Mystery Writers of America, as they celebrate the 212th anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe, announce the nominees for the 2021 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honouring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2020.
The 75th Annual Edgar® Award Winners will be celebrated on April 29, 2021.
And of course I'm delighted to see "Guilt Rules All" - Irish Mystery, Detective, and Crime Fiction by Elizabeth Mannion & Brian Cliff being on the shortlist for Best Critical/Biographical, in which Rosemary Johnsen has written a critical piece on my fictional character Dr. Kate Pearson.
Congrats to all the nominees!
M.W.A. SHORTLIST
BEST NOVEL
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara
Before She Was Helen by Caroline B. Cooney
Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
These Women by Ivy Pochoda
The Missing American by Kwei Quartey
The Distant Dead by Heather Young
BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
Murder in Old Bombay by Nev March
Please See Us by Caitlin Mullen
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole
The Deep, Deep Snow by Brian Freeman
Unspeakable Things by Jess Lourey
The Keeper by Jessica Moor
East of Hounslow by Khurrum Rahman
BEST FACT CRIME
Blood Runs Coal: The Yablonski Murders and the Battle for the United Mine Workers of America by Mark A. Bradley
The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia by Emma Copley Eisenberg
Death in Mud Lick: A Coal Country Fight Against the Drug Companies that Delivered the Opioid Epidemic by Eric Eyre
Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman's Search for Justice in Indian Country by Sierra Crane Murdoch
Veritas: A Harvard Professor, a Con Man, and the Gospel of Jesus's Wife by Ariel Sabar
BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club edited by Martin Edwards
Phantom Lady: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, the Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock by Christina Lane
Ian Rankin: A Companion to the Mystery & Fiction by Erin E. MacDonald
Guilt Rules All: Irish Mystery, Detective, and Crime Fiction by Elizabeth Mannion & Brian Cliff
This Time Next Year We'll be Laughing by Jacqueline Winspear
BEST SHORT STORY
"The Summer Uncle Cat Came to Stay," Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Leslie Elman
"Dust, Ash, Flight," Addis Ababa Noir by Maaza Mengiste
"Fearless," California Schemin' by Walter Mosley
"Etta at the End of the World," Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by Joseph S. Walker
"The Twenty-Five Year Engagement," In League with Sherlock Holmes by James W. Ziskin
BEST JUVENILE
Premeditated Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce
Me and Banksy by Tanya Lloyd Kyi
From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor
Nessie Quest by Melissa Savage
Coop Knows the Scoop by Taryn Souders
BEST YOUNG ADULT
The Companion by Katie Alender
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
They Went Left by Monica Hesse
Silence of Bones by June Hur
The Cousins by Karen M. McManus
BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
"Episode 1, The Stranger" – Harlan Coben's The Stranger
"Episode 1, Open Water" – The Sounds
"Episode 1, Photochemistry" – Dead Still
"Episode 1" - Des
"What I Know" – The Boys
ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD
"The Bite," Tampa Bay Noir by Colette Bancroft
THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
Death of an American Beauty by Mariah Fredericks
The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne by Elsa Hart
The Lucky One by Lori Rader-Day
The First to Lie by Hank Phillippi Ryan
Cold Wind by Paige Shelton
THE G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD
The Burn by Kathleen Kent
Riviera Gold by Laurie R. King
Vera Kelly is Not a Mystery by Rosalie Knecht
Dead Land by Sara Paretsky
The Sleeping Nymph by Ilaria Tuti
Turn to Stone by James W. Ziskin
SPECIAL AWARDS
GRAND MASTER
Jeffery Deaver
Charlaine Harris
ELLERY QUEEN AWARD
Reagan Arthur, Publisher – Alfred A. Knopf
The Edgar Awards, or "Edgars," as they are commonly known, are named after MWA's patron saint Edgar Allan Poe and are presented to authors of distinguished work in various categories. The organization encompasses some 3,000 members including authors of fiction and non-fiction books, screen and television writers, as well as publishers, editors, and literary agents.
