The Crime Writers Association announced the longlist for this year's Debut Dagger, a competition for the opening of a crime novel by an uncontracted writer. Entries from shortlisted writers are sent to UK literary agents and publishers, many of whom have found representation. This year the Debut Dagger is being sponsored by ProWritingAid. (HT to Shots Magazine.)
Somehow, I missed this one earlier. The Lindisfarne Prize for Crime Fiction is a literary prize which recognizes outstanding writing in the genre of crime or thriller fiction, sponsored by the author L J Ross through her publishing imprint, Dark Skies Publishing, in association with the Newcastle Noir Crime Writing Festival and Newcastle Libraries. It is open to all writers who are from, or whose work celebrates the North East of England, and who have not previously had their submission published in any form (though they might have had other stories published before). The award organizers announced on social media in March that this year's shortlisted authors include Robert Scragg, Ellie Davies, Ed Walsh, Barbara Scott Emmett, and David Cooper.
Congrats also to Toronto crime author Howard Shrier, whose story, "Done With Him," about two brothers with conflicting motives, won the Toronto Star’s annual short story contest out of 1,000+ entries.
The deadline is fast approaching for applications for the Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award, sponsored by Sisters in Crime. The award is open to writers of color with an unpublished manuscript (short story or first chapters of a manuscript in-progress, 2,500 to 5,000 words). The last day for submissions for the annual grant of $2,000 is May 15.
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine editor, Janet Hutchings, noted that this is the second year in which they've had to hold their annual Readers Award party virtually, so instead of the usual photos, she posted the 2021 awards video online.
In what’s become a tradition at CrimeReads, the editors partnered with Mystery Writers of America to organize a giant roundtable discussion between the Edgar nominees. They received responses from over 30 authors, each with their own fascinating take on crime fiction. The Edgar Awards Ceremony itself begins at 1 PM EST tomorrow, the 29th, via Zoom.
If you're a fan of women detectives, Publishers Weekly posted a list of "ten unstoppable women detectives," while Book Riot made note of crime novels where "women fight back."
Writing for The Bookseller, Ian Rankin noted that he would like a new generation of readers to come to the works of fellow Scottish author, William McIlvanney, known for his Jack Laidlaw books, a hard-boiled crime trilogy commonly cited as the foundation of Tartan Noir.
Writing for The Guardian, Caroline Crampton celebrated a century of honkaku, fiendishly clever Japanese whodunnit mystery novels that have spawned pop culture icons, anime, and a museum.
Robert Dugoni, author of the bestselling Tracy Crosswhite police series set in Seattle, applied the Page 69 Test to his new Crosswhite novel, In Her Tracks.
There are more than 9,000 public libraries in the U.S., and one man has been trying to win summer reading prizes from as many as he can. Not all librarians are happy about it.
This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "Another World" by Tom Barlow.
In the Q&A roundup, Harlan Coben discussed why "we live in the golden age of crime novels"; humorist-turned-crime novelist, Jonathan Ames, spoke with Inside Hook about his new book, A Man Named Doll, a fast-paced neo-noir "that traffics in grit and laughs in equal measure"; Wallace Stroby spoke with CrimeReads about "Life, Death, and Noir on the Jersey Shore"; and Author Interviews chatted with Nev March, the recent winner of the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America Award for Best First Crime Fiction.
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