In Reference to Murder

Mystery Melange

The Finalists for the 2019 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction have been announced, and readers will now have a chance to vote. The prize, which was authorized by the late Harper Lee, was established in 2011 by the University of Alabama Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. School of Law and the ABA Journal to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird. It's given annually to a book-length work of fiction that best illuminates the role of lawyers in society and their power to effect change. The books nominated for the ninth annual award are: The Widows of Malabar Hill, by Sujata Massey; Class Action, by Steven B. Frank; and The Boat People, by Sharon Bala.

The Maine Literary Awards were handed out at a ceremony held at the Bangor Public Library recently. This year's winner of the Book Award for Crime Fiction was Stowed Away by Barbara Ross.

Foreword Reviews announced the winners of the Foreword Indies Book Awards, celebrating the best from independent presses and authors. The winners in the Mystery category were:

Gold: One for the Rock by Kevin Major
Silver: A Gentleman's Murder by Christopher Huang
Bronze: Burning Ridge by Margaret Mizushima
Honorable Mention: Uncivil Liberties by Bernie Lambek

In the Thriller & Suspense category:

Gold: The Eighteenth Green by Webb Hubbell
Silver: Speed the Dawn by Philip Donlay
Bronze: The Astronaut's Son by Tom Seigel

Amazon announced its selections for the Best Books of the Year So Far, including those in the Mystery, Thriller & Suspense category. Check out the twenty books that made the list.

The Mystery Writers of America’s board of directors recently approved new procedures for selecting the Special Edgar Awards—including the Raven, the Ellery Queen, and the Grand Master awards. The new procedures are designed to make the process more open and transparent to the entire membership. They also encourage participation from all members of MWA, who are asked to submit nominations for all three awards by July 31.

A record $10,060 is up for grabs in Sisters in Crime Australia’s 26th Scarlet Stiletto Awards for best short crime and mystery stories by Australian women. For the first time there is an award that speaks directly to Australia’s criminal past – the Terror Australis Readers and Writers Festival Award for the Best Bushranger Story. The closing date for the awards is August 31, 2019. The Terror Australis Readers and Writers Festival is a brand-new biennial celebration of crime fiction, to be held between October 31 and November 5 in Tasmania’s Huon Valley.

Crime author Linda Fairstein has been in the news lately after a rescinded Mystery Writers of America honor (hence the MWA rules change above) and the recent TV mini-series When They See Us that casts her in an unfavorable light as the prosecutor of the infamous Central Park Five rape case. The controversy has renewed cries of proseutorial injustice on Fairstein's behalf and has led to the author being dropped by her agent, publisher, and several boards on which she served. Sarah Weinman penned an article for The Washington Post, which offers up a more nuanced take on the case and Fairstein's role. Weinman concludes that "canceling Fairstein herself may be emotionally satisfying. But it doesn’t account for the very real change she helped bring about. And without concerted effort and work, it won’t prevent other prosecutors from making the same terrible decisions that inflicted such a dreadful cost on the Central Park Five and on Matias Reyes’s (the real rapist) other victims.

Peter Harrington, the UK’s largest rare bookseller, is celebrating its 50th anniversary by offering up for sale an exceptional collection of Ian Fleming material for £2.5m, which it will be exhibiting at this year’s Masterpiece London. It is the most significant Fleming Collection to ever appear on the market and contains inscribed first editions of every James Bond book published in the author’s lifetime. 

Is China about to witness a crime wave? CrimeReads notes that readers in China are showing an appetite for crime stories like never before, especially among younger audiences in China. Article writer Paul French adds that there was always an enthusiastic market for Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie, but now Chinese fans are becoming more diversified in their crime tastes.

The Daily Mail reported on the real No. 1 Lady Detective, Maud West, a real-life female Sherlock Holmes who caught adulterers, blackmailers and thieves in early 20th century Edwardian London. Susannah Stapleton has a new book about the ground-breaking shamus, whose social circle is known to have included fellow crime writer Dorothy L. Sayers, creator of amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey.

Jeff Pierce at the Rap Sheet has compiles his annual curated list of more than 400 books, all due to appear in stores (on both sides of the Atlantic) during the next three, warmer months⁠—just in time for beach-reading season.

The most controversial landmark in New York City may now be the Strand Bookstore.

The nation's capital of the U.S., Washington, D.C., may be known for its monuments and federal politics, but it's also the "City of Secrets": an estimated 10,000 people in DC are spies.


This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "Nothing New Under the Sun" by Dan A. Cardoza.

In the Q&A roundup, crime writer Simon Kernick told the Daily Mail what book he'd take to a desert island; the Bath UK Magazine interviewed Mick Herron ahead of the publication of his latest spy thriller, Joe Country, about why he wouldn’t make a good spy, how he creates memorable characters and how writing feels like an addiction; Harlan Coben spoke to The Guardian about the book that explains why writers are "plain nuts," and the William Goldman novel that started him on his career path; Kate Atkinson also spoke with The Guardian about why she's enjoying writing more as she gets older – and the return of detective Jackson Brodie fter nearly 10 years in the novel, Big Sky; and Alexander McCall Smith, author of the From the beloved No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, spoke with CrimeReads about his new pivot to Scandi-Noir with The Department of Sensitive Crimes, the first in McCall Smith’s new series, where we meet a Ulf Varg, a Swedish detective who investigates particularly strange crimes in the city of Malm.

Mystery Melange

The Killer Nashville conference announced the twenty finalists for the annual Claymore Award. The honor goes to an unpublished crime fiction manuscript, with the winner receiving discounted admission to the conference and a potential publishing contract. According to conference organizers, almost all top finalists usually land a publishing contract within the next year, most through contacts made at Killer Nashville.

Jack Reacher author Lee Child is being made a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for services to literature. Child has written twenty-three thrillers featuring American hero Jack Reacher, with sales somewhere around the 100 million mark. He was also named author of the year at the British Book Awards in May.

