On the 213th anniversary of the birth of writer Edgar Allan Poe, the Mystery Writers of America MWA) announced the nominees for its annual awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television that was published or produced in 2021.
Winners of the awards program will be announced on April 18 at the New York Marriott Marquis Times Square.
Earlier this week, the MWA announced recipients of its three special awards. The Grand Master went to Laurie R. King. The Raven Award went to Lesa Holstine, creator of Lesa’s Book Critiques and a Library Journal reviewer. The Ellery Queen Award went to Juliet Grames, the associate publisher at Soho Press, where she curates the award-winning Soho Crime imprint.
Here are the nominees by category (the winners are noted in red):
BEST NOVEL
- THE VENICE SKETCHBOOK by Rhys Bowen (Amazon Publishing – Lake Union)
- RAZORBLADE TEARS by S.A. Cosby (Macmillan Publishers – Flatiron Books)
- FIVE DECEMBERS by James Kestrel (Hard Case Crime)
- HOW LUCKY by Will Leitch (HarperCollins – Harper)
- NO ONE WILL MISS HER by Kat Rosenfield (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
- DEER SEASON by Erin Flanagan (University of Nebraska Press)
- NEVER SAW ME COMING by Vera Kurian (Harlequin Trade Publishing – Park Row)
- SUBURBAN DICKS by Fabian Nicieza (Penguin Random House – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
- WHAT COMES AFTER by JoAnne Tompkins (Penguin Random House – Riverhead Books)
- THE DAMAGE by Caitlin Wahrer (Penguin Random House – Viking Books/Pamela Dorman Books)
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
- KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS by David Bell (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
- THE LIGHTHOUSE WITCHES by C.J. Cooke (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
- THE ALBUM OF DR. MOREAU by Daryl Gregory (Tom Doherty Associates – Tordotcom)
- STARR SIGN by C.S. O’Cinneide (Dundurn Press)
- BOBBY MARCH WILL LIVE FOREVER by Alan Parks (Europa Editions – World Noir)
- THE SHAPE OF DARKNESS by Laura Purcell (Penguin Random House – Penguin Books)
BEST FACT CRIME
- THE CONFIDENCE MEN: HOW TWO PRISONERS OF WAR ENGINEERED THE MOST REMARKABLE ESCAPE IN HISTORY by Margalit Fox (Random House Publishing Group – Random House)
- LAST CALL: A TRUE STORY OF LOVE, LUST, AND MURDER IN QUEER NEW YORK by Elon Green (Celadon Books)
- SLEEPER AGENT: THE ATOMIC SPY IN AMERICA WHO GOT AWAY by Ann Hagedorn (Simon & Schuster)
- TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: A MURDER, A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR, AND HER SEARCH FOR JUSTICE by Ellen McGarrahan (Penguin Random House – Random House)
- THE DOPE: THE REAL HISTORY OF THE MEXICAN DRUG TRADE by Benjamin T. Smith (W.W. Norton & Company)
- WHEN EVIL LIVED IN LAUREL: THE “WHITE KNIGHTS” AND THE MURDER OF VERNON DAHMER by Curtis Wilkie (W.W. Norton & Company
BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
- AGATHA CHRISTIE’S POIROT: THE GREATEST DETECTIVE IN THE WORLD by Mark Aldridge (HarperCollins Publishers – Harper360)
- THE UNQUIET ENGLISHMAN: A LIFE OF GRAHAM GREENE by Richard Greene (W.W. Norton & Company)
- TONY HILLERMAN: A LIFE by James McGrath Morris (University of Oklahoma Press)
- THE REASON FOR THE DARKNESS OF THE NIGHT: EDGAR ALLAN POE AND THE FORGING OF AMERICAN SCIENCE by John Tresch (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
- THE TWELVE LIVES OF ALFRED HITCHCOCK: AN ANATOMY OF THE MASTER OF SUSPENSE by Edward White (W.W. Norton & Company)
BEST SHORT STORY
- “Blindsided,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by Michael Bracken & James A. Hearn (Dell Magazines)
- “The Vermeer Conspiracy,” Midnight Hour by V.M. Burns (Crooked Lane Books)
- “Lucky Thirteen,” Midnight Hour by Tracy Clark (Crooked Lane Books)
- “The Road to Hana,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by R.T. Lawton (Dell Magazines)
- “The Locked Room Library,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Gigi Pandian (Dell Magazines)
- “The Dark Oblivion,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Cornell Woolrich (Dell Magazines)
BEST JUVENILE
- COLD-BLOODED MYRTLE by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Workman Publishing – Algonquin Young Readers)
- CONCEALED by Christina Diaz Gonzalez (Scholastic – Scholastic Press)
- AGGIE MORTON MYSTERY QUEEN: THE DEAD MAN IN THE GARDEN by Marthe Jocelyn (Penguin Random House Canada – Tundra Books)
- KIDNAP ON THE CALIFORNIA COMET: ADVENTURES ON TRAINS #2 by M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman (Macmillan Children’s Publishing – Feiwel & Friends)
- RESCUE by Jennifer A. Nielsen (Scholastic – Scholastic Press)
BEST YOUNG ADULT
- ACE OF SPADES by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (Macmillan Children’s Publishing – Feiwel & Friends)
- FIREKEEPER’S DAUGHTER by Angeline Boulley (Macmillan Children’s Publishing – Henry Holt and Company BFYR)
- WHEN YOU LOOK LIKE US by Pamela N. Harris (HarperCollins – Quill Tree Books)
- THE FOREST OF STOLEN GIRLS by June Hur (Macmillan Children’s Books – Feiwel & Friends)
- THE GIRLS I’VE BEEN by Tess Sharpe (Penguin Young Readers – G.P. Putnam’s Sons BFYR)
BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
- “Dog Day Morning” – The Brokenwood Mysteries, Written by Tim Balme (Acorn TV)
- “Episode 1” – The Beast Must Die, Written by Gaby Chiappe (AMC+)
- “We Men Are Wretched Things” – The North Water Written by Andrew Haigh (AMC+)
- “Happy Families” – Midsomer Murders, Written by Nicholas Hicks-Beach (Acorn TV)
- “Boots on the Ground” – Narcos: Mexico, Written by Iturri Sosa (Netflix)
ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD
“Analogue,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Rob Osler (Dell Magazines)
THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
- THE SECRET LIFE OF MISS MARY BENNET by Katherine Cowley (Tule Publishing – Tule Mystery)
- RUBY RED HERRING by Tracy Gardner (Crooked Lane Books)
- CLARK AND DIVISION by Naomi Hirahara (Soho Press – Soho Crime)
- THE SIGN OF DEATH by Callie Hutton (Crooked Lane Books)
- CHAPTER AND CURSE by Elizabeth Penney (St. Martin’s Paperbacks)
THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD
- DOUBLE TAKE by Elizabeth Breck (Crooked Lane Books)
- RUNNER by Tracy Clark (Kensington Books)
- SHADOW HILL by Thomas Kies (Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press)
- SLEEP WELL, MY LADY by Kwei Quartey (Soho Press – Soho Crime)
- FAMILY BUSINESS by S.J. Rozan (Pegasus Books – Pegasus Crime)
The Edgar Awards are presented to authors of distinguished work in various categories. MWA is the premier organization for mystery writers, professionals allied to the crime-writing field, aspiring crime writers and those who are devoted to the genre. The organization encompasses some 3,000 members including authors of fiction and non-fiction books, screen and TV writers, as well as publishers, editors and literary agents.
