In Reference to Murder

Mystery Melange

The Women’s National Book Association of New Orleans announced this year's winners of the Pinckley Prizes for Crime Fiction. The award was established in 2012 for women writers to honor the memory of Diana Pinckley (1952-2012), a longtime crime fiction columnist for The New Orleans Times-Picayune, and her passion for mysteries. The Pinckley Prize for Distinguished Body of Work goes to C.S. Harris ( aka C.S. Graham and Candace Procter), while the Pinckley Prize for Debut Fiction goes to Angie Kim for her Edgar winning novel, Miracle Creek. New this year is the Pinckley Prize for True Crime Writing, won by Emma Copley Eisenberg for The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia. The prizes will be presented during the 2021 Bouchercon which takes place in New Orleans in August.

The Short Mystery Fiction Society announced the finalists for this year's Derringer Awards for excellence in short crime fiction (Flash Fiction; Short Story; Long Story; Novelette). The announcement was made in the group's membership forum and as of the press time for this blog post hadn't been posted on the SMFS website just yet. But you can follow this link to my list of Recent Awards for the details.

The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) announced finalists in the prestigious IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award program, the association’s flagship book award program recognizing excellence and innovation in independent publishing. In the Mystery/Thriller category, the three finalists include: A Child Lost: A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel by Michelle Cox (She Writes Press); Hanging Falls: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery by Margaret Mizushima (Crooked Lane); and Things to Do When You'd Rather Be Dead by Michael Guillebeau (Madison Press). One finalist in each of the various categories will be named a Gold winner during a set of four online ceremonies the evenings of May 11-14, 2021. The remaining finalists in each category will become Silver winners.

Mystery Readers Journal: Historical Mysteries is now available as a PDF and hardcopy. There are numerous Author! Author! essays, including two available online, "Why I Write Historical Mystery" by Rhys Bowen and "Quo Vadis, Mr. Saylor?" by Steven Saylor; articles including "Thomas Pynchon’s Take on 1970s California Noir" by Sean Day and "Crimes of Authority in Pious 19th Century Poland" by Jay Gertzman; and columns such as "Just the Facts: History’s First Detectives" by Jim Doherty.

Writing for the New York Times, Edmund White discussed the "Talented Mr. Ripley: a Shape-Shifting Protagonist Who’s Up to No Good," and how author Patricia Highsmith embedding her own repression, snobbery and sense of chaos into her psychological thrillers. This essay is part of T’s Book Club, a series of articles and events dedicated to classic works of American literature and will include a virtual conversation about "The Talented Mr. Ripley," to be led by Edmund White on April 22.

Janet Rudolph's Mystery Fanfare blog has seasonally themed mysteries for Passover (this year, March 27-April 4) and Easter (April 4).

Criminals are getting more creative all the time it seems; now they can pick your locks just by listening.

The latest crime poem at the 5-2 Weekly is "Wheelie Queen" by Charles Rammelkamp.

In the Q&A roundup, Allison Brennan chatted with the Wishful Endings blog about her latest thriller, Tell No Lies, centering on an edgy young female LAPD detective and an ambitious special agent, both part of a mobile FBI unit that is brought in to investigate the unsolved murder of a college activist and its alleged ties to high stakes crime in the desert Southwest; and Stephen Mack Jones was the latest 9mm interview for Craig Sisterson's blog, talking about his award-winning series featuring former marine sniper and Detroit cop, August Snow.

Mystery Melange

This year's Lindisfarne Prize for Crime Fiction, which celebrates the work of crime and thriller writers who are from or whose work celebrates the North East region of the UK, has been won by writer Robert Scragg for his novel, Helix. The judges took the unprecedented decision to also formally award Newcastle author Barbara Scott Emmett with the award's first ever runners-up prize, for her submission, Dog Leap Stairs.

The Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance has announced the slate of finalists for the 2021 Maine Literary Awards. The nominees for the Book Award for Crime Fiction include Claire Ackroyd for Murder in the Maple Woods; Bruce Robert Coffin for Within Plain Sight; and Barbara Ross for Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door.

After a year’s hiatus, the Wilbur Smith Award for Best Published Adventure Novel award has returned with a 12-strong longlist. The Prize is open to writers of any nationality, writing in English, and this year the award covers the best adventure fiction published between May 1, 2020 and April 30, 2021. Six titles will be selected by a panel of librarians and library staff for a shortlist to be announced on May 20, with the winner announced September 8. (HT to Shots Magazine)

Joffe Books, in conjunction with bestselling crime writer Dorothy Koomson and literary agent Susan Yearwood, is launching a new writing prize for unagented crime fiction writers of color to turn their unpublished manuscripts into bestsellers. The winner will receive a two-book publishing contract with Joffe Books. Entrants are invited to submit their full-length manuscript, written in English, along with a synopsis of the book and author biography, to prize@joffebooks.com before the closing date of September 30. (HT to Shots Magazine)

New editions of five hardboiled detective novels by Chester Himes, featuring Coffin Ed and Gravedigger Jones, have been released as a set of Penguin Classics. As Crime Fiction Lover notes, Himes was an American crime fiction genius who is still underappreciated, and it's hard not to conclude that over the years racism has played a part in African-American Himes not being accorded the same status as Chandler and Hammett.