The owner of the Waterstones bookstore chain in the UK, the hedge fund Elliott Management Corp., is buying U.S. bookstore chain Barnes & Noble. Elliott is likely to maintain Barnes & Noble and Waterstones as two separate companies, with Waterstones Chief Executive James Daunt leading both. Under Mr. Daunt's direction, Waterstones rebounded from a period of losses and has even been opening new stores, which it fashions to feel like independent shops. Among the changes he implemented at Waterstones: restructuring duties so that booksellers can spend more time selling books; making bookshops more reflective of their distinct communities; instituting campaigns to promote specific titles chosen by its booksellers; and de-emphasizing front-of-shop co-op campaigns.

In other bookstore news, The Guardian reported on why customers are returning to small bookstores and purchasing more print books.

And in even more good book "store" news, retired teacher Melanie Moore founded The Book Bus, a mobile bookstore based in Cincinnati, Ohio, that she built out of a 1962 VW Transporter truck. The bus sells new and gently used books, and Moore uses a portion of all the profits made from the Book Bus to purchase new books for children and classrooms in low income areas. Depending on the weather, Moore typically sets up shop at farmers markets, flea markets or other outdoor events, and when the weather isn't favorable, she can most often be found at area coffee shops.

Slate wrote about a debut author controversy surrounding the new Scarlet suspense imprint from Pegasus Books aimed at a primarily female audience. Was this new author actually real? Or just a front for a male author taking on a female pseudonym? The Twitterverse was thick with intrigue.

Via Atlas Obscura, a fascinating look at pioneering criminologist Alphonse Bertillon, who turned everyone into voyeurs at the end of the 19th century.

Cambridge University archivists are cataloguing records of the Isle of Ely courts, revealing offenses ranging from the tragic to the ridiculous, dating from 1557 to 1775. The database of charges and convictions, which the archivists hope to make available soon online, includes witchcraft, murder, highway robbery, forgery, trespass, and vagrancy. (A potentially helpful resource to authors of historical fiction.)

If you find yourself in Scotland this summer (or just want to visit vicariously), author Val McDermid listed her "top Scottish crime fiction locations."


This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "Rusty" by Wayne F. Burke.

Mystery Melange

The winners of the 2019 Lambda Literary Awards for LGBT fiction were announced, including Best Lesbian Mystery, which went to A Study in Honor: A Novel, by Claire O’Dell, and Best Gay Mystery, won by Marshall Thornton for Late Fees: A Pinx Video Mystery. For all the winner and finalists, check out the official Lambda website.

The Private Eye Writers of America announced the finalists for this year's Shamus Awards, with winners to be announced at the PWA Banquet at Bouchercon in October:

Best Original Private Eye Paperback

She Talks to Angels by James D. F. Hannah 
No Quarter by John Jantunen
Shark Bait by Paul Kemprecos 
Second Story Man by Charles Salzberg
The Questionable Behavior of Dahlia Moss by Max Wirestone 

Best First Private Eye Novel

The Best Bad Things by Katrina Carrasco 
Broken Places by Tracy Clark
Last Looks by Howard Michael Gould
What Doesn't Kill You by Aimee Hix 
Only to Sleep by Lawrence Osborne 

Best Private Eye Short Story

"Fear of the Secular," by Mitch Alderman, AHMM
"Three-Star Sushi," by Barry Lancet, Down & Out
“The Big Creep,” by Elizabeth McKenzie, Santa Cruz Noir
"Game," by Twist Phelan, EQMM
"Chin Yong-Yun Helps a Fool," by S.J. Rozan, EQMM

Best Private Eye Novel

Wrong Light by Matt Coyle 
What You Want to See by Kristen Lepionka
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey 
Baby’s First Felony by John Straley
Cut You Down by Sam Wiebe 

J.E. Irvin has been named First Place winner for "The Strange Disappearance of Rose Stone" in an international competition to claim the 2019 Mystery Writers Whodunit Award, to be presented at the 6th annual Mystery Fest Key West, set for June 28-30 in Florida. This is the second time in five years that Irvin has taken top honors in the blind-judged competition.

We lost four figures in the crime fiction community in the last few weeks:

Anthony Price, 91, author of the Dr. David Audley spy novels, including Labyrinth Makers (1970), which won the CWA Silver Dagger, and Other Paths to Glory (1974), which won a CWA Gold Dagger (HT to Martin Edwards);

Also, we mourn the passing of Sandra Seamans, the force behind the My Little Corner blog, which has been indispensible to writers of short crime fiction. Albert Tucher has a remembrance on Do Some Damage;

Paul Bishop reported that W. Glenn Duncan died in Australia after a long struggle with health issues. The former journalilst and pilot wrote six books featuring Rafferty, a tough ex-cop private eye in Dallas, Texas, and won the 1991 Shamus Award for best paperback. Duncan was 78;

And Jutta Motz, Swiss crime fiction author and former president of the International Association of Crime Writers, passed away after a brief bout with cancer. 

Amazon Publishing has joined forces with Capital Crime to sponsor the festival's inaugural awards. The London-based crime and thriller festival, which will take place for the first time later this year, will acknowledge achievements of authors, TV and filmmakers within the crime and thriller community. The shortlists will be announced and voting will open on 1st July, and the winners will be presented at a drinks party on Saturday 28th at the festival.

Debut author Richard Osman will join Ian Rankin, David Baldacci, Denise Mina, and Shari Lapena for this year's Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival, as organizers announced the full event schedule. Bloody Scotland "remains an open and welcoming international festival despite all the chaos at Westminster," this year welcoming authors from Spain, France, Iceland, Norway and Ireland as well as the US, Canada, Australia, India, and Mexico.

Ian Rankin is also in the news for an annual visit to Fife College last Friday to award scholarships to creative students. This year’s scholarship was open to students studying a wide range of courses that include elements of creative writing such as Journalism, TV, Radio, Acting and Performance and Higher English. To take part, students had to submit a piece of creative writing and their work was read and judged by Rebus author Rankin, himself.

Simon & Schuster fiction publishing director Jo Dickinson is leaving the firm to become Hodder’s crime and thriller publisher. During her six years in the S&S role, Dickinson has had a string of successes including Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan, Caroline Kepnes’s You, which has become a Netflix hit, number one bestseller Chris Carter, and the award-winning Louise Candlish.

Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine's blog featured a post by award-nominated fiction writer and short-story contributor to EQMM, Kevin Mims, who offered some reflections in homage to Herman Wouk and the decade he helped to define.

Fans of the beloved Golden Age author and creator of the Inspector Roderick Alleyn novels, Ngaio Marsh, should take note of a new companion volume by Bruce Harding in the McFarland Companions to Mystery Fiction series (edited by Elizabeth Foxwell). The volume joins other subjects in the series including John Buchan, E. X. Ferrars, Ed McBain/Evan Hunter, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Andrea Camilleri, James Ellroy, Sara Paretsky, and P. D. James.

Apparently, James Bond is still a remarkably good recruiter for the British secret intelligene agency, MI6. 

Edinburgh brewers Innis & Gunn have a limited edition beer bottle for fans of Ian Rankin's Rebus detective series, one that's based on his latest novel, In a House of Lies.

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "MXYZPTLK."

In the Q&A roundup, Lesa Holstine chatted with J.A. Kazimer about her upcoming mystery, A Shot of Murder; Criminal Element chatted with Sara Paretsky, who is celebrating the launch of Shell Game, the 19th V.I. Warshawski book, and also John Douglas, a groundbreaking FBI profiler who looks back at the darkest cases in his new book, The Killer Across the Table; author and veteran journalist  R.G. Belsky stopped by Criminal Element to discuss his latest work, Below the Fold, continuing the adventures of news reporter Clare Carlson; and Shots Magazine's Ayo Onatade interviewed Scottish author Mary Paulson-Ellis, whose debut novel The Other Mrs Walker was Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year in 2017. 

Mystery Melange

The annual Arthur Ellis Awards by Crime Writers of Canada recognizes the best in mystery, crime, and suspense fiction and crime nonfiction by Canadian authors. Winners were announced this past weekend at the Arthur Ellis Awards Gala in Toronto:

• Best Crime Novel: Anne Emery, Though the Heavens Fall
• Best First Crime Novel: A.J. Devlin, Cobra Clutch
• Best Crime Novella: John Lawrence Reynolds, Murder Among the Pines
• Best Crime Short Story: Linda L. Richards, "Terminal City," Vancouver Noir
• Best Crime Book in French: Hervé Gagnon, Adolphus - Une enquête de Joseph Laflamme
• Best Juvenile/Young Adult Crime Book: Linwood Barclay, Escape
• Best Nonfiction Crime Book: Sarah Weinman, The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel that Scandalized the World
• Best Unpublished Manuscript: Liv McFarlane, The Scarlet Cross

For all the finalists in the various categories, head on over to the CWC's website.

Sisters in Crime Australia has announced the longlists for the 2019 Davitt Awards for the best crime books by Australian women. A total of 127 titles were longlisted, including 73 adult novels, 17 young adult novels, 15 children’s novels and 22 nonfiction books.

Ian Rankin has donated his literary archive, including correspondence with authors like J K Rowling, Iain Banks and Ruth Rendell, to the National Library of Scotland. Rankin's collection comprises 50 boxes of documents, including the original manuscript for his first Rebus novel, Knots and Crosses. It also contains long-forgotten scripts for a sitcom and a crime drama series that neither the author nor his wife had any recollection of, as they were among projects he attempted to pursue before his Inspector Rebus books took off.

Libraries and librarians matter, as the state of Michigan has recently noted. Following a 2018 report from the Michigan Department of Education showing the majority of third and fourth graders cannot read at grade level, some legislators have declared a literary crisis and are working to make immediate change by hiring more school librarians. And, as an article in The Atlantic added, libraries are also becoming second responders, i.e. places of refuge for personal, community, and environmental emergencies.

As part of Thomas Harris's new book launch for his first novel in 13 years (and only his second non-Hannibal Lecter novel), publisher Penguin Random House sponsored a social media treasure hunt in the UK. Gavin Dimmock, the winner, will receive a gold bullion edition of Cari Mora after solving clues on the PRH website, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook which lead to the location of the prize.

Some thriller love:  Literary Hub reprinted an Ian Fleming essay from 1963 in which he explains how to write a thriller, and Crime Reads's J.S. Monroe offered up seven literary thrillers to keep you reading all through the night.

Hard-boiled detective fiction is known for its hard-drinking sleuths, and Mystery Fanfare jiggered up a menu of some libations from famous literary private eyes.

Here's some happy bookstore news:  The American Booksellers Association again gained membership, rising from 1,835 individual companies (all but a handful independently owned stores) a year ago to 1,887, and marked an increase of more than 20 percent in the last ten years. The number of store locations is now 2,524, compared to 2,470 in 2018, as independent sellers such as Shakespeare & Co. in New York continue to expand.

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

In the Q&A roundup, Crimereads chatted with Scott Montgomery, Crime Fiction Coordinator of BookPeople's mystery bookstore-within-a-bookstore; the Mysteristas spoke with Bess Carnan, winner of the Malice Domestic conference's William F. Deeck Grant for Unpublished Writers; and James Ellroy sat down for an interview with Men's Journal about his new novel, as well as World War II and "Why Trump Lacks 'the Charm of a True World-Class Dictator.'"

Mystery Melange

The shortlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year has been announced after being pared down from the longlist of 18 titles. The prize celebrates excellence in UK crime fiction with the winner to be announced on the opening night of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival on July 18. Here are your finalists:

• Snap by Belinda Bauer
• Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh
• London Rules by Mick Herron
• Broken Ground by Val McDermid
• The Quaker by Liam McIlvanney
• East of Hounslow by Khurrum Rahman

 

Finalists for the annual Maine Literary Awards were also announced, including those in the Crime Fiction category:

• Beyond the Truth by Bruce Coffin
• Stowed Away by Barbara Ross
• Death and a Pot of Chowder by Lea Wait (writing as Cornelia Kidd)
  
  

The 2019 Iceland Noir Award for translated crime fiction released a shortlist this past weekend, including the following:

• James M. Cain: Double Indemnity (translated by Þórdís Bachmann)
• Keigo Higashino: The Devotion of Suspect X (translated by Ásta S. Guðbjartsdóttir)
• Shari Lapena: A Stranger in the House (translated by Ingunn Snædal)
• Pierre Lemaitre: Three Days and a Life (translated by Friðrik Rafnsson)
• Henning Mankell: After the Fire (translated by Hilmar Hilmarsson)
  
