1950s and 60s, and up to the new generation of writers in the 1990s. The new retrospective is part of the AHRC's Visualising European Crime Fiction project.

Francis Wheen, writing for Vanity Fair, reported on the mystery that still surrounds crime novelist Josephine Tey, the author of The Daughter of Time. Tey showed her disdain for formulaic fiction by breaking the commandments of the Detection Club that was at the heart of the Golden Age of Fiction and "divided her life into discrete spheres so that no one could know her too intimately." The latter fact is one reason there are virtually no biographies about her, although one is due out later this fall.

The Weekly Standard's Benjamin Welton discussed "A Brief History of Stationary Sleuthing," i.e., the particularly American invention of the detective who hates to leave the house, a la C. Auguste Dupin and Nero Wolfe.

The True Crime blog took a look at "The Story of the 1930s 'Impossible Murder' That Utterly Fascinated Raymond Chandler." Chandler wasn't alone - the murder of Julia Wallace in Liverpool in 1931 led Dorothy Sayers tor write a long article on the topic, and at least five full length books have dealt with the "unbeatable" case.

Bustle compiled a list of "8 True Crime Books To Read With The Lights On."

BJ Bourg's Righting Crime Fiction is adding Frank Zafiro to its staff. Frank is a retired police captain and a full time writer best known for his River City crime novels. Righting Crime Fiction aims to help authors correct all the inaccuracies that crop up in crime fiction works and write more realistic law enforcement characters and techniques.

All Due Respect Publishing, one of the last remaining paying markets, has closed the doors of its quarterly magazine. Editor Chris Rhatigan announced the news and noted that the company will continue to publish crime novels, novellas, and short story collections.(HT to Sandra Seamans.)

The new crime poem at the 5-2 is "Sudden Fear" by Kenneth Pobo.

In the Q&A roundup, Karin Slaughter spoke with The Star Telegram about her latest standalone thriller, Pretty Girls; and Ann Summerville stopped by Omnimystery News to talk about her third Pecan Valley mystery, Night and Day.