During the Covid-19 era, there has been a lot of sad news in the book world, especially with many bookstores having to close. So it's especially cheering to hear that there's a new indie bookstore that opened in Berlin, Pennsylvania, in the middle of the pandemic:  Poe's New & Used Bookstore, which specializes in fantasy and mystery titles (as you might gather from the name). The building also has space for local artists and crafters to sell their products, and the owners hope to have events such as poetry nights, literary events and fun community events. They also recently announced the Poe's Rainbow Grant for Young Writers. (HT to Shelf Awareness)

Martin Edwards penned a tribute to crime writer, Annabel Donald, who passed away recently at the age of 76. Donald created a female TV researcher and detective called Alex Tanner in her Notting Hill series, beginning with An Uncommon Murder in 1992.

Writing for CrimeReads, Otto Penzler profiled Mary Roberts Rinehart, "America's answer to Agatha Christie." One of the mystery writers from Golden Age (the years between the two World Wars), Rinehart made the list of top ten bestselling books for each year in the 1920s five times, a feat matched only by Sinclair Lewis during that same period.

A real-life crime worthy of a mystery novel: a man in Tennessee allegedly paid a hitman with bitcoin to murder his wife (and even the BBC is involved).

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "Finis" by Rena J. Worley.

In the Q&A roundup, Indie Crime Scene interviewed J. Luke Bennecke, whose newly released novel Waterborne is set during a pandemic - but was written two years ago; NPR spoke with Stacey Abrams about how a constitutional quirk inspired ner new thriller, While Justice Sleeps; author Amy Rivers talked about craft and her new thriller, Complicit, with the Dark Phantom blog; and Hank Phillippi Ryan offered up some writing advice in a chat with Keri-Rae Barnum.

Mystery Melange

The longlist was released for the annual Theakston Old Peculier Novel of the Year. This year’s longlist transports readers around the world from California to Sweden and Calcutta to a remote Irish island and explores every subgenre from Scandi noir to murderous families. There are several familiar faces on the list, as well as some fresh blood. Run by Harrogate International Festivals, the shortlist will be announced in June and the winner on July 22 at the opening evening of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, with the public able to vote for the winner on harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com.

The Short Mystery Fiction Society announced the winners of this year's Derringer Awards. There was a tie for Best Flash Story, "Memories of Fire," by C.W. Blackwell (Pulp Modern Flash) and "War Words" by Travis Richardson (Punk Noir Magazine). There was also a tie for Best Short Story (1,001 to 4,000 words), "The Great Bedbug Incident and the Invitation of Doom," by Eleanor Cawood Jones (Chesapeake Crimes: Invitation to Murder) and "River" by Stacy Woodson (The Beat of Black Wings: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Joni Mitchell). Best Long Story (4,001 to 8,000 words) went to Sarah M. Chen's "Hotelin'" (Shotgun Honey), and Best Novelette (8,001 to 20,000 words) to Art Taylor for "The Boy Detective and the Summer of ’74" (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine). This year's recipient of the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement, annually awarded to an outstanding living writer of short mysteries and selected by a five-member panel, is Brendan DuBois. The full list of finalists can be found here.

Capital Crime announced the Amazon Publishing New Voices Award, a competition including a potential Thomas & Mercer publishing deal. Writers of unpublished mystery, thriller, and crime fiction manuscripts in English from around the world are eligible to compete for a cash prize and the potential publishing contract. Additionally, ten finalists will be considered for a potential offer of Thomas & Mercer publication, while also receiving day passes to the next Capital Crime Festival. The closing date for entries will be 3rd August 2021. (HT to Shots Magazine)

Maxim Jakubowski has been appointed the new chair of the UK's Crime Writers’ Association (CWA). He will succeed outgoing chair Linda Stratmann, after she served the maximum two-year term in the role at the organization, which aims to support and promote the literary genre and its authors. He was voted in unanimously at the CWA’s annual general meeting. Jakubowski has worked as an editor (compiling more than 120 anthologies), translator, publisher, author, and critic. Following an editorial career in both France and the UK, during which time he launched several crime imprints, including Black Box Thrillers and Blue Murder, he opened the Murder One bookstore in London.

A passing of note to report via the New York Times: Jason Matthews, who became a best-selling author of three spy thrillers after 33 years as a C.I.A. officer in Istanbul, Athens, Belgrade, Rome, Budapest and Hong Kong, died last week at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif. He was 69. His wife, Suzanne Matthews, who was also a C.I.A. officer, said the cause was corticobasal degeneration, a rare degenerative disease. In his choice of a second career, Mr. Matthews followed other intelligence officers, like John le Carré, Ian Fleming, and Charles McCarry, "who became novelists — and who brought to their writing a knowledge of recruiting and handling foreign agents, of dead drops, brush passes, honey traps, debriefings, surveillance and countersurveillance."