  

Ian Rankin and Ann Cleeves will headline this summer's Bute Noir crime writing festival. Authors Mark Billingham, Denise Mina, Stuart MacBride, Chris Brookmyre, Ruth Ware and Mick Herron will also join the line-up for the festival in Rothesay, which takes place from Friday August 2 to Sunday August 4. They join the previously announced list of international authors including Mexico's Oscar de Muriel, Iceland's Lilja Sigurdardottir, Norway's Thomas Enger, the USA's Alexandra Sokoloff, Ireland's Liz Nugent, and Scottish talent including Alex Gray, Lin Anderson and Craig Robertson. Events will be held at Rothesay Library, Bute Museum, Print Point bookshop, and the Discovery Cinema with a crime writers' putting competition on Rothesay’s putting greens for "The Brookmyre Cup." (HT to The Bookseller)

The Sisters in Crime Chessie Chapter and the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of Mystery Writers of America are co-hosting a workshop to help authors make the choices involved in reinvention: another traditional publisher, going indie, or both? What pitfalls should you watch out for? How do you protect your legal rights? What about changing genres? Bestselling authors and industry experts discuss what’s worked for them in a day-long program. Speakers include John Betancourt, Ken Budd, Tara Laskowski, Sujata Massey, Julie Moffett, Alan Orloff, Joanna Campbell Slan, Daniel Steven, and Marcia Talley. The event is Sunday, June 2nd, and registration is open to the public.

The Sunday Times Top 100 Crime List has come under fire after women made up just a third of the authors of the listed novels. Authors including Marian Keyes criticized the list, saying "Seeing the chronic conscious and unconscious bias against work by women is enraging." In defense of the list, Sunday Times literary editor Andrew Holgate said that it was mostly compiled by female journalists. Even so, earlier this year, a research project found that new books by men were found to receive 12% more broadsheet review coverage than those of their female counterparts. In response to the controversy over the Sunday Times list, The Guardian tapped Ann Cleeves, Val McDermid, Dreda Say Mitchell and other leading writers to nominate some alternatives for a roster of "50 great thrillers by women."

Writing for CrimeReads, Kellye Garrett penned a profile of Barbara Neely, the activist-turned-crime writer who inspired a generation and bucked the traditions associated with female writers of color.

The LA Review of Books profiled another crime fiction pioneer, Joseph Hansen, who forced publishers to take risks to bring Hansen's brand of gay noir to the literary world.

Author and literacy advocate James Patterson is funding "Buy A Book, Give A Book" to encourage reading in children and families from disadvantaged backgrounds through an initiative between Penguin, Asda and the National Literary Trust (NLT). The partnership is dedicated to inspiring lifelong reading and will help the nationwide charity provide access to books to children, young people and families in the UK’s most disadvantaged communities.

Writing for Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine's blog, Something is Going to Happen, Chad Baker penned an essay "On Sara Gran’s Claire DeWitt and the Nature of Truth in Detective Fiction."

An essay by Mel McGrath in the National Post wondered "Is reading crime fiction written by women a feminist act?"

Janet Rudolph has a list of Memorial Day-themed crime fiction up at Mystery Fanfare.

The recently re-opened (in a new location) International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., is bigger than ever before. But in addition to the crowd-pleasing Bond gadgets and interactive exhibits, the museum isn't afraid to tackle controversial subjects like torture. Both NPR and the Washington Post had profiles.

Canada's first "body farm" (for research into how human bodies decompose, crucial info for death investigations) is opening its doors, and people are already lining up to be the first donors.

A pocket watch owned by mystery writer Edgar Allen Poe is heading for auction at Christie’s next month. The 18k gold engraved pocket watch will be offered in New York on June 12, with an estimated price of $80,000 – $120,000. Personal items owned by the writer himself rarely appear on the market, and those that do can command big prices. In 2012, a collection of artifacts including a lock of Poe’s hair, his late wife’s engagement ring, photographic portraits and a silver spoon sold at Profiles in History for $96,000, almost doubling their top estimate.

An elementary school in West Valley City, Utah, has become only the fourth school in the U.S. to instill an unusual kind of vending machine—a book vending machine, which can hold 300 to 400 books. School staff believe the novelty of the machine will help instill a love of reading in students, who can earn gold tokens and apply them toward different titles.

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "Ballad of a Tabby Man" by Howard Ho.

In the Q&A roundup, Jeffery Deaver offered up his secrets of writing a bestseller for the Cambridge Independent; Lee Child spoke with iNews UK about his Jack Reacher thrillers and being a populist writer; James Ellroy spoke with The Guardian on his love of everything big, why he doesn’t rate Raymond Chandler, and reading all 55 of Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct novels; Denise Mina explained to The National how love of podcasts shaped her new novel, Conviction; and the LA Review of Books spoke with Cara Black, author of a series with Parisian private detective, Aimée Leduc, about "the darker side of the City of Light."

Mystery Melange

The international crime fiction convention Crimefest was held this past weekend and included the announcement of the Crimefest Award winners. The Audible Sounds of Crime Award went to Robert Galbraith for Lethal White, read by Robert Glenister; the eDUNNIT AWARD was won by Laura Lippman for Sunburn; The Last Laugh Award went to Lynne Truss for A Shot in the Dark; The H.R.F. Keating Award went to James Sallis for Difficult Lives – Hitching Rides; the Best Crime Novel for Children winner was Lauren St. John for Kat Wolfe Investigates; and the Best Crime Novel for Young Adults winner was Nikesh Shukla for Run, Riot. For all the finalists, head on over to the official Crimefest awards page.

Also at CrimeFest, the 2019 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year was given to The Katharina Code by Jørn Lier Horst, translated from the Norwegian by Anne Bruce. Others on the short list included The Ice Swimmer Kjell Ola Dahl, tr. Don Bartlett; The Whisperer by Karin Fossum, tr. Kari Dickson; The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson, tr. Victoria Cribb; Resin by Ane Riel, tr. Charlotte Barslund; and Big Sister by Gunnar Staalesen, tr. Don Bartlett. Eurocrime has the full shortlist of nominated titles.

