Tonight the top writers and readers in the traditional mystery world joined together to honor the best writing in the field in the form of the Agatha Awards.
The awards are given in six categories and voted on by the several hundred attendees of the Malice Domestic convention. There were some gasps in the audience when the prizes were awarded, especially when the announcer told us that for the first time in the history of the 31 years of Malice Domestic, they had a tie for one of the categories. Then, there were double gasps when we learned that this happened two different times this year!
Best Children’s/ Youth Adult Novel
Potion Problems: (Just Add Water) by Cindy Callaghan
Winterhouse by Ben Guterson
A Side of Sabotage by C.M. Surrisi
Best Short Story
“All God’s Sparrows” by Leslie Budewitz in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine
“The Case of the Vanishing Professor” by Tara Laskowski in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine
“A Postcard for the Dead” by Suzanne Calkins in Florida Happens
“Bug Appetit” by Barb Goffman in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine
“English 398: Fiction Workshop” by Art Taylor in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
Best Nonfiction
Mastering Plot Twists by Jane Cleland
Writing the Cozy Mystery by Nancy J. Cohen
Conan Doyle for the Defense by Margalit Fox
Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life by Laura Thompson
Wicked Women of Ohio by Jane Ann Turzillo
Best First Novel
A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder by Dianne Freeman
Curses, Boiled Again! by Shari Randall
Little Comfort by Edwin Hill
What Doesn’t Kill You by Aimee Hix
Deadly Solution by Keenan Powell
Best Historical Novel
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding by Rhs Bowen
The Gold Pawn by L.A. Chandlar
Turning the Tide by Edith Maxwell
Murder on Union Square by Victoria Thompson
Best Contemporary Novel
Mardi Gras Murder by Ellen Byron
Beyond the Truth by Bruce Robert Coffin
Cry Wolf by Annette Dashofy
Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny
Trust Me by Hank Phillippi Ryan
