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Winners and Nominees
2015 - 2019

2019 · Dallas, Texas

 

 

BEST NOVEL

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Winner:

 

November Road – Lou Berney - William Morrow

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Nominees:

 

Give Me Your Hand  - Megan Abbott - Little, Brown and Company

November Road  -  Lou Berney - William Morrow

Jar of Hearts  -  Jennifer Hillier - Minotaur Books

Sunburn - Laura Lippman - William Morrow

Blackout  - Alex Segura  -  Polis Books

 

 

BEST FIRST NOVEL

 

Winner:

 

My Sister the Serial Killer – Oyinkan Braithwaite - Doubleday

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Nominees:

 

My Sister, the Serial Killer - Oyinkan Braithwaite  -  Doubleday

Broken Places  - Tracy Clark -  Kensington

Dodging and Burning  - John Copenhaver - Pegasus Books

What Doesn’t Kill You - Aimee Hix  -  Midnight Ink

Bearskin  -  James A. McLaughlin - Ecco

 

 

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

 

Winner:

 

Under a Dark Sky - Lori Rader-Day - William Morrow Paperbacks

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Nominees:

 

Hollywood Ending - Kellye Garrett - Midnight Ink

If I Die Tonight - Alison Gaylin - William Morrow Paperbacks

Hiroshima Boy - Naomi Hirahara - Prospect Park Books

Under a Dark Sky  -  Lori Rader-Day - William Morrow Paperbacks

A Stone’s Throw - James W. Ziskin -  Seventh Street Books

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BEST SHORT STORY

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Winner:

 

“The Grass Beneath My Feet” – S.A. Cosby, in Tough (blogzaine, August 20, 2018)

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Nominees:

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“The Grass Beneath My Feet” - S.A. Cosby - Tough (blogazine, August 20, 2018

“Bug Appétit”  -  Barb Goffman - Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine November/December 2018

“Cold Beer No Flies”  -  Greg Herren - Florida Happens Three Rooms Press

“English 398: Fiction Workshop” - Art Taylor  -  Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine July/August 2018

“The Best Laid Plans” - Holly West - Florida Happens Three Rooms Press

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BEST CRITICAL/NONFICTION WORK

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Winner:

 

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer -

Michelle McNamara - Harper Collins 

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Nominees:

 

Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession - Alice Bolin - William Morrow Paperbacks

Mastering Plot Twists: How To Use Suspense, Targeted Storytelling Strategies, and Structure To Captivate Your Readers

- Jane K. Cleland - Writer’s Digest Books

Pulp According to David Goodis - Jay A. Gertzman - Down & Out Books

Classic American Crime Fiction of the 1920s - Leslie S. Klinger - Pegasus Books

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer - Michelle McNamara - HarperCollins

The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel that Scandalized the World - Sarah Weinman - Ecco

 

 

 

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2018 · St. Petersburg, Florida

 

BEST NOVEL

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Winner:

 

Bluebird, Bluebird – Attica Locke - Mulholland


Nominees:

 

The Late Show - Michael Connelly - Little, Brown and Company

Magpie Murders - Anthony Horowitz - HarperCollins

Glass Houses  -  Louise Penny  - Minotaur Books

The Force  -  Don Winslow  -  William Morrow

Bluebird, Bluebird  - Attica Locke - Mullholland

 

BEST FIRST NOVEL

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Winner:

 

Hollywood Homicide– Kellye Garrett  - Midnight Ink


Nominees:

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Hollywood Homicide - Kellye Garrett - Midnight Ink

She Rides Shotgun  - Jordan Harper - Ecco

The Dry - Jane Harper - Flatiron Books

Ragged or The Loveliest Lies of All - Christopher Irvin - Cutlass Press

The Last Place You Look - Kristen Lepionka  - Minotaur Books

 

 

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

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Winner:

 

The Day I Died – Lori Rader-Day - William Morrow


Nominees:

