David Joy’s When These Mountains Burn (Putnam) has won the 2020 Hammett Prize from the North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers. The award is handed out annually to a book originally published in the English language in the U.S. or Canada, "That best represents the conception of literary excellence in crime writing." The other finalists included: Murder in Old Bombay, by Nev March (Minotaur); The Mountains Wild, by Sarah Stewart Taylor (Minotaur); Three Hours in Paris, by Cara Black (Soho Crime); and Winter Counts, by David Heska Wanbli Weiden (Ecco).
Craig Sisterson, founder of the Ngaio Marsh Award for excellence in crime writing by New Zealand authors, announced on Facebook the longlist for 2021. This year there will also be an inagural commendation presented to a novel written specifically for younger readers. The finalists for Best Novel, Best First Novel, and Best Non-fiction are scheduled to be announced on Saturday, August 28, during the WORD Christchurch Festival, with winners to be revealed during a special WORD Christchurch event in October. (HT to The Rap Sheet and Craig Sisterson)
Submissions are open through August 3 for the Capital Crime and Amazon Publishing contest to discover new voices in the crime and thriller fiction community, and to further their writing careers. The competition is open to unpublished mystery, thriller, and crime fiction manuscripts in English from writers around the world. The winner will receive £1000, complimentary registration to the next Capital Crime Festival, a trophy, and a potential offer of publication from Thomas & Mercer, the mystery and thriller imprint of Amazon Publishing.
On Wednesday, August 4th at 7pm ET both live and online, the Mystery Writers of America's reading series returns to the KGB Bar (85 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003). Authors currently scheduled to participate in readings include Annamaria Alfieri, Ann Aptaker, D.M. Barr, Carole Bugge, Philip Cioffari, R.L. Crossland, Jeff Markowitz, and James McCrone.
The U.S. Postal Service issued a "Mystery Message" stamp at the International Spy Museum in Washington. According to the USPS, this Forever stamp has been designed by Antonio Alcalá to "put your sleuthing skills to the test!" If you want try your hand at solving the riddle, follow this link.
This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "Stegosaurus swallows man! Read all about it!!" by Tony Dawson.
In the Q&A roundup, Lisa Haselton interviewed mystery author, Michael Devendorf; and over at Writers Who Kill, Grace Topping chatted with Ginger Bolton about her Deputy Donut mystery series.
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