Sisters in Crime announced that P.M. Raymond is the winner of the 2024 Eleanor Taylor Bland Award for Crime Writers of Color.
Raymond's winning submission, "A Nasty Business," is set on a Louisiana farm where a family tradition forces the heirs to compete in a series of grueling tasks. Pops, the patriarch, oversees the competition between his sons, Galen and Jeff, as they vie for control of the estate, and discover the farm's dark history — and the heavy burden of their inheritance.
As a New Orleans native, mystical undertones are, says Raymond, the "roux in her crime noir and horror writing." She was named to the 160 Black Women in Horror and is a 2024 Finalist in the Killer Shorts Screenplay Competition. Her work has appeared in publications such as Flash Fiction Magazine, Kings River Life Magazine, Dark Fire Fiction, Pyre Magazine and The Furious Gazelle and Dark Yonder.
Raymond's story was selected by the 2024 judges of the Eleanor Taylor Bland Award, Alex Segura, Carolyn Wilkins and Nicole Prewitt
Runners up include:
- Aftermath by Carleasa A. Coates of Catlett, Virginia
- And Then It Clicked by Renee P. Stone of Las Vegas, Nevada
- The Code by Grace Wynter of Decatur, Georgia
- Gifted Grifter by Fritz Mason of Columbia, South Carolina
- Man Eater by Elena Scialtiel of Gibraltar
Established in 2014, the Eleanor Taylor Bland Award supports the advancement, recognition and professional development of emerging crime writers of color. It is aligned with Sisters in Crime’s mission to promote diversity in crime fiction. The grantee may use the $2,000 award to attend workshops, seminars, conferences, retreats, online courses and research activities that help them complete their work.
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