CyberGumshoe's Mumblings in July/August 2023
Jill Churchill Dies
Jill Churchill (real name: Janice Carol Young Brooks) died on July 12 at her home in Overland Park, Kansas. The former elementary school teacher wrote her first humorous mystery novel, GRIME & PUNISHMENT (Bantam, 1989), introducing Jane Jeffry, a sleuthing widow mother of three in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, which won the 1990 Agatha and Anthony Awards in the first novel category. It was followed by 15 Jeffry novels. She also create another series featuring socialite Lily Brewster and her brother Robert, two siblings forced to live in the Grace and Favor mansion on the Hudson River in New York after the stock market crash of 1929, starting ANYTHIG GOES (Avon, 1999). She also wrote 12 historical novels under her Janice Young Brooks name and co-authored three romance novels under Valerie Vayle pseudonym. She was 80. (July 31, 2023)
M.W. Craven Wins Theakston Crime Award
Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival announced that the winner for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2023 is:
THE BOTANIST, by M.W. Craven (Little, Brown/Constable)
... and decided to recognize...
THE LOCKED ROOM, by Elly Griffiths (Quercus)
...as Hightly Commended.
In addition, Ann Cleeves received the Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution Award for her impressive writing career.
The Theakston Crime Award is run by Harrogate International Festivals, and is open to full length cime novels published in paperback from May 01, 2022 to April 30, 2023 by UK and Irish authors. The winner were announced on Thursday July 20. (July 22, 2023)
2023 Macavity Award Nominees Announced
The Mystery Readers International has announced the nominees for the 2023 Macavity Awards. The nominees in the best mystery novel category are as follows:
ACK TO THE GARDEN, by Laurie R. King (Bantam)
TWO NIGHTS IN LISBON, by Chris Pavone (MCD)
A WORLD OF CURIOSITIES, by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
A HEART FULL OF HEADSTONES, by Ian Rankin (Little, Brown)
KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE, by Deanna Raybourn (Berkley)
SECRET IDENTITY, by Alex Segura (Flatiron Books)
To see the nominees in all the categories, click here. The winners will be announced on Thursday, August 31 at opening ceremonies of Bouchercon 2023 to be held in San Diego from August 30 thru September 03. (July 21, 2023)
2023 Fingerprint Award Shortlists Announced
Capital Crime Festival 2023 has announced the shortlists for the 2023 Fingerprint Awards. The shortlist in the Crime Book of the Year 2022 as follows:
THE BOTANIST, by M.W. Craven (Little, Brown)
THE IT GIRL, by Ruth Ware (Simon & Schuster UK)
BLEEDING HEART YARD, by Elly Griffiths (Quercus)
THE FAMILY REMAINS, by Lisa Jewell (Cornerstone)
THE TWIST OF A KNIFE, by Anthony Horowitz (Cornerstone)
To see the shortlists in all the categories, click here. Everyone can vote for their winners on the Capital Crime Festival website at www.capitalcrime.org.
The winners will be announced on Thursday, August 31 during Capital Crime Festival to be held in London (the CAPITAL city of UK). (July 10, 2023)
S.J. Rozan Wins Maltese Falcon
The Maltese Falcon Society of Japan has announced that S.J. Rozan is the winner of the 2023 Maltese Falcon Award for PAPER SON (Pegasus, 2019) as the best hardboiled/private eye novel published in Japan in the previous year. The winning novel is the 12th in the Lydia Chin/Bill Smith series. Shira Rozan will receive a wood-crafted Falcon statuette. (July 10, 2023)
George Dawes Green Wins Dagger
The Crime Writers' Association of Britain (CWA) announced the WINNERs for the 2023 Dagger Awards as follows:
Gold Dagger: The Kingdoms of Savannah, by George Dawes Green (Headline Fiction)
Ian Fleming Steel Dagger: Seventeen, by John Brownlow (Hodder & Stoughton)
John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger: Dirt Town, by Hayley Scrivenor (Macmillan)
Historical Dagger: The Darkest Sin, by DV Bishop (Macmillan)
Gold Dagger for Non-Fection: Unlawful Killings, by Wendy Joseph (Doubleday)
Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger: Even the Darkest Night, by Javier Cercas, trans by Anne McLean (Quercus/MacLehose Press)
Short Story Dagger: "Cast A Long Shadow," by Hazell Ward (from Cast A Long Shadow, edited by Katherine Stansfield and Caroline Oakley (Honno Welsh Women's Press)
Publishers' Dagger: Viper (Profile Books)
Dagger in the Library: Sophie Hannah
Debut Dagger: SIDEWAYS, by Jeff Marsick
Diamond Dagger Award Recipient: Walter Mosley
TWO Red Herring Award Recipients: Corinne Turner and Gary Stratmann
The winners were announced at the Dagger Awards Dinner, on Thursday, July 06 at the Leonardo City Hotel in London. (July 07, 2023)
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