The Los Angeles Times unveiled the winners of its 40th Annual Book Prizes on Twitter rather than at the customary ceremony that usually launches the newspaper’s annual Festival of Books (due to the coronavirus). This year's winner in the Mystery/Thriller category was Steph Cha for Your House Will Pay. The other finalists included Michael Connelly, The Night Fire; Jane Harper, The Lost Man; Laura Lippman, Lady in the Lake; and Attica Locke Heaven, My Home.
Washington, D.C.'s 2nd Virtual Noir at the Bar will feature a fundraiser for Kramerbooks this Friday at 8 p.m. Authors scheduled to take part include Mark Bergin, Caroline Bock, Austin Camacho, Nik Korpon, Tara Laskowski, Greer Macallister, Sujata Massey, Adam Meyer, and David Stewart. E.A. Aymar takes on hosting duties, with music from Sara Jones.
Another Virtual Noir at the Bar will return to Boston on Wednesday, April 29, with a slate of crime fiction authors to include hosts, Edwin Hill and David Pezza, and readings from authors Tracy Clark, Daniel Ford, Kelly J. Ford, Vanessa Lillie, Hannah Mary McKinnon, and Gabriel Valjan.
Cara Black will be in a virtual conversation with Jacqueline Winspear as the two masters of crime fiction discuss the writing of fiction that takes place in World War Two Europe. They'll explore topics that closely parallel many of the issues of the day as well as discussing the challenge and complexities of placing one's writing in a dynamic historic period. Sponsored by San Francisco's City Lights Booksellers & Publishers, the event is scheduled for Tuesday, May 19 from 7-8:30 (PT), 10-11:30 pm (ET).
The Mystery Writers of America posted on social media that they will be announcing the 74th annual Edgar Allan Poe Award winners via the Twitter handle @EdgarAwards next Thursday, April 30th, beginning at 11 a.m. That's the same date the winners would have been announced at the honors banquet that was canceled due to the coronovirus.
The Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award, sponsored by Sisters in Crime, is still taking submissions through June 8. The event provides an annual grant of $2,000 for an emerging writer of color. Online Cogdill, writing for Mystery Scene Magazine, profiled the awards program with input from previous winner Mia P. Manansala, whose Filipino American culinary cozy series set in a fictional Midwestern town was acquired by Berkley/Penguin Random House.
Due to the pandemic, SEMWA and SinC-Palmetto Chapter have changed the July 25th Mystery in the Midlands conference (normally held in Columbia, SC) to a virtual event and will make it free to all SEMWA and SinC members. The free event will feature Charlaine Harris as guest of honor and be moderated by Dana Kaye. Other panelists include John Floyd, Tara Laskowski, and Art Taylor (short stories), Alexia Gordon, Toni L.P. Kelner, and Gigi Pandian (paranormals), and Charlaine Harris, Dana Cameron, and Jeffery Deaver (novels to screenplays).
Writing for CrimeReads, Sarah Weinman profiled four women—Isabelle Taylor, Lee Wright, Marie Rodell, and Joan Kahn—who were at the center of the mystery world for four decades. These influential editors built careers, discovered legends, and shaped a genre.
Suspense Magazine published its spring issue, with profiles of authors Ang Pompano, DV Berkom, Betty Webb, Steven F. Havill, Jonathan Maberry, Joseph Finder, Brad Taylor, and Rhys Bowen; plus there are articles from Joseph Badal and Janet Rogers, pages of reviews, short stories, and much more
Noir City magazine's latest issue is the first under the helm of new Editor-in-Chief, Vince Keenan, with a a stem-to-stern redesign courtesy of colleague Michael Kronenberg. The issue includes Imogen Sara Smith’s two-part cover story on the extraordinary life and films of Jose Giovanni; a look at noir’s favorite cad, Zachary Scott; a look back at the overlap of film noir and advertising aimed at women in the 1940s; an interview with Motherless Brooklyn writer/producer/director/star, Edward Norton; Ray Banks on the many big-screen iterations of Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley; a fun and inventive 5 Favorites from the gifted poet Chelsey Minnis; and more.
J. Kingston Pierce's Killer Covers blog wraps up its series saluting artist-illustrator Mitchell Hooks (1923-2013). The Detroit-born Hooks left an indelible mark on the look of crime fiction, and Killer Covers featured 57 paperback fronts and movie posters painted by Hooks including his 1970s line of covers for Ross Macdonald’s Lew Archer novels.
In honor of April being National Poetry Month (as established by the Academy of American Poets in 1996), the 5-2 Crime Weekly continues its "Thirty Days of the Five-Two" this week. In addition to the usual Poems of the Week (this week: "Autobiography of Ursula" by Margot Douaihy), organizer Gerald So is still encouraging readers to link to any Five-Two poems you enjoy on your social media.
In the Q&A roundup, Criminal Element continues its Book Series Binge with Tasha Alexander about her Lady Emily series; Author Interviews welcomed William Boyle, shortlisted for a Dagger Award and Hammett Prize, to chat about his newest novel, City of Margins; Shots Magazine had a Q&A with Craig Sisterson, author of Southern Cross Crime; and Max Allan Collins chatted with Criminal Element about Masquerade for Murder, his latest Mickey Spillane/Mike Hammer novel.
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