The Crime Writers Association in the UK announced the longlists for this year's Dagger Awards, celebrating the best in crime fiction and nonfiction. As the term "longlist" implies, the number of nominees is fairly long, but Shots Magazine's Ayo Onatade has an easy quick reference for you to see all the nods in the various categories. Shortlists for the Daggers will be announced in the summer and the winners will be announced at the Dagger Awards dinner in London on October 24.

At this year's British Book Awards, Louise Candlish was the winner in the Crime and Thriller category for her novel, Our House, while the Author of the Year honor was bestowed upon Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher series.

The winner for the inaugural Lindisfarne Prize for debut crime fiction was announced. Cressida Downing won for her novel, The Roll Bearer's Daughter, which is set on Holy Island at the turn of the 15th century. The prize was launched this year by author LJ Ross to honor new literary talent as well as celebrating settings in the North East area of the UK.

Strand Magazine announced the 2019 Strand Critics Awards finalists:

Best Mystery Novel:

Lullaby Road by James Anderson
Transcription by Kate Atkinson
November Road by Lou Berney
Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly
The Witch Elm by Tana French
Sunburn by Laura Lippman

Best Debut Mystery Novel:

Dodging and Burning by John Copenhaver
Star of the North by D.B. John
The Other Side of Everything by Lauren Doyle Owens
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
Beautiful Bad by Annie Ward

The Strand also announced the latest recipients of its latest Lifetime Achievement Awards: Heather Graham and Donna Leon; and Publisher of the Year Award to Dominique Raccah, the publisher/CEO of Sourcebooks. 
 

Ireland's International Crime Writing Festival, Murder One, won't take place until November of this year, but in the meantime, the organizers are launching a series of summer events. Each takes places in Dublin’s historic City Hall where capacity is limited to 200. First up is Jeffery Deaver in conversation with Declan Burke on Friday May 24th; James Ellroy will join a Q&A with Eoin McNamee on Thursday May 30th; and finally, Karin Slaughter will be interviewed by RTE’s Sinead Crowley on Thursday June 13th.

London's Capital Crime Digital Festival (September 26-28) also has a special feature lined up this year. If you are a ticket holder, you can also participate in the Capital Crime Digital Festival to be launched on October 28th. It's also a great opportunity for authors, as Shot Magazine's Ayo Onatade noted, becoming a permanent platform that showcases more than 70 authors with video links and dedicated book pages.

Capital Crime added to the line-up for London's new crime and thriller festival taking place in September at the Connaught Rooms in England's capital city. Martina Cole, Ian Rankin, Ann Cleeves, Mark Billingham, Don Winslow, Robert Glenister, Adenle, Denise Mina, Catherine Steadman, and Mukherjee are among the latest guests announced with further names to be revealed at a later date. Speakers previously announced by organizers David Headley and Adam Hamdy include Kate Atkinson, David Baldacci, Ann Cleeves, Robert Harris, Peter James, Lynda La Plante, Simon Mayo, and Kate Mosse. Dubbed a "diverse, inclusive and socially responsible festival," Capital Crime is running initiatives including social outreach to support students exploring a literary career, an innovative digital festival, and the launch of the New Voices Award. 

This year’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival will host an inaugural library conference with speakers including Ann Cleeves and Arts Council England CEO Darren Henley. The festival will also deliver its 11th annual Big Read with current reader-in-residence, author Mari Hannah. It aims to encourage crime fiction fans and entice reluctant readers to read and discuss the same book and utilize their local library service.

On view through June 3 at Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens in West Palm Beach, FL, you can catch the exhibition "The Art of Sherlock Holmes," which features 15 artistic works inspired by the Great Detective. Curated by author Phil Growick, the exhibit brings together 14 pieces of art that are interpretations of different short stories featuring Sherlock Holmes, all created by West Palm Beach artists. The artistic styles include abstract, contemporary, digital, realist, minimalist, symbolism, or an amalgam of various forms. (HT to Elizabeth Foxwell)

Writing for The Millions, John Smith investigated the real genesis for the character of Sherlock Holmes:  two leading crime experts of Arthur Conan Doyle's day who had a profound influence upon the author, one who reaped the glory of being named "the real life" Holmes in the press and another who was largely unrecognized in his lifetime.

Speaking of Holmes, the Royal Mint in the UK has released a Sherlock Holmes 50p coin to mark the 160th anniversary of the birth of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Designed by Stephen Raw, the coin has been made to encourage people to use their magnifying glass to read the names of the famous cases (listed on the coin in tiny print) in true Sherlock style.

The Washington Post profiled author Thomas Harris, who introduced the world to Hannibal Lecter. Harris has just released his first novel in thirteen years, Cari Mora.

Chris Pavone, whose first novel, The Expats, received both the Edgar and Anthony awards for Best First Novel, as well as a film deal, applied the Page 69 Test to his latest work, The Paris Diversion.

Penguin Random House is offering a "Spruce Up Your Shelves" sweepstakes to win a library of 50 books and more. The contest runs through June 30th.

The latest poem at the 5-2 crime poetry weekly is "Cornelia Gale" by Juleigh Howard-Hobson

Mystery Melange

The Malice Domestic Conference handed out its annual Agatha Awards on Saturday. Congrats to all the winning titles this year (for all the finalists click here):

• Best Contemporary Novel: Mardi Gras Murder by Ellen Byron (Crooked Lane Books)
• Best Historical Novel: The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey (Soho Crime)
• Best First Novel Tie: A Lady's Guide to Etiquette and Murder by Dianne Freeman (Kensington)
  Curses Boiled Again by Shari Randall (St. Martin's)
• Best Short Story Tie: "All God's Sparrows" by Leslie Budewitz (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine)
  "The Case of the Vanishing Professor" by Tara Laskowski (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine)
• Best Children's/Young Adult Mystery: Potion Problems (Just Add Magic) by Cindy Callaghan (Aladdin)
• Best Nonfiction: Mastering Plot Twists: How to Use Suspense, Targeted Storytelling Strategies, and Structure to Captivate Your Readers by Jane Cleland (Writer's Digest Books)

