As I previously noted, last week's Bouchercon revealed winners of the Anthony Awards and Shamus Awards. But the top honorees of the Barry Awards were also announced during the opening ceremonies. The Barry Award is a crime literary prize awarded annually since 1997 by the editors of Deadly Pleasures, an American quarterly publication for crime fiction readers (from 2007 to 2009 the award was jointly presented with the publication Mystery News). The prize is named after the American literary reviewer, Barry Gardner. As posted on social media, this year's winner of Best Mystery or Crime Novel is Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane; Best First Mystery or Crime Novel is The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry; Best Paperback original is Who the Hell is Harry Black? by Jack Needham; and Best Thriller is Secret Hours by Mick Herron.
The recent Killer Nashville conference in Nashville, TN, revealed the winners of both the Silver Falchion Awards for published works and the Claymore Awards for unpublished manuscripts. You can see the full list winners and nominees here, including the overall Best Book of 2023, Ghost Tamer by Meredith R. Lyons. The conference also handed out the 2024 John Seigenthaler Legends Award to Charles Todd, New York Times bestselling author of the Inspector Ian Rutledge Series and the Bess Crawford series. (Charles Todd is the pen name of Caorline Todd, who passed away in 2021, and her son, Charles.)
It's always nice to see crime fiction authors supporting their local libraries, including the Chilterns Crime Quarterly, which began last year as a series of "meet the author" events during the UK's National Crime Writing Week, and featured authors Denise Beddows, Joanna Wallace, Dan Malakin, Louise Burfitt-Dons, and JA Marley. It grew out of the decision by Buckinghamshire Unitary Authority to defund local libraries, and Beddows's subsequent idea to make popular writers accessible to readers on a more affordable basis, while also raising much-needed funds to help keep the libraries going. The next event will be Saturday, October 14 with Steph Broadribb, MJ Arlidge, SJ Benett, Dave Sivers and Morgen Bailey taking part.
The National Trust in the UK is hosting a range of writing workshops at Agatha Christie’s holiday home in Greenway in September to encourage the next generation of budding writers. The events will include a crime fiction workshop with Cate Quinn, bestselling thriller writer and journalist. Lauren Hutchinson, Senior Marketing and Communications Officer, noted that "The house and garden at Greenway inspired Agatha Christie in a number of her novels, and it continues to inspire people today."
In the Q&A roundup, Rob Starr spoke with Shots Magazine about the importance of having female led characters in crime novels; and author and journalist Fiona Barton chatted with Deborah Kalb about her new novel, Talking to Strangers, the second installment in Barton's Detective Inspector Elise King series.
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