Sadly, we lost two mystery authors this past week, Denise "Deni" Dietz (1942-July 30, 2024), editor and author of the Diet Club Mystery Series, and Ken Kuhlken (August 4, 1945 - July 29, 2024), creator of the Hickey Family Mystery series. Deni's son posted on Facebook, "She was a fantastic singer, a skilled artist, and a published author who always followed her dreams and made them a reality. She had a strong commitment to social justice and would never think twice about helping others." Ken's daughter noted on FB that "Many years ago my dad randomly exclaimed that he wanted his tombstone to read only… Ken Kuhlken - A funny guy."
Joe Lansdale received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the 3rd Annual Texas Author Con, an honor that will be named after him. Lansdale writes in a variety of genres, including Westerns, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense. He received the Edgar Award for Best Novel in 2001 for The Bottoms, and has also garnered the British Fantasy Award, the American Horror Award, and eleven Bram Stoker Awards.
Goldsboro Books announced the six finalists for the Glass Bell Award 2024. Three of the six titles fall within the crime, mystery, and thriller genre, including Strange Sally Diamond, by Liz Nugent (Sandycove); The Square of Sevens, by Laura Shepherd Robinson (Mantle); and The Turnglass, by Gareth Rubin (Simon & Schuster). Now in its seventh year, the award celebrates the very best in contemporary fiction, rewarding quality storytelling in any genre. The winner, who will be revealed on Thursday, September 26, at Goldsboro’s 25th birthday party, receives £2,000 and a handmade, engraved blue glass bell.
The Australian Crime Writers Association announced the shortlist for 2024 Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction by Australian authors, including Four Dogs Missing by Rhys Gard; Gus and the Missing Boy by Troy Hunter; Lowbridge by Lucy Campbell; Murder in the Pacific: Ifira Point by Matt Francis; The Fall Between by Darcy Tindale; The Beacon by P.A. Thomas; and Violet Kelly and the Jade Owl by Fiona Britton. Shortlists for the other award categories are coming soon, with winners to be revealed in September.
The Independent Publisher Book Awards, or IPPYs, announced winners in various categories, although those with interest to crime fiction fans are Best Mystery: The Shimmer on the Water by Marina McCarron; and Best Suspense/Thriller: The Stone Secret by Amanda McKinney. For all the finalists and winners, follow this link.
The next virtual mystery panel from The Back Room is set for August 4. Titled "Amazing Storytellers," featured authors will include Linda Hurtado Bond (All the Broken Girls), Elly Griffiths (Dr. Ruth Galloway series), Shari Lapena (Everyone Here Is Lying), and Catherine Steadman (Look in the Mirror). The Back Room is hosted by Karen Dionne and Hank Phillippi Ryan, operates via Zoom, and remains the only online event that allows authors and readers to chat face-to-face. For more information and to register, follow this link.
There are some great crime fiction themed conferences coming up during early August, and it's not too late to register. Pulpfest hits Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania today and runs through the 4th. The event celebrates the glory days of pulp magazines, fiction periodicals named after the cheap pulp paper on which they were printed that flourished from the late 19th century to the mid-20th. From August 2-4, Rothesay, UK, will host the Bute Noir Crime Festival, with special guests Ian Rankin, Craig Sisterson, Lin Anderson, Mark Billingham, Chris Brookmyre, and more. And on August 3rd, the one-day Murder As You Like It festival in Mechanicsburg, PA, will host authors Kate Belli, Bruce Robert Coffin, Ellen Crosby, Stephen G. Eoannaou, John Gilstrap, William Livesey, Bruce M. Mowday, Joy Ann Ribar, Douglas Stuart, Joyce Tremel, Christine Trent, and Lyndee Walker with panels and book signings.
The Friends of the Rohlfs' House is working to acquire the Buffalo, NY, Craftsman home of pioneering mystery author Anna Katharine Green (1846–1935) and her husband, famed furniture designer Charles Rohlfs (1853–1936), and turn it into a house museum. The group has been purchasing pieces that were originally in the house and is pursuing contributions to help the cause. Green, who was one of the first writers of detective fiction in America, distinguished herself by writing well plotted, legally accurate stories and is often called "The Mother of American Detective Fiction." (HT to The Bunburyist)
In the Q&A roundup, Crime Time spoke with Roger Corke about his debut crime novel, Deadly Protocol, a medical conspiracy thriller; and E. B. Davis chatted with Ellen Byron over at Writers Who Kill about A Very Woodsy Murder, the first book in the Golden Motel mystery series.
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