Deadly Pleasures Magazine announced The Barry Award Winners recently. George Easter, Editor of Deadly Pleasures, noted that "in an ordinary year the winners of the Barry Awards would be announced during the Opening Ceremonies of Bouchercon...But this year is no ordinary one." So the decision was made to go ahead with the official announcement of this year's winners. Best Novel went to Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby; Best First Novel to Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden; Best Paperback Original to James W. Ziskin; and Best Thriller to Eddie's Boy by Thomas Perry.
Author Anthony Horowitz has won the Best Mystery of the Decade (2010–2019) award by Honkaku Mystery Writers Club for his first Daniel Hawthorne novel, The Word is Murder, making him the most decorated foreign crime author in Japanese history. According to his publisher, Horowitz is the first author in Japanese history to win 16 literary awards in total. All three of Horowitz’s books are published in Japan by Tokyo Sogensha in deals brokered by Curtis Brown and have been honored with crime awards, with Magpie Murders garnering seven, The Word is Murder five, and The Sentence is Death four.
There's quite a bit of conference news to report. First off, thanks to generous funding from Creative Scotland, the 2021 Bloody Scotland Festival will be going ahead in hybrid form from Friday September 17th to Sunday September 19th. As usual, the opening night will be marked with the presentation of the McIlvanney Prize and the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize. Bloody Scotland "is delighted" to welcome back a live audience and all events will take place with the safety of authors and readers in mind, but for those who don't feel ready to venture out or can't get to Stirling, all events will be available on-line. The full program will be revealed on Wednesday August 18th, and tickets will go on sale at 12 noon that day. Full details of all events, and how to book tickets for both watching on-line and in-person, will be available via the official website.
Killer Nashville is still going full steam ahead with an in-person event this year. However, if for some reason you're signed up but decide you can't attend, all sessions will be recorded so you’ll have access to every single session on the Killer Nashville roster. Killer Nashville organizers have been finalizing all the panels for the even August 19-22, and have now posted the majority of those details online.
Also, the annual Desert Sleuths WriteNow! Conference is holding their event in September in a 100% virtual capacity. The Guest of Honor is Ann Cleeves (Shetland Series, Vera Stanhope Series), with other appearances by special guests Isabella Maldonado, Peng Shepherd, Gary Phillips, Eric Beetner, Kelli Stanley, Jenna Jankowski (Sourcebooks), Bronwen Hruska (Soho Press), Brett Battles, and Connie B. Dowell. Plus, there will be consultations on September 10 with Madelyn Burt (Stonesong Literary), Christina Hogrebe (Jane Rotrosen Agency), Jenna Jankowski (Sourcebooks), Hailey Dezort (Kaye Publicity), and Connie B. Dowell (Book Echoes Media). The conference itself starts Saturday, September 11 at 8am PT/11am ET, and all conference sessions will be recorded if you cannot attend live.
The deadline is fast approaching for submissions to the Joffe Books Prize for Crime Fiction Writers of Colour. The competition aims to champion authors from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds writing in one of the various crime fiction genres, whether you're writing your crime fiction debut, are previously published or are self-published. Entrants are invited to submit their full-length manuscript, written in English, along with a synopsis of the book and author biography by September 30.
Singer Dolly Parton is teaming up with James Patterson to co-write a novel titled Run, Rose, Run through Little, Brown & Co. The novel will follow a young woman who heads to Nashville with dreams of becoming a star, but her music is fueled by a brutal secret she has worked hard to keep. The project will also include Parton's next album, with twelve songs written specifically to accompany her new literary adventure.
A recent study found that in Russia, crime fiction is king. The demand for imported crime fiction in the Russian market is related, publishers say, to the impact of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Statistics from the Russian Book Union indicate that the most successful books in the genre are a mix of police procedurals with elements of psychological thrillers, film noir, and private investigation. According to a report in Izvestia, by next year the number of international crime fiction could grow by 150 percent and create competition for domestic authors working in the genre.
This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "How to Make a Whale Out of an Envelope."
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