The 2008 Edgar Award Nominees are...

Mystery Writers of America is proud to announce, as we celebrate the 199th anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe, its Nominees for the 2008 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television and film published or produced in 2007. The Edgar® Awards will be presented to the winners at our 62nd Gala Banquet, May 1, 2008 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City.


BEST NOVEL

Christine Falls by Benjamin Black (Henry Holt and Company)
Priest by Ken Bruen (St. Martin's Minotaur)
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins)
Soul Patch by Reed Farrel Coleman (Bleak House Books)
Down River by John Hart (St. Martin's Minotaur)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

Missing Witness by Gordon Campbell (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
In the Woods by Tana French (Penguin Group – Viking)
Snitch Jacket by Christopher Goffard (The Rookery Press)
Head Games by Craig McDonald (Bleak House Books)
Pyres by Derek Nikitas (St. Martin's Minotaur)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

Queenpin by Megan Abbott (Simon & Schuster)
Blood of Paradise by David Corbett (Random House - Mortalis)
Cruel Poetry by Vicki Hendricks (Serpent's Tail)
Robbie's Wife by Russell Hill (Hard Case Crime)
Who is Conrad Hirst? by Kevin Wignall (Simon & Schuster)

BEST FACT CRIME

The Birthday Party by Stanley Alpert (Penguin Group – G.P. Putnam's Sons)
Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
by Vincent Bugliosi (W.W. Norton and Company
Chasing Justice: My Story of Freeing Myself After Two Decades on Death Row for a Crime I Didn't Commit by Kerry Max Cook (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
Relentless Pursuit: A True Story of Family, Murder, and the Prosecutor Who Wouldn't Quit by Kevin Flynn (Penguin Group – G.P. Putnam's Sons)
Sacco & Vanzetti: The Men, The Murders and the Judgment of Mankind by Bruce Watson (Penguin Group – Viking)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

The Triumph of the Thriller:  How Cops, Crooks and Cannibals Captured Popular Fiction by Patrick Anderson (Random House)
A Counter-History of Crime Fiction:  Supernatural, Gothic, Sensational by Maurizio Ascari (Palgrave Macmillan)
Deviance in Contemporary Crime Fiction by Christiana Gregoriou (Palgrave Macmillan)
Arthur Conan Doyle:  A Life in Letters by Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower and Charles Foley (The Penguin Press)
Chester Gould: A Daughter's Biography of the Creator of Dick Tracy
by Jean Gould O’Connell (McFarland & Company)

BEST SHORT STORY

"The Catch" – Still Waters by Mark Ammons (Level Best Books)
"Blue Note" – Chicago Blues by Stuart M. Kaminsky (Bleak House Books)
"Hardly Knew Her" – Dead Man's Hand by Laura Lippman (Harcourt Trade Publishers)
"The Golden Gopher" – Los Angeles Noir by Susan Straight (Akashic Books
"Uncle" – A Hell of a Woman” by Daniel Woodrell (Busted Flush Press)

BEST JUVENILE

The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Shadows on Society Hill by Evelyn Coleman (American Girl Publications)
Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn (Clarion Books)
The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh (Hyperion Books for Young Readers)
Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things by Wendelin Van Draanen (Random House Children’s Books – Alfred A. Knopf)

BEST YOUNG ADULT

Rat Life by Tedd Arnold (Penguin – Dial Books for Young Readers)
Diamonds in the Shadow by Caroline B. Cooney (Random House Children's Books – Delacorte Press)
Touching Snow by M. Sindy Felin (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing – Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
Blood Brothers by S.A. Harazin (Random House Children's Books – Delacorte Press)
Fragments by Jeffry W. Johnston (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing – Simon Pulse)

BEST PLAY

If/Then by David Foley (International Mystery Writers' Festival)
Panic by Joseph Goodrich (International Mystery Writers' Festival)
Books by Stuart M. Kaminsky (International Mystery Writers' Festival)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY

"It’s Alive" – Dexter, Teleplay by Daniel Cerone (Showtime)
"Yahrzeit" – Waking the Dead, Teleplay by Declan Croghan & Barbara Machin (BBC America)
"Pie-Lette" – Pushing Daisies, Teleplay by Bryan Fuller (ABC/Warner Bros Television
"Senseless" – Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Teleplay by Julie Martin & Siobhan Byrne O’Connor (Wolf Films/NBC Universal)
"Pilot" – Burn Notice, Teleplay by Matt Nix (USA Network/Fox Television Studios)

BEST MOTION PICTURE SCREENPLAY

Eastern Promises, Screenplay by Steven Knight (Focus Features)
The Lookout, Screenplay by Scott Frank (Miramax)
Michael Clayton, Screenplay by Tony Gilroy (Warner Bros. Pictures)
No Country for Old Men, Screenplay by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, based on the book by Cormac McCarthy (Miramax)
Zodiac, Screenplay by James Vanderbilt, based on the book by Robert Graysmith
(Warner Bros. Pictures)

ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD

"The Catch" – Still Waters by Mark Ammons (Level Best Books)

GRAND MASTER

Bill Pronzini

RAVEN AWARDS

Center for the Book in the Library of Congress
Kate's Mystery Books (Kate Mattes, owner)

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER - MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD

In Cold Pursuit by Sarah Andrews (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Wild Indigo by Sandi Ault (Penguin Group – Berkley Prime Crime)
Inferno by Karen Harper (Harlequin – MIRA Books)
The First Stone by Judith Kelman (Penguin Group – Berkley Prime Crime)
Deadman's Switch by Barbara Seranella (St. Martin's Minotaur)

Comments

[Guyot]

Phil Hawley got ripped off.

Seems as though many first novelists who debut in PBO get stuck "in between" categories.

Too bad. Other than that, the list is pretty good, imho, with the exception of one or two obvious FOMWA noms.

I am pulling for Megan Abbott, though I don't know her. But she is great.

[Guyot]

It's also always fun to see MWA throw in their "literary" noms, to try and bring more mainstream pub to the organization.

Not completely fair, but it always makes me grin.

[David J. Montgomery]

About typical of the Edgars (or any awards for that matter). Some good choices, some glaring omissions, and some real p.o.s. puzzlers. At least I've heard of almost all the books this year (in the major categories).

For the top 3 categories, here would be my winners out of these:

BEST NOVEL
Down River by John Hart (St. Martin's Minotaur)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
Missing Witness by Gordon Campbell (HarperCollins – William Morrow)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
Who is Conrad Hirst? by Kevin Wignall (Simon & Schuster)

I doubt those 3 will win, but they would be very respectable choices.

[Norm]

I have only read In The Woods and Priest, and both are stunning novels and would be worthy winners in their categories.
But I thought Tana French was Irish?

[David J. Montgomery]

Oh man, that Tana French book was UNreadable. I can't imagine how it was nominated. Reading it was like having toothpicks stuck in my eyes.

But you bring up an interesting point... According to the book jacket, she lived in the States at one point, but it indicates she's from Ireland.

[David J. Montgomery]

According to the MWA rules for Best First Novel, "Only first-time US-born novelists are eligible for this award."

Hopefully they confirmed French's eligibility. I would assume they did.

[Karen Olson]

I'm honestly shocked that Laura Lippman's novel isn't on the Best list.

[David J. Montgomery]

I'm not shocked, but I am disappointed.

[Tim Maleeny]

I think the Best Paperback Original category is by far the strongest list. Corbett's and Abbott's books are standouts, but the whole list is really strong. Some of the other lists have a quasi-literary feel to them, with books that I wouldn't have chosen over some superb books that are perhaps more traditional mysteries. Shocked and disappointed that neither Marcus Sakey nor Sean Chercover were on the shortlist for best first novel.

[Ali]

I don't wish to comment on the Books, but on the film screenplay front, two of my favourite movies made the list -

• Eastern Promises, screenplay by Steven Knight (Focus Features)

• Zodiac, screenplay by James Vanderbilt, based on the book by Robert Graysmith(Warner Bros. Pictures)

I loved them both, with passion - and the No Country for Old Men just opened in London - but I haven't seen it yet -

But both Zodiac and Eastern Promises made me stand and clap when the credits came up.

Ali

[Marcus Sakey]

Ali, run-don't-walk to see No Country. It's tremendous. One of the best translations of novel I've ever seen.

[Norm]

Apparently Tana French was born in Vermont although she has lived in Ireland since 1990.
I disagree In The Woods wasn't unreadable, but it did make me want to scream at the narrator many times.
I think it was probably intended to do that?

[Ali]

Thanks Marcus -

As a reader of Cormac's work - No Country, Horses, The Road etc - I am looking forward to seeing what the Coen Bros have done with No Country - advanced WOM is that it is faithful to the spirit of Cormac's book - hope to see it shortly

Ali

[PJ Parrish]

"Some real p.o.s. puzzlers."

David,
Gotta know. What's p.o.s. stand for?

[David J. Montgomery]

Piece of shit.

In retrospect, it was a little mean. I meant it, of course... But it was mean. :)

[Ali]

ROFL, Britain and the US are two countries united and diverse due to the shared language.....POS means in the UK [in retail terms] POINT OF SALE.....so if a book or retail Item has a POS deal it means the publisher or merchant has paid the bookstore or shop to place the rack / display near the 'till' i.e at Point of Sale.....Thanks for the clarification

Ali

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I've seen POS used to mean Point of Sale here, too.

I suppose I was being overly coy in my meanness.

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I wouldn't say you were being mean, David. Since when is being honest mean?:)

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