official newsletter of the mystery writers of america edgar winners 2021

The 3rdDegree

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e D g a r w i n n e r s a n n o u n c e DMystery Writers of America is proud to have announced, as we celebrated the 212th anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe, the winners of the 2021 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2020. The 75th Annual Edgar® Awards were celebrated on April 29, 2021 in a Zoom gathering. The winners are highlighted in red.

B e s T n o V e LDjinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara (Penguin Random House – Random House)Before She Was Helen by Caroline B. Cooney (Poisoned Pen Press)Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Penguin Random House – Pamela Dorman Books)These Women by Ivy Pochoda (HarperCollins Publishers – Ecco)The Missing American by Kwei Quartey (Soho Press – Soho Crime)The Distant Dead by Heather Young (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)

watch the

zoom

presentation

of the

75th annual

edgar® awards

on

our youtube

channel.

view it here.

www.mysterywriters.org

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national officers presiDenT, aLafair Burke; eXecuTiVe Vice presiDenT, greg herren; secreTarY, Jessica kaYe; Treasurer, Lawrence LighT; parLiaMenTarian, TeD herTeL the third degree staff eDiTor, BeTh TinDaLL; associaTe eDiTor, annie chernow communications committee chair arT TaYLorcommunications committee: To Be DeTerMineD, Margery flax, ex officio, Beth Tindall, ex officiovital signs, address changes and membership issues: MargerY fLaX executive Director, Mystery writers of america 1140 Broadway, suite 1507 new York, nY 10001 TeL: 212.888.8171 faX: 212.888.8107 e-MaiL: mwa@mysterywriters.org weB: www.mysterywriters.org faceBook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mwanational/ TwiTTer: https://twitter.com/edgarawards

m wa’ s d i v e r s i t y/ h a r a s s m e n t p o l i c y MYsTerY wriTers of aMerica weLcoMes peopLe froM aLL BackgrounDs, regarDLess of reLigion, race, eThniciTY, genDer iDenTiTY, seXuaL orienTaTion, or DisaBiLiTY. we Do noT ToLeraTe DiscriMinaTion or aBuse of anY kinD, incLuDing anY forM of seXuaL harassMenT. we siMiLarLY require our MeMBers anD guesTs To coMpLY wiTh This poLicY when parTicipaTing in anY Mwa-sponsoreD eVenTs.

The officiaL newsLeTTer of mystery writers of america issn #1535-9034 puBLisheD 10 TiMes per Year © 2021 MYsTerY wriTers of aMerica, inc. all rights reserved. The publication herein of news, advertising, seminars, classes, etc. does not imply any endorsement by or recommendation of Mwa. The edgar name and logo are registered in the us patent and Trademark office.

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B e s T f i r s T n o V e L B Y a n a M e r i c a n a u T h o r Murder in Old Bombay by Nev March (Minotaur Books)Please See Us by Caitlin Mullen (Simon & Schuster – Gallery Books)Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden (HarperCollins Publishers – Ecco)Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel (Penguin Random House – Berkley)

B e s T pa p e r B a c k o r i g i n a L When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)The Deep, Deep Snow by Brian Freeman (Blackstone Publishing)Unspeakable Things by Jess Lourey (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)The Keeper by Jessica Moor (Penguin Random House – Penguin Books)East of Hounslow by Khurrum Rahman (HarperCollins Publishers – Harper 360)

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Blood Runs Coal: The Yablonski Murders and the Battle for the United Mine Workers of America by Mark A. Bradley (W.W. Norton & Company)

The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia by Emma Copley Eisenberg (Hachette Book Group – Hachette Books)

Death in Mud Lick: A Coal Country Fight Against the Drug Companies that Delivered the Opioid Epidemic by Eric Eyre (Simon & Schuster – Scribner)

Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman’s Search for Justice in Indian Country by Sierra Crane Murdoch (Penguin Random House – Random House)

Veritas: A Harvard Professor, a Con Man, and the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife by Ariel Sabar (Penguin Random House – Doubleday)

 

B e s T c r i T i c a L / B i o g r a p h i c a L Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club by Martin Edwards

(HarperCollins Publishers – Harper360/Collins Crime Club)Phantom Lady: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, the Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock by Christina Lane

(Chicago Review Press)Ian Rankin: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction by Erin E. MacDonald (McFarland)Guilt Rules All: Irish Mystery, Detective, and Crime Fiction by Elizabeth Mannion & Brian Cliff (Syracuse

University Press)This Time Next Year We’ll be Laughing by Jacqueline Winspear (Soho Press)

