Canadian Accolades
Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) announced the winners for the 2023 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing. Since 1984, Crime Writers of Canada has recognized the best in mystery, crime, and suspense fiction, and crime nonfiction by Canadian authors, including citizens abroad and new residents. On behalf of CWC, Hyacinthe Miller, Board Chair, noted that “This year’s Awards of Excellence is the biggest ever, with over 200 entries in ten categories. Our thanks to everyone who entered and our thirty volunteer judges, who adjudicated the submissions.” Congrats to all the winners and finalists!
Best Crime Novel - sponsored by Rakuten Kobo, with a $1000 prize: Anthony Bidulka, Going to Beautiful, Stonehouse Publishing
Also nominated:
Linwood Barclay, Take Your Breath Away, William Morrow
Nicole Lundrigan, An Unthinkable Thing, Viking Canada
Catherine McKenzie, Please Join Us, Simon & Schuster Canada
Shelly Sanders, Daughters of the Occupation, HarperCollins Canada
Best Crime First Novel - sponsored by Melodie Campbell, with a $1000 prize: Sam Shelstad, Citizens of Light, TouchWood Editions
Also nominated:
T. Lawrence Davis, The Pale Horse , Friesen Press
Bill Edwards, Killer Time , Friesen Press
Adam Frost, The Damned Lovely , Down and Out Books
M.Z. Urlocker, The Man from Mittelwerk , Inkshares, Inc.
The Howard Engel Award for Best Crime Novel Set in Canada - sponsored by Charlotte Engel and CWC, with a $500 prize: Joanne Jackson, A Snake in the Raspberry Patch, Stonehouse Publishing
Also nominated:
A. J. Devlin, Five Moves of Doom , NeWest Press
S. M. Freedman, Blood Atonement , Dundurn Press
Maureen Jennings, Cold Snap , Cormorant Books
Amy Tector, The Foulest Things , Keylight Books
The Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery - sponsored by Jane Doe, with a $500 prize: Thomas King, Deep House, HarperCollins Canada
Also nominated:
Alice Bienia, Knight in the Museum , Cairn Press
Anne Emery, Fenian Street, ECW Press
Mary Jane Maffini, Death Plans a Perfect Trip, Beyond the Page
Iona Whishaw, Framed in Fire, Touchwood Editions
Best Crime Novella - sponsored by Mystery Magazine, with a $200 prize: Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson, The Man Who Went Down Under, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazines
Also nominated:
M.H. Callway, Amdur's Ghost , In the Spirit of 13, Carrick Publishing
Hilary Davidson, Dangerous to Know, A Grifter's Song Vol. 8, Down & Out Books
Julie Hiner, Dead End Track , Julie Hiner
Matt Hughes , The Emir's Falcon, Shadowpaw Press Premiere
Best Crime Short Story - sponsored by Mystery Magazine, with a $300 prize: Craig H. Bowlsby, The Girl Who Was Only Three Quarters Dead, Mystery Magazine
Also nominated:
M.H. Callway, Must Love Dogs - or You're Gone, Red Dog Press
Blair Keetch, To Catch a Kumiho, In the Spirit of 13, Carrick Publishing
Sylvia Maultash Warsh, The Natural Order of Things, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
Donalee Moulton, Swan Song, Cold Canadian Crime , Crime Writers of Canada
Best French Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction): Richard Ste-Marie, Monsieur Hämmerli, Éditions Alire
Also nominated:
Geneviève Blouin, Le Mouroir des anges , Éditions Alire
Isabelle Lafortune, Chaîne de glace, Éditions XYZ
Guillaume Morrissette, Le dernier manège , Saint-Jean éditeur
Suzan Payne, Modus operandi , Éditions Perce-Neige
Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction) - sponsored by Shaftesbury, with a $500 prize: Jo Treggiari, Heartbreak Homes, Nimbus Publishing Limited
Also nominated:
Natasha Deen, Lark Steals the Show , Orca Book Publisher
Marthe Jocelyn, Aggie Morton Mystery Queen: The Seaside Corpse , Tundra Books
H.N. Khan, Wrong Side of the Court , Penguin Teen
Wesley King, Butt Sandwich & Tree , Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book - sponsored by David Reid Simpson Law Firm, Hamilton, with a $300 prize: Rosemary Sullivan, The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation, HarperCollins Canada
Also nominated:
Michael Arntfield, How to Solve a Cold Case: And Everything Else You Wanted to Know About Catching Killers, HarperCollins Canada
Sharon Anne Cook and Margaret Carson, The Castleton Massacre, Dundurn Press Ltd.
Harley Rustad, Lost in the Valley of Death, Knopf Canada - Penguin Random House Canada
Sarah Weinman, Scoundrel, Knopf Canada - Penguin Random House Canada
The Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript - sponsored by ECW Press, with a $500 prize: Mary Keenan, Snowed
Also nominated:
Jan Garnett, No Safe House
Joanne Kormylo, Two Knots
Joel Nedecky, The Broken Detective
Michael Pennock, The Peaks
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