 

The Independent Book Publisher Award winners were also announced this past weekend. The crime fiction winners include:

Mystery

• GOLD (tie): The Moving Blade, by Michael Pronko (Raked Gravel Press)
  Shadowed by Death, by Mary Adler (Dancing Dog Books)
• SILVER: Full Service Blonde, by Megan Edwards (Imbrifex Books)
• BRONZE: The Sleeping Lady, by Bonnie C. Monte (She Writes Press)

Suspense/Thriller

• GOLD: High Crimes: A Georgia Davis Novel of Suspense, by Libby Fischer Hellmann (The Red Herrings Press)
• SILVER (tie): The Maw, by Taylor Zajonc (Skyhorse Publishing)
  Big Woods, by May Cobb (Llewellyn Worldwide)
• BRONZE: Death’s Echoes, by Penny Mickelbury (Bywater Books)

 

Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine's May/June 2019 issue included the announcement of the 2018 EQMM Readers Award. There were thirteen finalists from which the winning story, voted on by the magazine's readers, was Stacy Woodson's “Duty, Honor, Hammett.” Second Place went to “50” by writer, translator, editor, and instructor Josh Pacther; and Third Place was bestowed upon “Sofee,” by retired New Jersey Police Chief David Dean.

Booklist's May issue marks the beginning of their month-long celebration of mystery, including the Mystery Showcase issue. In honor of the event, Booklist rounded up the year’s best crime fiction (the year running from May 2018 to April 2019), and also offered up top ten lists in both books for youth and audiobooks.

A little late for the 'Zine Scene posting last week, but definitely worth checking out, is Mystery Readers Journal: Mystery in the American South II (Volume 35:1: Spring 2019), which is available now as a PDF and hardcopy. This is the second installment of this theme and features some three dozen Author! Author! essays plus reviews.

StoryADay.org proclaimed May International Short Story Month back in 2013, and to celebrate, the Short Mystery Fiction Society is highlighting one or more members' online stories per day.

What happened to Harper Lee’s unpublished true crime book? Author Casey Cep's new book, Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee, reconstructed years of investigative work Harper Lee devoted to a series of killings in the 1970s. CBS Sunday Morning's Rita Braver further reported on Lee's fascination with the case and spoke with Casey Cep; and The Guardian also chatted with Cep, who revealed the discovery of a "brimming" cache of research by the Lee into the Alabama preacher suspected of a string of murders.

The Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers will play at Glastonbury, in what lead singer Val McDermid described as “a bit like a fairy story”. The rock ‘n’ roll band also includes features author Mark Billingham of the Tom Thorne series, Northern Irish writer Stuart Neville, Scottish crime writer Doug Johnstone, Luca Veste, author of the DI Murphy and DS Rossi series, and Scottish journalist-turned novelist Chris Brookmyre. The Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers has headlined at various literary festivals across the country as well as music festivals, after forming at a writers’ convention in New Orleans in the US. As McDermid added, "Bestseller lists are all well and good, but this is a middle-aged wannabe rock star’s dream."

Venetian Vase profiled Sam Stiefel, the producer and conman who inspired James Ellroy.

Many of us grew up with the exploits of boy detective Encyclopedia Brown, the bestselling literary icon created by Donald J. Sobol. But who was Sobol? Craig PIttman, writing for Crimereads, tells us about the most popular mystery author you’ve probably never heard of.

The latest poem at the 5-2 crime poetry weekly is "Mother" by Sanjeev Sethi.

Mystery Melange

The Noir at the Bar series (begun in 2008 by crime fiction critic and blogger Peter Rozovsky of Detectives Beyond Borders) is going strong with new events popping up around the U.S. and the world. One of the latest events will take place May 2 at the Town Wall pub on Pink Lane in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in northeast England. Organized by Vic Watson, the line-up includes Neil Broadfoot, Mik Brown, Nick Parker, Ashley Erwin, Derek Farrell, Jónína Leósdóttir, Gytha Lodge, Judith O’Reilly, Zoë Sharp, Lilja Sigurðardóttir, plus a wildcard chosen on the night.

An upcoming auction is offering the chance become a character in a Peter James novel. Famous for the Brighton-based Roy Grace series, the bestselling author will name a character after the top bidder at a one-off auction at Bellmans Auctioneers in Wisborough Green on Thursday May 9. The auction is raising money for the charity Care for Veterans which this year celebrates its 100th anniversary. One of the other fun auction items includes "A Reception at the Crime Scene of the Largest Burglary in English Legal History," the underground Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company. Also, For James Bond fans, you can sail on board the Fairey Huntsman vessel featured in the iconic James Bond boat chase in From Russia with Love. 

The annual Daily Mail's first novel competition is open for entries with a deadline of June 14. Submissions can be a contemporary story about families or relationships or a thriller or an historical adventure, as long as it hasn't been previously published in any form. Entrants are required to submit just the first 3,000 words plus a 600-word synopsis of the complete work: beginning, middle and end. The winner will receive £20,000 advance fee, the services of top literary agent Luigi Bonomi and guaranteed publication by Penguin Random House UK. Several of the runners-up have also been offered publishing deals in previous competitions.

The 6th Annual Conference of the International Crime Fiction Association will present "Captivating Criminality 6: Metamorphoses of Crime: Facts and Fictions, from June 12-15 at d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy. The themed presentations will examine the ways in which Crime Fiction as a genre incorporates elements of real-life cases and, in turn, influences society by conveying thought-provoking ideas of deviance, criminal activity, investigation, and punishment.

As part of the Edgar Awards celebration season, Crimereads offered up a two-part roundtable discussion on "The State of the Mystery," featuring the 2019 Edgar Award Nominees addressing the genre's most pressing questions. Part One can be found via this link and Part Two by following this link.

A few other noteworthy Crimereads features recently included a "Beginner's Guide to Locked Room Mysteries" by Gigi Pandian; a look at T.S. Eliot as a crime fiction critic, by Curtis Evans; and Adi Tantimedh's list of "10 Crime Novels that Strike a Balance Between Humor and Noir."