There is a call for submissions for the third issue of Mean Streets: A Journal of American Crime and Detective Fiction on the topic of "American Golden Age Mystery and Detective Fiction (1920-1945)." Proposals are due by July 15 with final essays due December 1. The Shots Magazine blog has more details for interested authors, including suggested topics.

Mike Ripley's latest "Getting Away With Murder" column is out, although he notes that it's "not in its usual place. This is due to the main website having been hi-jacked by interweb pirates (probably Russian) and sailed into the Bermuda Triangle, or whatever it is happens in these cases. As you may have gathered, I am no expert when it comes to modern technology, but those who claim to be assure me that normal service will soon be resumed." The latest editions features feautures and reviews of oldies but goodies by William Le Quex, Michael Hamilton, Len Deighton, and more, as well as some new blood.

The Guardian profiled successful art theft detective, Christopher Marinello, who has spent three decades finding missing masterpieces, recovering half a billion dollars’ worth of art. He talked about threats from mobsters, tricky negotiations – and bungling thieves.

As the Rap Sheet blog noted, Kevin Burton Smith's iconic The Thrilling Detective website has moved to a new server. Although this means some of the links around the Web may no longer be operable, all the content will be available again soon. Meanwhile, Smith has also instituted a new Dick of the Day feature, where he highlights a different private eye each day on Twitter and Facebook.

McLean & Eakin Booksellers commissioned June Apothecary to make a fragrance for the store and "Pages" is the result. "We think it speaks to the feeling you have when you put your nose between the pages of a book," the bookshop posted on Facebook. The description of the scent read, "Crisp juniper fir mixes with luscious fig and bright lemon to create this truly unique and refreshing scent. Perfect to burn all year when you are missing your favorite book store up north!"

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "The Last Windmill" by Pamela Ebel.

In the Q&A roundup, Lisa Haselton interviewed mystery author, R.G. Belsky, about his latest mystery, Beyond the Headlines; Mark Billingham, author of a series featuring the country-music-loving detective, Tom Thorne, chatted about his background as a stand-up comic, scriptwriter, and rock musician; Author Interviews spoke with Anne Hillerman, who continues the Navajo detective stories featuring Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee that her father Tony Hillerman made popular, including the latest, Stargazer; and Robert Dugoni was interviewed by Publishers Weekly about book eight of the Tracy Crosswhite series, in which the eponymous detective is reassigned to the Seattle police department’s cold case unit.

Mystery Melange

The Crime Writers Association announced the longlist for this year's Debut Dagger, a competition for the opening of a crime novel by an uncontracted writer. Entries from shortlisted writers are sent to UK literary agents and publishers, many of whom have found representation. This year the Debut Dagger is being sponsored by ProWritingAid. (HT to Shots Magazine.)

Somehow, I missed this one earlier. The Lindisfarne Prize for Crime Fiction is a literary prize which recognizes outstanding writing in the genre of crime or thriller fiction, sponsored by the author L J Ross through her publishing imprint, Dark Skies Publishing, in association with the Newcastle Noir Crime Writing Festival and Newcastle Libraries. It is open to all writers who are from, or whose work celebrates the North East of England, and who have not previously had their submission published in any form (though they might have had other stories published before). The award organizers announced on social media in March that this year's shortlisted authors include Robert Scragg, Ellie Davies, Ed Walsh, Barbara Scott Emmett, and David Cooper.

Congrats also to Toronto crime author Howard Shrier, whose story, "Done With Him," about two brothers with conflicting motives, won the Toronto Star’s annual short story contest out of 1,000+ entries.

The deadline is fast approaching for applications for the Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award, sponsored by Sisters in Crime. The award is open to writers of color with an unpublished manuscript (short story or first chapters of a manuscript in-progress, 2,500 to 5,000 words). The last day for submissions for the annual grant of $2,000 is May 15.

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine editor, Janet Hutchings, noted that this is the second year in which they've had to hold their annual Readers Award party virtually, so instead of the usual photos, she posted the 2021 awards video online.

In what’s become a tradition at CrimeReads, the editors partnered with Mystery Writers of America to organize a giant roundtable discussion between the Edgar nominees. They received responses from over 30 authors, each with their own fascinating take on crime fiction. The Edgar Awards Ceremony itself begins at 1 PM EST tomorrow, the 29th, via Zoom.

If you're a fan of women detectives, Publishers Weekly posted a list of "ten unstoppable women detectives," while Book Riot made note of crime novels where "women fight back."

Writing for The Bookseller, Ian Rankin noted that he would like a new generation of readers to come to the works of fellow Scottish author, William McIlvanney, known for his Jack Laidlaw books, a hard-boiled crime trilogy commonly cited as the foundation of Tartan Noir.

Writing for The Guardian, Caroline Crampton celebrated a century of honkaku, fiendishly clever Japanese whodunnit mystery novels that have spawned pop culture icons, anime, and a museum.

Robert Dugoni, author of the bestselling Tracy Crosswhite police series set in Seattle, applied the Page 69 Test to his new Crosswhite novel, In Her Tracks.

