Even though the Bloody Scotland conference is among the many conferences cancelled this year due to Covid-19, organizers have announced finalists vying for two honors that would have been celebrated at the live event, the McIlvanney Prize for Crime Book of the Year Award and the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize. Shortlisted debut books include Hold Your Tongue by Deborah Masson; The Crown Agent by Stephen O’Rourke; See Them Run by Marion Todd; and Pine by Francine Toon. You can read the longlist of twelve books nominated for the book of the year via this link. Finalists for the McIlvanney Prize will be revealed at the beginning of September and the winner of both prizes will be revealed on Friday 18 September. (HT to Shots Magazine)
The Scottish "Queen of Crime" author Val McDermid also unveiled the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival's "New Blood" authors for 2020, showcasing the year’s best breakout crime writing talent. Honorees include Deepa Anappara for Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line; Elizabeth Kay for Seven Lies; Jessica Moor for Keeper; and Trevor Wood for The Man on the Street.
Amazon announced its editorial choices for the Best Books of 2020 so far including in the Mystery & Thriller category. You can check out the nineteen featured titles via this link.
Once Upon a Crime bookstore and Astoria Bookshop are sponsoring Reading for Relief, an online event tonight and tomorrow night to raise funds for Minneapolis community non-profits. Join the participating fourteen talented Crime Writers of Color and hosts Jessica Lane and Angel Luis Colón beginning at 6pm CT/ 7pm ET each evening for readings and discussion.
A Virtual Noir at the Bar Toronto will also take place this evening, June 25, featuring readings by Ed Aymar, R. Daniel Lester, Tom Pitts, Eryk Pruitt, Peter Rozovsky, and Amy Stuart. Event hosts are Rob Bruner and Hope Thompson.
Coming up on Friday night it's the Queer Noir @ The Bar - Pride Month Edition. Featured authors that will join in the reading and conversation include Brenda Buchanan, John Copenhaver, Kelly J. Ford, Robyn Gigl, Cheryl Head, Greg Herren, Edwin Hill, Kristen Lepionka, Michael Nava, and J. M. Redmann. The event is raising money for Lambda Literary Foundation, an LGBT literary organization that aims to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual. and transgender literature through programs that encourage development of emerging writers
The latest Mystery Readers Journal is out with a focus on Italian mysteries. You can get a sneak peek with online articles by David Hewson ("Working in Italy"), James W. Ziskin ("Turn to Stone: Quarantined in Florence with Ellie Stone"), and Kate Derie ("Crime Seen: Guido and Salvo, the Two Commissari"). The issue is available in print or PDF versions.
The latest crime poem at the 5-2 Weekly is "Can a Virus Be Criminal" by J.H. Johns.
In the Q&A roundup, the Book People welcomed Steve Weddle and Nick Kolakowski, editors of Lockdown: Stories Of Crime, Terror, And Hope During A Pandemic, with proceeds going to BINC, which helps out independent booksellers; CrimeReads caught up with Leslie Klinger to discuss his "Sherlockian" approach to annotating Neil Gaiman's American Gods; and Writers Who Kill chatted with Nicole Leiren, who has been teaming up with author Elizabeth Ashby for the Danger Cove Mysteries, in the fourth of the Writers Who Kill series of interviews featuring authors who have taken a team approach.
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