CrimeFest, one of Europe’s leading crime writing conventions, has announced the shortlists for its annual awards, now in their 16th year. Eligible titles are submitted by publishers, and a team of British crime fiction reviewers vote to establish the shortlist and the winners. The top prizes will be presented at the convention Gala Awards Dinner on May 13, 2023. Congrats to all!
SPECSAVERS DEBUT CRIME NOVEL AWARD
In association with headline sponsor, the Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award is for debut authors first published in the United Kingdom in 2022. The winning author receives a £1,000 prize.
- Amen Alonge for A Good Day to Die (Quercus)
- Graham Bartlett for Bad for Good (Allison & Busby)
- Nita Prose for The Maid (HarperCollins)
- Oriana Rammuno (translator: Katherine Gregor) for Ashes in the Snow (HarperCollins)
- Joachim B. Schmidt (translator: Jamie Lee Searle) for Kalmann (Bitter Lemon)
- Hayley Scrivenor for Dirt Town (Macmillan)
- John Sutherland for The Siege (Orion Fiction)
- Stacy Willingham for A Flicker in the Dark (HarperCollins)
eDUNNIT AWARD
The eDunnit Award is for the best crime fiction ebook first published in both hardcopy and in electronic format in the United Kingdom in 2022.
- Chris Brookmyre for The Cliff House (Abacus)
- Michael Connelly for Desert Star (Orion Fiction)
- M.W. Craven for The Botanist (Constable)
- Sara Gran for The Book of the Most Precious Substance (Faber & Faber)
- Ian Rankin for A Heart Full of Headstones (Orion Fiction)
- Peter Swanson for Nine Lives (Faber & Faber)
H.R.F. KEATING AWARD
The H.R.F. Keating Award is for the best biographical or critical book related to crime fiction first published in the United Kingdom in 2022. The award is named after H.R.F. ‘Harry’ Keating, one of Britain’s most esteemed crime novelists, crime reviewers and writer of books about crime fiction.
- J.C. Bernthal & Mary Anna Evans for The Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie (Bloomsbury Academic)
- John le Carré (edited by Tim Cornwell) for A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré 1945-2020 (Viking)
- Martin Edwards for The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and their Creators (Collins Crime Club)
- Barry Forshaw for Simenon: The Man, The Books, The Films (Oldcastle Books)
- Sian MacArthur for Gender Roles and Political Contexts in Cold War Spy Fiction (Palgrave Macmillan)
- Lucy Worsley for Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman (Hodder & Stoughton)
LAST LAUGH AWARD
The Last Laugh Award is for the best humorous crime novel first published in the United Kingdom in 2022.
- Christopher Fowler for Bryant & May's Peculiar London (Doubleday)
- Elly Griffiths for The Locked Room (Quercus)
- Mick Herron for Bad Actors (Baskerville)
- Cara Hunter for Hope to Die (Viking)
- Mike Ripley for Mr Campion's Mosaic (Severn House)
- Antti Tuomainen for The Moose Paradox (Orenda Books)
BEST CRIME FICTION NOVEL FOR CHILDREN
This award is for the best crime novel for children (aged 8-12) first published in the United Kingdom in 2022.
- Elly Griffiths for A Girl Called Justice: The Spy at the Window (Quercus Children's Books)
- Anthony Horowitz for Where Seagulls Dare: A Diamond Brothers Case (Walker Books)
- Sharna Jackson for The Good Turn (Puffin)
- M.G. Leonard for Spark (Walker Books)
- Robin Stevens for The Ministry of Unladylike Activity (Puffin)
- Sarah Todd Taylor for Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire! A Recipe for Trouble (Nosy Crow)
BEST CRIME FICTION NOVEL FOR YOUNG ADULTS
This award is for the best crime novel for young adults (aged 12-16) first published in the United Kingdom in 2022.
- Holly Jackson for Five Survive (Electric Monkey)
- Patrice Lawrence for Needle (Barrington Stoke)
- Finn Longman for The Butterfly Assassin (Simon & Schuster Children's)
- Sophie McKenzie for Truth or Dare (Simon & Schuster Children's)
- Ruta Sepetys for I Must Betray You (Hodder Children's Books)
- Jonathan Stroud for The Notorious Scarlett and Browne (Walker Books)
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