There are more than 9,000 public libraries in the U.S., and one man has been trying to win summer reading prizes from as many as he can. Not all librarians are happy about it.

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "Another World" by Tom Barlow.

In the Q&A roundup, Harlan Coben discussed why "we live in the golden age of crime novels"; humorist-turned-crime novelist, Jonathan Ames, spoke with Inside Hook about his new book, A Man Named Doll, a fast-paced neo-noir "that traffics in grit and laughs in equal measure"; Wallace Stroby spoke with CrimeReads about "Life, Death, and Noir on the Jersey Shore"; and Author Interviews chatted with Nev March, the recent winner of the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America Award for Best First Crime Fiction.

Mystery Melange

The winners of the 41st Los Angeles Times Book Prizes were announced this past weekend in a live-streamed virtual ceremony. The winner in the Mystery/Thriller Category was Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby. The other finalists included A Beautiful Crime, by Christopher Bollen; And Now She’s Gone, by Rachel Howzell Hall; Little Secrets, by Jennifer Hillier; and These Women, by Ivy Pochoda.

Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine announed the winners of this year's Reader's Choice Awards for the best short stories from the past year's issues. Barb Goffman took top honors for her story, "Dear Emily Etiquette," with John M. Floyd taking second place with "Crow’s Nest," and Gregory Fallis's "Terrible Ideas" in the third slot. Although EQMM doesn't have the complete winner's list available online just yet, Mystery Fanfare has a look at the other Top Ten finishers.

The Bodies From The Library conference is back after falling victim to COVID last year. The event has been held since 2015 in the British Library and is designed for lovers of all aspects of Golden Age crime fiction. This year, organizers are moving online via Zoom on the afternoon of May 15th from 1:30pm to 6:00pm. The free program includes Martin Edwards, Alison Joseph, Kate Ellis, Jake Kerridge and more with panels such as "Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by The Detection Club." (HT to In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel)

The virtual More Than Malice conference, which is taking place July 14 - 17 online instead of the usual in-person Malice Domestic event, keeps growing the roster of guest authors for panels. Among the most recent additions are Tasha Alexander, Deborah Crombie, Mia P. Manansala, Laura Joh Rowland, Brad Thor, Kate White, and DM Whittle. There will also be a virtual "speed dating" Malice-Go-Round zoom event that will take place during the festival weekend, open to registered authors who are not otherwise participating on panels. The latest announcement was made after other featured authors were recently listed as joining in the festivities, including Linda Castillo, Marcia Clark, William Kent Kruger, Sujata Massey, Lisa See, Victoria Thompson, PJ Vernon, Simon Brett, Leslie Budewitz, Sophie Hannah, Michael Koryta, Sara Paretsky, Chris Verner, David Heska Wanbli Weiden, and a special appearance by Louise Penny.

France is to honor renowned South African crime fiction author, Deon Meyer, with its most prestigious cultural award in recognition of his literary work and special relationship with the country. Meyer will have the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters) honor bestowed on him by France’s ambassador to SA, Aurélien Lechevallier, on behalf of the French president, at a ceremony at Glenelly Estate in Stellenbosch.

If you're a female Welsh writer, this call for submissions is for you: Welsh publisher Honno will publish an anthology of crime fiction in 2022, showcasing the talents of new and established women crime writers in Wales today. Co-editor Katherine Stansfield said, "Whether you’re a published author or a debutante, we want to hear from you."

Writing for the LA Review of Books, Gina Arnold talked about creating "The Chandler Project" during lockdown.

Which room is Agatha Christie most likely to kill you in? Find out here.

Speaking of Agatha Christie and rooms, if your dream is to live in her house, here's your chance: Winterbrook House, home to Dame Agatha for 40 years, is for sale in England’s Oxfordshire for only £2.75 million.

Literary prize scammers are on the loose, apparently. The organizers of at least five British awards received emails from cyber criminals asking them to transfer prize money to a PayPal account. One of them paid out.

This is pretty cool ... did you know there are hidden apartments in many of New York City's libraries?

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "False Identity" by B. Sedgwick.

Mystery Melange

The 2021 winners of West Coast Crime's Lefty Awards were presented virtually this past weekend. Top nods included Best Humorous Mystery Novel: Ellen Byron, Murder in the Bayou Boneyard; Best Historical Mystery Novel for books set before 1970: Catriona McPherson, The Turning Tide; Best Debut Mystery Novel, David Heska Wanbli Weiden, Winter Counts; and Best Mystery Novel (not in other categories), Louise Penny, All the Devils Are Here. For a list of the finalists in the various categories, check out the conference's official website.

The Crime Writers Association today unveiled the longlists for the 2021 Dagger Awards, the premier literary crime-writing awards in the United Kingdom. Entries to the various categories are nominated by publishers and/or librarians (with the exception of the Debut Dagger) and judged independently of the CWA by industry professionals. For all the highlights of this year's slate, check out this wrap-up from Ayo Onatade at the Shots Magazine blog.