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The Day I Died  -  Lori Rader-Day - William Morrow

Uncorking a Lie  -  Nadine Nettmann - Midnight Ink

Bad Boy Boogie - Thomas Pluck - Down & Out Books

What We Reckon - Eryk Pruitt -  Polis Books

Cast The First Stone - James W. Ziskin - Seventh Street Books

 

 

BILL CRIDER AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL IN A SERIES

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Winner:

 

Y is for Yesterday (Kinsey Millhone #25) – Sue Grafton - A Marian Wood Book


Nominees:

 

Give Up the Dead (Jay Porter #3)  - Joe Clifford  - Oceanview Publishing

Two Kinds of Truth (Harry Bosch #20) - Michael Connelly  - Little, Brown and Company

Glass Houses (Armand Gamache #13) - Louise Penny  - Minotaur Books

Dangerous Ends (Pete Fernandez #3) - Alex Segura  - Polis Books

Y is for Yesterday (Kinsey Millhone #25) - Sue Grafton  - A Marian Wood Book

 

BEST ANTHOLOGY

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Winner:

 

The Obama Inheritance: Fifteen Stories of Conspiracy Noir – Gary Phillips, ed. - Three Rooms Press


Nominees:

 

Just to Watch Them Die: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Johnny Cash - Joe Clifford, ed. - Gutter Books LLC

Killing Malmon  -  Dan  & Kate Malmon, ed. -  Down & Out Books

Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea - Andrew McAleer & Paul Marks - Down & Out Books

Passport to Murder, Bouchercon Anthology 2017  - John McFetridge, ed. - Down & Out Books

The Obama Inheritance: Fifteen Stories of Conspiracy Noir   -  Gary Phillips, ed. - Three Rooms Press

 

 

BEST SHORT STORY

 

Winner:

 

“My Side of the Matter” – Hilary Davidson, Killing Malmon Down & Out Books


Nominees:

 

“The Trial of Madame Pelletier” - Susanna Calkins - Malice Domestic 12: Mystery Most Historical  -  Wildside Press

“God’s Gonna Cut You Down”  - Jen Conley - Just to Watch Them Die: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Johnny Cash - Gutter Books LLC

“Whose Wine Is It Anyway” - Barb Goffman  -  50 Shades of Cabernet  -  Koehler Books

“The Night They Burned Ms. Dixie’s Place” - Debra H. Goldstein - Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, May/June 2017 - Dell 

“A Necessary Ingredient”  - Art Taylor - Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea  -  Down & Out Books

“My Side of the Matter”  - Hilary Davidson -  Killing Malmon  -  Down & Out Books

 

 

BEST ONLINE CONTENT

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Winner:

​

Jungle Red Writers – Group Blog 


Nominees: 

 

Writer Types Podcast – Eric Beetner and S.W. Lauden

Do Some Damage: An Inside Look at Crime Fiction – Group Blog

Dru’s Book Musings – Dru Ann Love

BOLO Books – Kristopher Zgorski

Jungle Red Writers – Group Blog 

 

BEST CRITICAL/NONFICTION WORK

 

Winner:

 

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI – David Grann - Doubleday


Nominees:

 

From Holmes to Sherlock: The Story of the Men and Women Who Created an Icon – Mattias Boström - The Mysterious Press

The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books – Martin Edwards - Poisoned Pen Press

Chester B. Himes: A Biography – Lawrence P. Jackson - W.W. Norton & Company

Rewrite Your Life: Discover Your Truth Through the Healing Power of Fiction – Jessica Lourey - Conari Press

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI – David Grann - Doubleday

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2017 · Toronto, Canada


BEST NOVEL

​

Winner:

 

A Great Reckoning – Louise Penny - Minotaur


Nominees:

 

You Will Know Me – Megan Abbott  -  Little Brown

Where It Hurts – Reed Farrel Coleman - G.P. Putnam’s

Sons Red Right Hand – Chris Holm - Mulholland

Wilde Lake – Laura Lippman - William Morrow

A Great Reckoning – Louise Penny - Minotaur

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BEST FIRST NOVEL

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Winner:

​

IQ – Joe Ide - Mulholland


Nominees:

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Dodgers – Bill Beverly - Crown

Decanting a Murder – Nadine Nettmann - Midnight Ink

Design for Dying – Renee Patrick - Forge

The Drifter – Nicholas Petrie - G.P. Putnam’s Sons

IQ – Joe Ide - Mulholland

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BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

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Winner:

 

Heart of Stone – James W. Ziskin - Seventh Street


Nominees:

 

Shot in Detroit – Patricia Abbott - Polis

Leadfoot – Eric Beetner - 280 Steps

Salem’s Cipher – Jess Lourey - Midnight Ink

Rain Dogs – Adrian McKinty - Seventh Street

How to Kill Friends and Implicate People – Jay Stringer  - Thomas & Mercer

Heart of Stone – James W. Ziskin - Seventh Street

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BEST ANTHOLOGY

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Winner:

 

Blood on the Bayou: Bouchercon Anthology 2016 – Greg Herren, ed. - Down & Out


Nominees:

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Unloaded: Crime Writers Writing Without Guns – Eric Beetner, ed. - Down & Out

In Sunlight or in Shadow – Lawrence Block, ed. - Pegasus

Cannibals: Stories from the Edge of the Pine Barrens – Jen Conley - Down & Out

Waiting To Be Forgotten: Stories of Crime and Heartbreak, Inspired by the Replacements – Jay Stringer, ed. - Gutter

Blood on the Bayou: Bouchercon Anthology 2016 – Greg Herren, ed. - Down & Out

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BEST SHORT STORY

 

Winner:

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“Oxford Girl” – Megan Abbott, Mississippi Noir - Akashic


Nominees:

 

“Autumn at the Automat” – Lawrence Block, In Sunlight or in Shadow - Pegasus

“Gary’s Got A Boner” – Johnny Shaw, Waiting to Be Forgotten - Gutter

“Parallel Play” – Art Taylor, Chesapeake Crimes: Storm Warning - Wildside

“Queen of the Dogs” – Holly West, 44 Caliber Funk: Tales of Crime, Soul and Payback - Moonstone

“Oxford Girl” – Megan Abbott, Mississippi Noir - Akashic

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BEST CHILDREN’S/YA NOVEL

 

Winner:

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The Girl I Used to Be – April Henry - Henry Holt


Nominees:

 

Snowed – Maria Alexander - Raw Dog Screaming

Tag, You’re Dead – J.C. Lane - Poisoned Pen

My Sister Rosa – Justine Larbalestier - Soho Teen

The Fixes – Owen Matthews - HarperTeen

The Girl I Used to Be – April Henry - Henry Holt

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BEST NOVELLA (8,000-40,000 words)

 

Winner:

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The Last Blue Glass – B.K. Stevens, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, April 2016 - Dell


Nominees:

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Cleaning Up Finn – Sarah M. Chen - Due Respect Books

No Happy Endings – Angel Luis Colón - Down & Out

Crosswise – S.W. Lauden - Down & Out

Beware the Shill – John Shepphird - Down & Out

The Last Blue Glass – B.K. Stevens, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, April 2016 - Dell

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BEST CRITICAL NONFICTION WORK

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Winner:

​

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life – Ruth Franklin - Liveright


Nominees:

 

Alfred Hitchcock: A Brief Life – Peter Ackroyd - Nan A. Talese

Letters from a Serial Killer – Kristi Belcamino & Stephanie Kahalekulu - CreateSpace

Something in the Blood: The Untold Story of Bram Stoker – David J. Skal - Liveright

The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer – Kate Summerscale - Bloomsbury/Penguin

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life – Ruth Franklin - Liveright

 

 
2016 · New Orleans, Louisiana


BEST NOVEL

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Winner: 