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B e s T s h o r T s T o r Y

“The Summer Uncle Cat Came to Stay,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Leslie Elman (Dell Magazines)“Dust, Ash, Flight,” Addis Ababa Noir by Maaza Mengiste (Akashic Books)“Etta at the End of the World,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by Joseph S. Walker (Dell Magazines)“The Twenty-Five Year Engagement,” In League with Sherlock Holmes by James W. Ziskin (Pegasus Books –

Pegasus Crime)

B e s T J u V e n i L e

Premeditated Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Workman Publishing – Algonquin Young Readers)Me and Banksy by Tanya Lloyd Kyi (Penguin Random House Canada – Puffin Canada)From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks (HarperCollins Children’s Books – Katherine Tegen Books)Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor (Penguin Young Readers – Viking BFYR)Nessie Quest by Melissa Savage (Random House Children’s Books – Crown BFYR)Coop Knows the Scoop by Taryn Souders (Sourcebooks Young Readers) 

watch the zoom presentation of the 75th annual edgar® awards on our youtube channel. view it here.

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B e s T Y o u n g a D u LT The Companion by Katie Alender (Penguin Young Readers – G.P. Putnam’s Sons BFYR)The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown BFYR)They Went Left by Monica Hesse (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown BFYR)Silence of Bones by June Hur (Macmillan Children’s Books – Feiwel & Friends)The Cousins by Karen M. McManus (Penguin Random House – Delacorte Press)

B e s T T e L e V i s i o n e p i s o D e T e L e p L aY

“Episode 1, The Stranger” – Harlan Coben’s The Stranger, Written by Danny Brocklehurst (Netflix)“Episode 1, Open Water” – The Sounds, Written by Sarah-Kate Lynch (Acorn TV)“Episode 1, Photochemistry” – Dead Still, Written by John Morton (Acorn TV)“Episode 1” – Des, Written by Luke Neal (Sundance Now)“What I Know” – The Boys, Written by Rebecca Sonnenshine, based on the comic by Garth Ennis and Darick

Robertson (Amazon) 

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“The Bite,” Tampa Bay Noir by Colette Bancroft (Akashic Books)

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c aT e g o r Y. T h a n k Y o u !

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T h e s i M o n & s c h u s T e r M a r Y h i g g i n s c L a r k a w a r D Death of an American Beauty by Mariah Fredericks (Minotaur Books)The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne by Elsa Hart (Minotaur Books)The Lucky One by Lori Rader-Day (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)The First to Lie by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge Books)Cold Wind by Paige Shelton (Minotaur Books) 

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T h e g . p. p u T n a M ’ s s o n s s u e g r a f T o n M e M o r i a L a w a r D The Burn by Kathleen Kent (Hachette Book Group – Mulholland Books)Riviera Gold by Laurie R. King (Penguin Random House – Ballantine Books)Vera Kelly Is Not a Mystery by Rosalie Knecht (Tin House Books)Dead Land by Sara Paretsky (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)The Sleeping Nymph by Ilaria Tuti (Soho Press – Soho Crime)Turn to Stone by James W. Ziskin (Start Publishing – Seventh Street Books)

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s p e c i a L a w a r D sg r a n D M a s T e r

Jeffery Deaver

Charlaine Harris

r aV e n a w a r D

Malice Domestic

e L L e r Y q u e e n a w a r D

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. MWA is the premier organization for mystery writers, professionals allied to the crime-writing field, aspiring crime writers, and those who are devoted to the genre. 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. Mystery Writers of America would like to emphasize our commitment to diversity and fairness in the judging of the Edgar Awards. Judges are selected from every region of the country, from every sub-category of our genre, and from every demographic to ensure fairness and impartiality.

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The EDGAR (and logo) are Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by the Mystery Writers of America, Inc.

 

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The3rdDegreeMystery Writers of America Inc.1140 Broadway, Suite 1507NewYork, NY 10001edgar winners 2021

What writing advice do you wish you’d had at the beginning of your career?

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Edgar Awards:

H o w t o w r i t e a M y s t e r yHow to Write a Mystery continues the MWA tradition of helping authors tell — and sell! — their stories, from the rank beginner to the established bestseller. This all-new MWA handbook helps writers not only create timeless

and compelling stories, but also navigate an ever-shifting publishing landscape. From pacing and dialogue to

creating diverse characters and building reader outreach, How to Write a Mystery is a complete guide for a new

generation of mystery writers. Because:

“Crime doesn’t pay….enough!”

n o w aVa i L a B L e