The finalists for the Bony Blithe/Bloody Words Light Mystery Award were also announced for the conference/award's tenth season celebrating Canadian crime fiction on the lighter side. As the website states, "Pandammit or no pandammit, Canadian crime writing is thriving." The 2021 honorees include Vicki Delany, There’s a Murder Afoot; Candas Jane Dorsey, The Adventures of Isabel; Liz Ireland, Mrs. Claus and the Santaland Slayings; Thomas King, Obsidian; and Iona Wishaw, A Match Made for Murder.

The finalists for this year's Hugo Awards for best sci-fi and speculative fiction were also announced, and as usual there are some crime-themed crossovers such as Rebecca Roanhorse's Black Sun and Martha Wells' latest Murderbot novel, Network Effect.

There's a call for papers for Edinburgh Conan Doyle Network Conference, "Conan Doyle and Storytelling," December 10-11, 2021, at Birkbeck, University of London. Organizers welcome proposals for 20-minute papers, which consider Conan Doyle’s writing in all wider contexts, and they offer up some suggested themes you can check out via the Shots Magazine blog. Interested writers should send along abstracts of 200–300 words together with a brief biography by July 31. 

The spring issue of Suspense Magazine is out, featuring interviews with J.A. Jance, Jonathan Kellerman, Don Bentley, Dietrich Kalteis, and Greg F. Gifune; new short fiction by Julia Shraytman, Dan A. Cardoza, Megan Towey, Bailey Day Simpson, Jeffrey A. Lockwood, Martha Reed, and Tom Halford; a detailed look at the TV mini-series, Harper's Island; book reviews and more.
 

The mystery of Harry Houdini's mystery: Joe Notaro is reproducing The Zanetti Mystery (1925), featuring the "genius faker and arch-rogue" Zanetti, with future blog posts to have additional chapters. The tale was published under Houdini's name, but Notaro believes it was ghostwritten by Fulton Oursler, a/k/a mystery author Anthony Abbot. (HT Elizabeth Foxwell at the Bunburyist blog.)

Over at the Kill Zone blog, Debbie Burke takes a look at "Eugene Francois Vidocq and the Origins of Criminology."

If you're a fan of graphic novels and also Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous creation, Book Riot has "5 Sherlock Holmes Comics for You to Investigate."

Featured at the Page 99 Test this week: Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad by Michela Wrong. The book details a powerful investigation into a grisly political murder and the authoritarian regime behind it in Rwanda.

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "Power Murder Ballads" by Scott Cumming.

In the Q&A roundup, Author Interviews welcomed Karla Holloway to discuss her debut novel, A Death in Harlem, a mystery set during the Harlem Renaissance, and they also spoke with Adam Mitzner about his new thriller, The Perfect Marriage; CrimeReads chatted with Alan Parks, author of the Harry McCoy novels, about drugs, noir, and Glasgow in the 1970s; Shots Magazine spoke with crime writer Claire McGowan about her new true-crime audiobook project, The Vanishing Triangle, which shines a light on the unsolved disappearance of at least eight women from mid-nineties Dublin; and Erica Wright spoke with Marilyn Stasio, the recently retired crime fiction critic for The New York Times, about how she got her start, how crime fiction got taken seriously, and what she's reading now.

Mystery Melange

Europe's venerable crime writing convention, Crimefest, announced the shortlists for its annual book awards. The in-person event was rescheduled for May 12-15, 2022, but organizers decided the annual awards must go on. The categories feature the Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award, the winner of which receives a £1,000 prize, with a further £1,000 prize also awarded to the Audible Sounds of Crime Award, sponsored by Audible. Other categories include the H.R.F Keating Award for best 2020 biography or critical book related to crime fiction; The Last Laugh Award for best 2020 humorous crime novel; the eDunnit Award for best 2020 crime ebook; Best Crime Novel for Children (ages 8-12); and Best Crime Novel for Young Adults (ages 12-16). Shots Magazine has a roundup and list of all the finalists, with winners to be announced online in May or June.

The Portland, Oregon-based fan group, Friends of Mystery, recently announced the winner of this year's Spotted Owl Award, given annually to what its members determine is the "best mystery written by an author whose primary residence is in the Pacific Northwest." The Last Agent by Robert Dugoni came out on top, and Dugoni (A Cold Trail) was also in a tie for second place with Percentages of Guilt by Michael Niemann. The Rap Sheet blog has a listing of all the other finalists.

Writers' Police Academy Online will present the workshop, "Forensic Psychiatry, Murder, LAPD Lipstick, and Memorable Characters," on April 24, featuring Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels; former LAPD Senior Lead Officer, Kathy Bennett; former detective sergeant and award-winning author, Bruce Robert Coffin; and perinatal psychiatrist, Dr. Susan Hatters Friedman. Registration is open, and you can follow this link to reserve your spot at this day-long seminar. Registration is also open for the Writers' Police Academy virtual Murder Con, August 6-7, and each registered attendee will receive a Sirchie fingerprint kit to be used during an interactive class (delivered to your home in advance).

