During the recent British Book Awards ceremony, Overall Book of the Year went to Murdle by G T Karber, the murder mystery game phenomenon; Lisa Jewell's None of This is True won both Best Audiobook of the Year (narrated by Nicola Walker and Louise Brealey) and Best Crime/Thriller of the Year. The other books on this year's shortlist in that latter category include Damascus Station by David McCloskey; The Last Devil To Die by Richard Osman; The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith; The Secret Hours by Mick Herron; and The Woman Who Lied by Claire Douglas.
The Danish Crime Academy announced the 2024 Palle Rosenkrantz Award for Best Foreign Crime Novel or Suspense Novel, awarded to the Scottish author Peter May for the Lewis trilogy, which has been translated by Ninna Brenøe and published by Gyldendal. The prize comes with a check for DKK 10,000 (about $1,440). The Harald Mogensen Award for the best Danish crime novel or suspense novel was awarded to Jens Henrik Jensen for Pilgrim, which is published by Politikens Forlag, with a prize of DKK 15,000 (about $2,165). The honors were celebrated at the Crime Fair in Horsens in March.
Ben Fountain won the Joyce Carol Oates Prize from New Literary Project, a $50,000 award that honors a "midcareer" fiction writer. Fountain is the author of Devil Makes Three, which The Washington Post called "a big, deeply humane political thriller that proves the flame of Graham Greene and John le Carré is still burning." Fountain’s 2012 novel, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, won a National Book Critics Circle Award. You can watch a conversation between Fountain and Oates on May 23 at 7 p.m. ET, which is free, but you'll need to register prior.
The Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition, sponsored by the CWA and the Margery Allingham Society, announced the 2024 winner as "Olga Popova" by Susan Breen, who received £500 plus a complimentary pass to CrimeFest. Story entries are limited to 3,500 words and must fulfill Margery Allingham's idea of "the Mystery remains box-shaped, at once a prison and a refuge. Its four walls are, roughly, a Crime, a Mystery, an Enquiry and a Conclusion with an Element of Satisfaction in it." Other highly commended entries included "The Ladies' Tailor" by Meeti Shah and "Right Place Wrong Time" by Yvonne Walus. You can check out the other longlisted titles via this link.
Harrogate International Festivals revealed the full program for this year’s 21st Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival taking place at Harrogate’s Old Swan Hotel from 18-21 July. Curated by 2024’s Festival Chair, bestselling crime novelist Ruth Ware, highlights of the event will include panels with Special Guest headliners Chris Carter, Jane Casey, Elly Griffiths, Peter James, Erin Kelly, Vaseem Khan, Dorothy Koomson, Shari Lapena, Abir Mukherjee, Liz Nugent, and Richard Osman; the crowning of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year; the Critics’ New Blood panel, which showcases four talented debut novelists; Creative Thursday, offering an immersive day of workshops and talks led by bestselling writers and industry experts, with the unique opportunity to pitch work in the "Dragon’s Pen"; the Late Night Quiz hosted by Val McDermid and Mark Billingham; Confessions of a Crime Writer, where well-known authors disclose deliciously dreadful secrets from their past and the audience decide if they should be forgiven, or not; and Author Dinners, where readers join forces with crime writers Kia Abdullah, Chris Brookmyre, Sunny Singh, Imran Mahmood, Lesley Thomson, Syd Moore, John Sutherland, Trevor Wood, Araminta Hall and many more to solve a murder mystery with a twist.
If you've always wanted to attend the annual Bouchercon Convention but didn't think you could manage the registration fee, there's still time to apply for a Convention Attendance Support Grant (CAS). These grants were created to assist fans and writers of the mystery genre by offering a financial subsidy to offset associated costs to attend and participate in the current annual Bouchercon convention, this year to be held in Nashville, Tennessee, from August 24-September 4. There will be five grants awarded this year, which all include a paid registration fee and travel reimbursement for up to $500. Applicants need to fill out this form and submit a brief essay of 300-to-500 words about your interest in the crime fiction/mystery genre; interest in attending Bouchercon; and need for assistance. The deadline for submissions is May 31st.
There was a bit of sad news this week with The Guardian reporting on the death of Maureen O’Connor, who, in addition to being a journalist, published 25 novels under the pen name Patricia Hall. Her two primary series include the "Ackroyd and Thackeray series," with reporter Laura Ackroyd and police detective Michael Thackeray, which often confronted issues of environmentalism and discrimination, and a series with photographer Kate O'Donnell set in 1960s London. O'Connor was 84.
In the Q&A roundup, Kate White, author of eighteen novels of suspense and also eight Bailey Weggins mysteries, chatted with Marshal Zeringue at Author Interviews; and Charlie Kondek interviewed Judy Penz Sheluk for Killer Nashville Magazine about her own writing and also editing short story anthologies.
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