The winners of the 2023 Colorado Book Awards were recently announced at a ceremony at the historic Penrose House in Colorado Springs. The Colorado Book Awards annually celebrates the accomplishments of Colorado’s outstanding authors, editors, illustrators, and photographers. Volunteer selectors and judges from across Colorado read submissions to choose finalists and winners. Here are the winners in the categories related to crime fiction:
Best Mystery: Aunt Dimity & the Enchanted Cottage by Nancy Atherton (Viking Books)
Also nominated: The Chimera Club by Chuck Greaves (Tallow Lane Books); Where Is Mary Bergen? by Craig Marshall Smith.
Best Thriller: The Wrong Woman by Leanne Kale Sparks (Crooked Lane Books)
Also nominated: Dark of Night by Barbara Nickless (Thomas & Mercer); Deep Waters of Destiny by Peter Carlson (Calumet Editions).
Best Anthology: Denver Noir, ed. by Cynthia Swanson (Akashic Books)
Also nominated: The Long Devotion by Emily Pérez (The University of Georgia Press); Bizarre Bazaar: A Collection of Stories from Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers.
Sisters in Crime (SinC) announced the winner of the annual Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color: Nicole Prewitt of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her winning submission, "Harts Divided," follows Neema Hart, a black, bisexual thief-turned-P.I., who owns a detective agency and therapy office with her estranged wife, Genie Hart. Established in 2014, The Eleanor Taylor Bland Award is strongly aligned with SinC’s mission to promote the ongoing advancement, recognition and professional development of current and prospective members and intends to support a recipient at the beginning of their crime writing career. The grantee may choose to apply the grant toward workshops, seminars, conferences, retreats, online courses, and research activities to assist in completion of their work. Prewitt’s story was selected from over 60 submissions by 2023 judges Shizuka Otake — winner of the award in 2022 — plus novelists R. Franklin James and Andrea J. Johnson. In addition to Prewitt’s 2023 achievement, SinC has also awarded five runners-up a year-long membership to the organization. Recipients were Josette Covington (Wilmington, Delaware), Ann Harris (Atlanta, Georgia), Kathryn Harrison (Bingham Farms, Michigan), Karabi Mitra (Toronto, Ontario), and Deena Short (Stonecrest, Georgia).
Author LJ Ross is calling for final entries to be made for this year's Lindisfarne Prize, which will close on June 30. Now in its fifth year, the Lindisfarne Prize is a literary prize recognizing outstanding crime and thriller storytelling by new, emerging and established writers who are from, or whose work celebrates, the Northeast UK. The winner will receive a cash prize of £2,500 and receive mentoring and editorial support to develop their work. Joining LJ Ross on the judging panel will be fellow crime writer Trevor Wood; Dr Jacky Collins, director of Newcastle Noir Crime Writing Festival; and BBC Look North presenter Carol Malia. To be considered, entrants must submit a short story of no more than ten thousand words or the first two chapters and a synopsis of their work in progress.
Editors at Amazon have compiled a list of their picks for "the 20 best mystery, thriller, and suspense novels of the year" thus far. They also chose S. A. Cosby's All the Sinners Bleed as their pick for the best mystery and thriller of the year released up to this point. Not to be outdone, Barnes and Noble selected their "best of the year thus far" lists in several more whimsical categories, such as Best Unconventional Detective: Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley; Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina; and Scorched Grace: A Sister Holiday Mystery by Margot Douaihy.
Even the Library Journal jumped into the fray with "The Best Thriller Books of the Year (So Far)." You can see which fifteen books made it that list via this link. (HT to Jeff Pierce at The Rap Sheet.)
RIP, Carol Higgins Clark, who has passed away at 66 from rare appendix cancer. Higgins Clark was best known for following in the footsteps of her mother, the best-selling author Mary Higgins Clark, with whom she also collaborated on Christmas-themed anthologies. Ms. Higgins Clark authored more than a dozen novels featuring Regan Reilly, a private investigator who is the daughter of a mystery writer, including Decked, which was nominated for the Agatha Award in 1992 and the Anthony Award for best first novel. Higgins Clark also acted in several film adaptations of her mother's books, beginning with a small role in Where Are the Children? and leading to a leading role in movies such as A Cry in the Night.
Two weeks from tonight, Noir at the Bar Dallas returns to The Wild Detectives at 314 W 8th St in Oak Cliff. Readings will take place from 7 to 9 pm from authors to include Rod Davis, Harry Hunsicker, Kathleen Kent, Keith Lansdale, Scott Montgomery, Sean C. Wright Neeley, Jim Nesbitt, Graham Powell, Opalina Salas, Kevin R. Tipple, Danni Trest, and Trang Vu. (HT to Kevin Tipple)
This week's crime poem at the 5-2 Weekly is "Jealous Guy" by Charles Rammelkamp.
In the Q&A roundup, Crime Fiction Lover chatted with RA Cramblitt about his latest book, Like Printing Money, a technological crime novel set in Baltimore; and Writers Who Kill spoke with Krista Davis about The Diva Delivers on a Promise, Davis's sixteenth book in her Domestic Diva Mystery series.
Big time thank you for the mention of Noir at the Bar Dallas. Should be a fun evening.
Posted by: Kevin Ralton Tipple | June 22, 2023 at 11:19 AM
Wish I could be there, Kevin, because it sure does sound like a lot of fun. Hope everyone has a great evening!
Posted by: BV Lawson | June 22, 2023 at 06:16 PM
Wish I could be there, Kevin, because it sure does sound like a lot of fun. Hope everyone has a great evening!
Posted by: BV Lawson | June 22, 2023 at 06:17 PM