A new online exhibition from the University of Delaware Library, Museums, and Press is titled "Agatha Christie's Poirot" and draws from collections of materials on the iconic Belgian detective. It's presented in conjunction with the Resident Ensemble Players' radio productions of Christie's "King of Clubs" (freely available until May 21) and "The Cornish Mystery" (freely available starting April 23). (HT to Elizabeth Foxwell)

The magazine Narratively featured a profile of Aphra Behn, the first Englishwoman ever to earn a living writing...who was also a spy. She traveled to the Low Countries and Suriname on missions for King Charles II, and she took up writing to support herself because he never paid her. She later went on to become one of Restoration London’s most popular, and most controversial, playwrights and poets.

Tasha Alexander, author of the New York Times bestselling Lady Emily mystery series (and the daughter of two philosophy professors), applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, The Dark Heart of Florence, the 15th Lady Emily mystery.

Who knew that reading "Bullet Journals" was a thing?

The latest crime poem at the 5-2 Weekly is "The Thief Came In" by Michael A. Arnzen.

In the Q&A roundup, Author Interviews chatted with attorney turned author Adam Mitzner about his new domestic thriller, The Perfect Marriage; and the New York Times spoke with Paula Mcclain, about her first suspense novel, When the Stars Go Dark, which forced her to face her own demons.

Mystery Melange

The British Book Awards shortlists have been announced, including the honorees in the Crime & Thriller category: Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith; The Sentinel by Lee Child and Andrew Child; The Patient Man by Joy Ellis; The Guest List by Lucy Foley; The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman; and A Song for The Dark Times by Ian Rankin.

Deadly Pleasures Magazine announced the 2021 Barry Award nominations, with winners to be announced at the New Orleans Bouchercon opening ceremonies August 26. The Best Novel finalists include The Boy From The Woods by Harlan Coben; The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly; Blacktop Wasteland by S. A. Cosby; And Now She's Gone by Rachel Howzell Hall; Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz, and All The Devils Are Here by Louise Penny. For the lists in all the other categories, check out this list from Shots Magazine.

The Audio Publishers Association announced the winners of this year's Audie Awards for excellence in audiobooks. The winner in the Mystery Category was Michael Connelly's Fair Warning, read by Peter Giles and Zach Villa (see the other finalists here); while the winner in the Thriller Category was When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole, read by Susan Dalian, and Jay Aaseng (click here for the other finalists).

Multiple award-winning crime fiction author, Elizabeth George is publishing Mastering the Process: From Idea to Novel, which goes on sale next month on April 6. The book is described as "A master class on fiction writing" in which George takes the reader through her entire process of researching, outlining, and writing book such as her Inspector Lynley novel, Careless in Red. George will be doing a handful of virtual workshops to support the paperback publication: April 7 at Barr Memorial Library in Fort Knox, KY; April 10 at Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA; and April 14 at Books & Books in Miami, FL.

This year's virtual Malice Domestic convention, More Than Malice, has announced additional authors who will be part of the lineup, including Donna Andrews, Ann Cleeves, Martin Edwards, Rachel Howzell Hall, Charlaine Harris, Sheila Mitchell, and Katherine Hall Page. Malice took an enormous financial hit due to the ongoing pandemic and the cancellation of two in-person conventions and says they "truly appreciate the generous support of so many from the Malice Community and Family and look forward to bringing you a spectacular event featuring old friends and new ones." You can click here to register at the early-bird price for the festival, which takes place July 14th-17th.

Libraries, booksellers, publishers, and festivals are being invited to take part in the UK's National Crime Reading Month this June. The annual festival is held throughout the UK, and is hosted by the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA). Secretary of the CWA, Dea Parkin, added: “This summer, nobody knows if they will be able to escape abroad on holiday. One thing that is guaranteed is the option to escape through a good book. We hope National Crime Reading Month this June will lead the great escape we all desperately need after such a difficult year.”

Volume 39, no. 1 of Clues: A Journal of Detection is out, guest edited by Eva Burke and Clare Clarke. The theme for the issue is domestic noir, with essays on such topics as "At Home in Irish Crime Fiction"; "I Am Not the Girl I Used to Be": Remembering the Femme Fatale in The Girl on the Train; "Killing Bluebeard: Claiming Subversive Femininity in Agatha Christie’s "Philomel Cottage" and The Stranger, and much more, including interviews and reviews.

Crime and comic writer, Alex Segura, has teamed with fellow mystery novelist Elizabeth Little, artist David Hahn, colorist Ellie Wright, letterer Taylor Esposito and veteran editor Joseph Illidge to create a new type of superhero comic.

If you're a fan of spy fiction, Alma Katsu, author and retired intelligence professional, took a look at the "Best Spy Novels Written by Spies, According to a Spy."

This story is a lot of fun ... Sherlock Holmes and the Loch Ness Monster?

The latest crime poem at the 5-2 Weekly is "Justice for Jessica."

In the Q&A roundup, crime author Gerard Brennan spoke with The Irish News about the of writing his strong female-led new novel, Shot; Elly Griffiths chatted with Writer's Digest about what it was like to write her latest crime novel, The Postscript Murders, using multiple points of view; and Write 2 Be Me magazine welcomed former police detective turned author, Caroline Mitchell, shortlisted for the International Thriller Awards and Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Awards.