Elizabeth Foxwell noted that a lawsuit regarding the sale of Elmore Leonard's papers to the University of South Carolina had been settled. Christine Leonard, Leonard's ex-wife, had sued alleging that Leonard's company, trust, and son had sold the archive in secret (stating that a stipulation in the divorce decree entitled her to a share of the proceeds). Tom McNally, dean of libraries at the University of South Carolina, said Leonard had visited the school and was impressed with collections of Ernest Hemingway and George V. Higgins, two of Leonard’s favorite writers. He added, "The collection is important because it will lead to the writing of books and articles about Elmore Leonard and his contributions to writing. And it will be here forever."

The CIA finally launched its Instagram, and its first post is an "eye spy" game.

Embattled UK Prime Minister Teresa May took time out from political woes to launch a book booth (the UK's version of a Little Free Library). Her choice of book to add to the library was Dissolution, a historical mystery novel by bestselling Scottish author CJ Sansom.

The latest poem at the 5-2 crime poetry weekly is "Lil' Redd" by Kenneth Pobo.

In the Q&A roundup, Denise Mina (whose latest book, Conviction, was just released) was interviewed by The Guardian and explained why she doesn't think "there’s any such thing as an apolitical writer"; the Irish Times chatted with Jane Casey about her Detective Maeve Kerrigan series and how she straddles the divide between Ireland and Britain, just like her creator; and the blog of the International Crime Fiction Research Group spoke with Ellen Dunne, an Austrian writer who currently lives in Dublin, about her Patsy Logan protagonist, as well as European crime fiction in general.

Mystery Melange

Author Vickey Delaney is to be honored with the Crime Writers of Canada's Derrick Murdoch Award, a special achievement nod for contributions to the crime genre. Delaney is the author of 34 published books, has been a strong supporter and advocate for Canadian crime writers, and also an advocate for literacy and libraries.

The shortlist for the 2019 Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year was announced this morning:

• The Ice Swimmer, by Kjell Ola Dahl, translated by Don Bartlett (Orenda Books; Norway)
• The Whisperer, by Karin Fossum, translated by Kari Dickson (Harvill Secker; Norway)
• The Katharina Code, by Jørn Lier Horst, translated by Anne Bruce (Michael Joseph; Norway)
• The Darkness, by Ragnar Jónasson, translated by Victoria Cribb (Penguin Random House; Iceland)
• Resin, by Ane Riel, translated by Charlotte Barslund (Doubleday; Denmark)
• Big Sister, by Gunnar Staalesen, translated by Don Bartlett (Orenda Books; Norway)

The winning title will be announced at the Gala Dinner on May 11 during the annual international crime fiction convention CrimeFest.

There's a call for papers for Noir & Journalism: An international conference, to take place in in Chambéry, France, October 1st through the 4th. The theme is investigating the multiple relationships, influences and representations linking crime narratives with journalism.

Skyhorse Publishing is launching the crime imprint, Arcade CrimeWise, with plans to publish six to eight titles annually. Skyhorse noted that it has had success publishing genre fiction over the last several years in areas such as mysteries, noir, thrillers, and spy novels and wants to step up its presence in crime fiction. The launch list will feature Bart Paul’s See That My Grave Is Kept Clean, the third novel in the Tommy Smith High Mountain Noir series (September); Benson’s The Blues in the Dark, a crime drama that tackles racism, sexism, and murder in Hollywood in the 1940s (October); W.C. Ryan’s A House of Ghosts, a finalist for the NBA Irish Book Award set during World War I (October); and the second book in Lisa Preston’s feminist/western/mystery Horseshoer series, Dead Blow (November).

Law&Crime, the around-the-clock trial network backed by author, legal commentator, and attorney Dan Abrams and A&E Networks, is launching a book line that will feature true-crime and legal-based titles to be sold and distributed worldwide by Simon & Schuster. With an aim to publish two to four books a year, the focus will be criminal investigations, law enforcement, and trials. The imprint's first book, which should appear next year, will be by Tulsa, Okla., police Sergeant Sean "Sticks" Larkin, who is an analyst on the show Live PD and the host of A&E's PD Cam. (HT to Shelf Awareness)

Penguin Random House has begun a Reader Rewards Loyalty Program that will enable customers to earn points toward a free book. Under the program, readers who buy PRH books across print, electronic, and audio formats will be able to collect points for purchases made at online or physical stores.

Alafair Burke, the New York Times bestselling author whose most recent novels include The Wife and The Ex, which was nominated for the Edgar Award, applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, The Better Sister.

A New York Times article reported that 150 men and women in American prisons were exonerated in 2018, according to a recent report by a registry that tracks wrongful convictions. Combined, these individuals spent more than 1,600 years in prison, a record for the database, which has data back to 1989. The leading culprit in convicting innocent people was official misconduct, but another was misleading forensic evidence such as hair analysis, bite marks, and DNA analysis used to bolster unscientific assertions.

Even though the first private mission to the moon (the Israeli-backed SpaceIL Beresheet Lander) unfortunately crashed, it means that there are now books on the moon. The Lander carried something named The Arch Lunar Library contained on "Nanofiche," which will last for thousands of years. The payload contained millions of images of pages of books: all sorts of books, fiction and non-fiction. (HT to Joe Hartlaub at the Killzone Blog)

In a real-life whodunnit (and even a bigger whydunnit), someone vandalized Agatha Christie's statue in Torquey, removing it from its plinth on the harbor. The sculpture, by Dutch artist Carol Van Den Boom-Cairns and unveiled by Christie's daughter Rosalind Hicks in 1990, has now been removed by Torbay Council for repairs.

Font geeks (and you know who you are) were abuzz with news that the iconic Helvetica font is getting its first redesign In 35 years.

In fun library news, The New York Public Library is bringing back bookmobiles. While the NYPL has employed bookmobiles for over 100 years, this is the first time they’ll be back on the road since the 1980s,

In more fun (make that, funny) news, Book Riot took at look at "Bacon Bookmarks and Cheeto Lures: The Funniest and Weirdest Stories Of Damaged Library Books."

The latest poem at the 5-2 crime poetry weekly is "For Want of a Dollar" by Nancy Scott.

