Agatha Awards Nominees

[Daniel Hatadi]

Congrats to everyone, especially our own Elizabeth Zelvin and Beth Groundwater!

To be presented at the 20th Malice Domestic Convention held the weekend of April 25-27:

Best Novel

The Penguin Who Knew Too Much, by Donna Andrews (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Her Royal Spyness, by Rhys Bowen (Penguin Group)
Hard Row, by Margaret Maron (Grand Central Publishing)
A Fatal Grace, by Louise Penny (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Murder With Reservations, by Elaine Viets (NAL)

Best First Novel

A Beautiful Blue Death, by Charles Finch ( St. Martin 's Minotaur)
A Real Basket Case, by Beth Groundwater (Five Star)Silent In The Grave, by Deanna Raybourn (Mira)Prime Time, by Hank Phillipi Ryan (Harlequin)

Best Nonfiction

Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life In Letters, by Charles Foley, Jon Lellenberg , and Daniel Stashower (Penguin Press)
The Official Nancy Drew Handbook, by Penny Warner (Quirck Productions)

Best Short Story

"A Rat's Tale", by Donna Andrews (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Sept/Oct, 2007)
"Please Watch Your Step", by Rhys Bowen (The Strand, Spring, 2007)"Casino Gamble", by Nan Higginson (Murder New York Style, L & L Dreamspell)
"Popping Round To The Post", by Peter Lovesey (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, November, 2007)
"Death Will Clean Your Closet", by Elizabeth Zelvin (Murder New York Style, L & L Dreamspell)

Best Children's/Young Adult

A Light In The Cellar, by Sarah Masters Buckey (American Girl)
Bravo Zulu, Samantha!, by Kathleen Benner Duble (Peachtree Publishers)Cover-Up: Mystery At The Super Bowl, by John Feinstein (Knopf [Random House])
The Falconer's Knot, by Mary Hoffman (Bloomsbury USA Childrens' Books)
Theodosia And The Serpents Of Chaos, by R.L. LaFevers (Houghton Mifflin)

[Elizabeth Zelvin]

That is so sweet, Daniel--thanks for the special mention. I'm thrilled about the Agatha nomination, though I'm up against (or rather, honored to be in the company of) three eminent writers of traditional mystery and a fellow Guppy. I hope CrimeSpace readers and writers who prefer the Dark Side will not dismiss Malice Domestic and the Agathas--we've got some terrific writers over there among the teacups. And I'm blessed to have Ken Bruen's good opinion, so I hope other Dark Side readers will give my work a chance too. No BSP intended in this post--just wanna share the joy. :) Liz

[Jack Getze]

Yay, Elizabeth! But let's not forget congrats to Beth Groundwater. She's a member here, too. Best First Novel nominee.

[Elizabeth Zelvin]

Well spotted, Jack! Beth Groundwater and I and two of our competitors, Hank Phillippi Ryan (best first novel) and Nan Higginson (best short story) are all Guppies (Sisters in Crime's online chapter for the GreatUnPublished--and now quite a few emerging authors too) who have all supported each other through the struggle to break into print and are rejoicing communally over this terrific validation of our work. We're up against some heavy hitters, but whoever wins or loses, I predict a lot of hugging. Can you imagine Clinton and Obama hugging at the Democratic Convention? Or oops! is that too political for CrimeSpace? Sorry, I'm feeling exuberant. :)

[Dennis Leppanen]

Way to acknowledge 'em, Daniel.

What the hell is a cozy? Ya' have to poison them, no blood, am I right---or Amarillo? Just kidding. This is great, I hope ya' both win.

[Beth Groundwater]

A cozy or traditional mystery is one written in the manner of Agatha Christie's novels, whom the Agatha Award is named for. In other words, there's no rape, torture, or animal killings, there is minimal on-scene violence, NO on-scene sex, and very few swear words. They're the kind of books a woman of a certain age would read while her pot of tea is keeping warm on the table beside her underneath a knitted tea cozy (thus the term "cozy mysteries"). I've been busy prepping for, attending, and recovering from the Left Coast Crime conference, so I'm just now catching up on crimespace discussions. Thanks for the award mention, Daniel!