Mystery Melange

The finalists for the 33rd Annual Lambda Literary Awards were announced this week, selected by a panel of over 60 literary professionals from more than 1,000 book submissions (and over 300 publishers). The titles in the LGBTQ Mystery category include Death Before Dessert by A.E. Radley; Find Me When I’m Lost by Cheryl A. Head; Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen Spotswood; I Hope You’re Listening by Tom Ryan; and Vera Kelly Is Not a Mystery by Rosalie Knecht. This is the first year for the combined LGBTQ category of five nominees; in previous years, there were five finalists each for Best Lesbian and Best Gay mystery.

The finalists for the Foreword Reviews Book Awards were announced, including those in the Mystery and Thriller & Suspense Categories. More than 2,000 entries spread across 55 genres were submitted for consideration, with the finalists determined by Foreword’s editorial staff. Winners are now being decided by teams of librarians, and winners in each genre—along with Editor’s Choice Prize winners and Foreword’s Independent Publisher of the Year—and will be announced June 17, 2021.

The NAACP Image Awards that were just announced include a category for Outstanding Literary Works. Among that list are the crime fiction/author titles, Lakewood by Megan Giddings (HarperCollins Publishers) and The Awkward Black Man by Walter Mosley (Grove Atlantic). For all nominees, follow this link. (HT to Mystery Fanfare)

I'm a day late for pointing out Mystery Fanfare's list of St. Patrick's Day crime fiction, but we'll just consider it St. Patrick's week and call it square.

Steve Powell of the Venetian Vase blog continues his series on the influences of music in James Ellroy's crime novels.

During the pandemic, the Ohio Shakespeare Festival has been performing original radio plays for at-home listening, including some based on mystery-related works. The offerings include "The False Burton Combs" based on the story by Carroll John Daly; "Lady Molly of Scotland Yard" based on the stories by Baroness Orczy; and "The Monkey's Paw" based on the short story by W. W. Jacobs. (HT to The Bunburyist)

Just another reminder to support your local bookstores before they're gone forever.

What happens in your brain when you "lose yourself" in fiction? Scientists now have a better idea.

The latest flash fiction piece up at Shotgun Honey is "Lemmings" by Jay Butkowski

The latest crime poem at the 5-2 Weekly is "Murder They Say" by Sharon Lask Munson.

In the Q&A roundup, E. B. Davis interviewed Amy Pershing about A Side of Murder, the first book in Amy Pershing’s Cape Code Foodie Mystery series, for the Writers Who Kill blog; and J.A. Jance chatted with Deborah Kalb about Missing and Endangered, the latest in her Joanna Brady suspense series.

Mystery Melange

St. Edmund Hall’s Centre for the Creative Brain will present an evening of mystery and crime tonight, March 11th, exploring what drives people to commit crime, the makeup of a criminal mind, and why we are so fascinated by it. This free online event will feature G.M. Malliet, Agatha Award-winning author of the acclaimed St Just mysteries, the Max Tudor mysteries, and the novel, Weycombe; and Dr. Julia Shaw, a psychological scientist and science communicator whose work focuses on criminal psychology and areas of memory.

The Romantic Novelists' Association handed out their annual Romantic Novel Awards, including the Jackie Collins Romantic Thriller Award (for the best romantic novel with thriller, mystery, crime, or suspense elements), which was won by Louise Douglas for The House by the Sea. The other finalists in that category include The Forgotten Sister by Nicola Cornick; Death Comes to Cornwall by Kate Johnson; The Twins by Jane Lark; and Escape to the Little Chateau by Marie Laval.

On her Mystery Fanfare blog, Janet Rudolph reported on the passing of mystery author Judith Van Gieson. She wrote the Neil Hamel series and the Claire Reynier series, as well as a stand-alone novel, children's books, short stories, non-fiction, and poetry. She was awarded the Literary Spirit of Magnifico Award and the Zia Award for Best Fiction Work by a female writer from New Mexico. She was also shortlisted for the Shamus Award.

Mystery Scene Magazine released its first issue of the year, which includes Art Taylor reading all the Edgar short story winners from the founding of Mystery Writers of America to the present; interviews with authors J.T. Ellison, Charles Finch, and Edwin Hill; a look at composer Miklós Rózsa’s work, the maestro behind a slew of noir film scores; contributors' "Faves Raves of 2020"; Jon L. Breen's survey of current legal thrillers in "Disorder in the Court," and much more.

The latest issue of Mystery Weekly Magazine is also out, with new short fiction by Chris Preston, Jeff Soloway, Brandon Barrows, Jack Clark, Roger Johns, Mark Thielman, and Jeffrey A. Lockood. [Disclaimer: there's also a story in this edition by yours truly, BV Lawson.]

The bestselling British author Ken Follett is donating the proceeds from his book about the Notre-Dame fire to help restore a cathedral in Brittany. Follet is giving €148,000 ($176,000) towards a multimillion euro project to save Saint-Samson de Dol-de-Bretagne cathedral.