In the Q&A roundup, the Irish Examiner chatted with thriller writer Jeffery Deaver about his new novel, The Never Game, the first outing for Colter Shaw, who hunts down missing persons using his guile as a tracker; the Irish Times sat down with John Connolly to talk about the publication of the 17th Charlie Parker novel, A Book of Bones; while in Turkey for the 11th Istanbul International Literature Festival, Ruth Ware spoke with The Daily Sabah about her psychological thrillers and why "It's a great time to be a female crime writer"; and Locus Magazine threw a spotlight on David Baldacci, who chatted about his fourth book in the Vega Jane series, The Stars Below.

Mystery Melange

The Los Angeles Times announced the 2019 Book Prize winners, including Best Mystery/Thriller which went to Oyinkan Braithwaite for My Sister, the Serial Killer. The other finalists were Megan Abbott, Give Me Your Hand; Kent Anderson, Green Sun; Lou Berney, November Road; and Leila Slimani, The Perfect Nanny.

Eighteen authors made it to this year’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel longlist, which sees the return of previous shortlisted authors such as Val McDermid, Belinda Bauer, and Stuart Turton, as well as first-timers. The shortlist of six titles will be announced on May 19th, with the winner announced at an award ceremony on July 18th on the opening night of the festival at the Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate. Celebrating its 15th year, the £3,000 prize was created to celebrate the very best in crime fiction and is open to UK and Irish crime authors whose novels were published in paperback from 1st May 2018 to 30th April 2019.

The Crime Writers of Canada released the shortlists for the annual Arthur Ellis Awards for excellence in Canadian crime fiction. The nods for Best Crime Novel include:  Ron Corbett, Cape Diamond; Anne Emery, Though the Heavens Fall; Lisa Gabriele, The Winters; Louise Penny, Kingdom of the Blind; and Loreth Anne White, The Girl in the Moss. For all of the shortlists, head on over to the official CWC website.

The Bloody Words Mini-Con 2019 announced the finalists for the Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award, an annual juried literary prize for a “book that makes us smile.” The contenders include Alan Bradley, The Grave’s a Fine and a Private Place; Vicki Delany; A Scandal in Scarlet; Elizabeth J. Duncan, The Marmalade Murders; Mike Martin, Darkest Before the Dawn; and Auralee Wallace, Haunted Hayride with Murder.

The Romance Writers of America released the list of finalists for this year’s RITA Awards including the Romantic Suspense category: The Bastard’s Bargain, by Katee Robert; Before We Were Strangers, by Brenda Novak; Consumed, by J.R. Ward; Cut and Run, by Mary Burton; Fearless, by Elizabeth Dyer; Reckless Honor, by Tonya Burrows; and Relentless, by Elizabeth Dyer.  

Also, the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers announced this year's Scribe Awards finalists, celebrating excellence in licensed tie-in novels and audio dramas based on TV shows, movies, and games. Although most are related to science fiction, the Original Novel - General category includes Mike Hammer: Killing Town by Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins; Narcos: The Jaguar’s Claw by Jeff Mariotte; and Tom Clancy Line of Sight by Mike Madden. The Young Adult category also includes The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: Curse of the Mirror Clowns by Chris Lynch.

Tomorrow night, Elizabeth Foxwell, Managing editor of Clues: A Journal of Detection, along with Kim Sherwood (University of the West of England and author of Testament), Elizabeth Cuddy (Hampton University), and Christine A. Jackson (Nova Southeastern University), will present the paper “A Necessary Clue: The Mysteries of Isaac Asimov” at the Popular Culture Association conference in Washington, DC. The panel attempts to refute the perception of Asimov as merely a purveyor of gimmicks in his mysteries and stumps for his neglected mainstream mystery debut, The Death Dealers (aka A Whiff of Death, 1958).

Elizabeth Foxwell also announced that “Genre Bending: Crime's Hybrid Forms” is a new call for papers for a themed issue of the crime fiction literary journal Clues that will be guest edited by Maurizio Ascari (University of Bologna). The submission deadline is October 1, 2019.

Scottish crime authors, take note: April 26 is the deadline for the McIlvanney Prize for Crime Fiction and the brand-new debut prize for crime fiction. The awards are part of the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival which will take place September 20-22 in Sterling, Scotland. Click here for more information about submission guidelines. (HT to Ayo Onatade at Shots Magazine.)

J. Kingston Pierce is celebrating the 70th anniversary (which he explains here) of the publication of Ross Macdonald's original Lew Archer private eye novel, The Moving Target. Pierce penned two tributes at Crimereads, including interviewing Macdonald historian and biographer Tom Nolan, and taking a look at the many covers of The Moving Target through the years.

Writing for Crime Fiction Lover, Sonja van der Westhuizen offered up a list of “Twelve South African Crime Writers to Add to Your Reading List,” noting that “one of the biggest challenge South African crime writers face is finding a way to write for and engage with an audience desensitised by violence.”

The latest issue of the online 'zine Yellow Mama is out, bring readers the “ultimate noirfest,” with new stories, poetry, and illustrations.

Thriller author Robert Dugoni, creator of the Tracy Crosswhite series, was featured taking the Page 69 Test for his novel, The Eighth Sister.

The “Cozy Mystery Bundle for Charity” event is taking place again this year. If you love clean, fun mysteries, you can pre-order the 14-book set, Summer Snoops Unleashed, for 99¢ and help countless animals. Last year the same group raised nearly $7,000, and this year the bundle includes all-new stories and three new animal charities.

From the life is stranger than fiction department (take note, crime writers), police in Oregon received a call about a burglar. Instead, they found a rogue Roomba.

The latest poem at the 5-2 crime poetry weekly is “Dear Bully” by Erin Bryant.

In the Q&A roundup, Jacqueline Seewald interviewed Keith Steinbaum, who turn his hand from poetry and writing song lyrics to penning novels including The Poe Consequence, a modern day supernatural thriller/human drama, and a new Beatles-themed whodunit murder mystery; Gerald So is interviewing Derringer Award short story finalists on his blog, the latest being Travis Richardson; Sandra Ruttan chatted with Dea Poirier about her debut novel, Next Girl to Die; and Deborah Kalb spoke with Deborah Hopkinson about her new middle grade novel for kids, How I Became a Spy.