Alex Michaelides’ novel, The Silent Patient, has reached 50 foreign sales for publication and translation rights in other countries, described as "a record-breaker" for a thriller debut.

Mike Ripley's latest "Getting Away with Murder" column for Shots Magazine has tidbits and reviews from new releases by Russ Thomas, Chris Brookmyre, Mick Herron, Kevin Sullivan, Alan Parks, Robert Goddard, Michael Ridpath, Alex Finlay, Peter Swanson, Paul Vidich, Marcello Fois, and Alan Judd. Ripley also shares a remembrance of the late Margaret Maron.

Crime author, Peter James, is auctioning off the custom-made desk he's used for nearly seventeen years to write his Detective Roy Grace novels. James said he first got the desk in about 2003, and said it even contained secret compartments to protect his research and work.

The latest crime poem at the 5-2 Weekly is "And Her Eyes Made Love to Him" by Catfish McDaris.

In the Q&A roundup, Donna Leon stopped by CrimeReads for a look back on thirty years of writing her Inspector Guido Brunetti novel series; Sarah Pearse, author of the debut novel, The Sanatorium, was interviewed for the Shots Magazine blog by Ayo Onatade; and Harlan Coben was featured in conversation with the New York Times about publishing his 33rd novel, deals with Netflix, Amazon and Apple, and writing in Ubers, at Stop & Shop and just about anywhere else he can.

Mystery Melange

The Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalists were announced this week. The nominees in the Mystery/Thriller category include A Beautiful Crime by Christopher Bollen; Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby; And Now She’s Gone by Rachel Howzell Hall; Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier; and These Women by Ivy Pochoda. Winners will be announced on April 16 via a live-streamed virtual ceremony on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. (The article is sheltered behind a paywall, but HT to Mystery Fanfare’s Janet Rudolph for this report.)

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival has announced it will go ahead with in-person events later this year, after the UK government unveiled its roadmap out of lockdown. Taking place in Harrogate July 22-25, the Festival will celebrate with a range of author talks, panels, and special guests, as well as some hybrid events to ensure that audiences who are unable to travel can access the Festival. The full author lineup and ticket on-sale dates will be announced in the coming months. More information can be found at the official website which will be updated regularly. (HT to Shots Magazine blog)

The Bloody Scotland Crime Festival is taking a different approach, with a virtual international book club to be broadcast via Facebook Live. The club, being hosted in the absence of most physical literary festivals this spring, will launch on March 31 at 7 p.m. Thereafter, it will take place on the last Wednesday of every month, with rotating hosts from the board of Bloody Scotland and a variety of journalists, bloggers, podcasters, and booksellers.

Two more crime festivals in the UK are also going to be virtual this month and next. Hull Noir has a series of panels and events planned for March 18-21, kicked off by Peter Robinson in Conversation with Nick Quantrill, although the bulk of the activites will take place in a one-day festival on Saturday, March 21. Wales’s First Crime Fiction Festival, Gwyl Crime Cymru, will also hold free online events April 26-May 2, featuring a Q&A with CWA Diamond Dagger winner, Martin Edwards, and more events to be announced soon.

Some good news from the world of books and booksellers, as Bookshop.org announced it had raised one million for UK bookstores (after raising a similar amount for stores in the U.S.). The funds have been a lifeline for many indie shops, so if you're looking to help out your local indies but they don't have their own website, this is a stopgap measure.

More sad news to report from the crime fiction world: author Paul D. Marks has passed away after a brief bout with cancer. His novel White Heat, a mystery-thriller set during the Rodney King riots of 1992, won the first Shamus Award for Independent Private Eye Novel from the Private Eye Writers of America. He also penned numerous short stories that have appeared in dozens of publications and been award finalists. In addition, he served on the boards of the Los Angeles chapters of Sisters in Crime and the Mystery Writers of America and was a blogger for Seven Criminal Minds and SleuthSayers. His passing was reported on Facebook by Josh Pachter.

NPR reported on how Bellingcat's online sleuths are solving global crimes using open source information on the internet.

Here's a real-life literary mystery solved by modern forensic technology.

The Wall Street Journal magazine wondered if it's time to kill the book blurb.

Oops. A Canada spy agency recruiting ad that used a line from a John Le Carré spy thriller probably should have vetted that quote first.

Last weekend's Saturday Night Live program on NBC had a fun little parody that crime fans might find amusing.

The latest flash fiction offering at Pulp Modern Flash is "The Shovel" by Alan Orloff.

The latest crime poem at the 5-2 Weekly is "I Should've Known by Jess Chua."

In the Q&A roundup, CWA Diamond Dagger winner, Robert Goddard, chatted with Shots Magazine's Ali Karim about his latest book, The Fine Art of Invisible Detection, which follows a widowed middle-aged Japanese female detective; Craig Sisterson's latest 9mm Interview featured award-winning the Uruguayan lawyer, journalist, and author, Mercedes Rosende; and E.B. Davis chatted with Maria DiRico (a/k/a Ellen Byron) about her latest Catering Hall Mystery over at the Writers Who Kill blog.