 

The Killing Kind – Chris Holm - Mulholland


Nominees:

 

Night Tremors – Matt Coyle - Oceanview

The Child Garden – Catriona McPherson - Midnight Ink

The Nature of the Beast – Louise Penny - Minotaur/Sphere

What You See – Hank Phillippi Ryan - Forge

The Killing Kind – Chris Holm - Mulholland

 

BEST FIRST NOVEL

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Winner: 

 

Past Crimes – Glen Erik Hamilton - William Morrow


Nominees:

 

Concrete Angel – Patricia Abbott - Polis

New Yorked – Rob Hart - Polis

Bull Mountain – Brian Panowich - G.P. Putnam’s Sons/Head of Zeus

On the Road with Del & Louise – Art Taylor - Henery

Past Crimes – Glen Erik Hamilton - William Morrow

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BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

 

Winner: 

 

The Long and Faraway Gone – Lou Berney - William Morrow


Nominees:

 

Gun Street Girl – Adrian McKinty - Seventh Street/Serpent’s Tail

Little Pretty Things – Lori Rader-Day - Seventh Street

Young Americans – Josh Stallings - Heist

Stone Cold Dead – James W. Ziskin -  Seventh Street

The Long and Faraway Gone – Lou Berney - William Morrow

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BEST CRITICAL OR NON-FICTION WORK

 

Winner: 

 

Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA, and More Tell Us About Crime – Val McDermid - Grove


Nominees:

 

The Golden Age of Murder: The Mystery of the Writers Who Invented the Modern Detective Story – Martin Edwards - HarperCollins

Meanwhile There Are Letters: The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and Ross Macdonald – Suzanne Marrs & Tom Nolan, editors - Arcade

The Lost Detective: Becoming Dashiell Hammett – Nathan Ward - Bloomsbury USA

The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook: Wickedly Good Meals and Desserts to Die For – Kate White, editor - Quirk

Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA, and More Tell Us About Crime – Val McDermid - Grove

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BEST SHORT STORY

 

Winner:

 

“The Little Men: A Bibliomystery” – Megan Abbott - MysteriousPress.com/Open Road


Nominees: 

 

“The Siege” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Dec 2015 – Hilary Davidson - Dell

“Feliz Navidead” Thuglit Presents: Cruel Yule – Brace Godfrey/Johnny Shaw - CreateSpace

“Old Hands” Dark City Lights – Erin Mitchell - Three Rooms

“Quack and Dwight” Jewish Noir – Travis Richardson - PM

“Don’t Fear the Ripper” Protectors 2: Heroes – Holly West - Goombah Gumbo

“The Little Men: A Bibliomystery” – Megan Abbott - MysteriousPress.com/Open Road

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BEST ANTHOLOGY OR COLLECTION

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Winner: 

 

Murder Under the Oaks: Bouchercon Anthology 2015 – Art Taylor, editor - Down & Out


Nominees:

 

Safe Inside the Violence – Christopher Irvin - 280 Steps

Protectors 2: Heroes-Stories to Benefit PROTECT – Thomas Pluck, editor - Goombah Gumbo

Thuglit Presents: Cruel Yule: Holiday Tales of Crime for People on the Naughty List – Todd Robinson, editor - CreateSpace

Jewish Noir: Contemporary Tales of Crime and Other Dark Deeds – Kenneth Wishnia, editor - PM

Murder Under the Oaks: Bouchercon Anthology 2015 – Art Taylor, editor - Down & Out

 

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

 

Winner: 

 

Need – Joelle Charbonneau - HMH Books for Young Readers


Nominees:

 

How to Win at High School – Owen Matthews - HarperTeen

A Madness So Discreet – Mindy McGinnis - Katherine Tegen

The Sin Eater’s Daughter – Melinda Salisbury - Scholastic

Fighting Chance – B.K. Stevens   -  The Poisoned Pencil

Ask the Dark – Henry Turner - Clarion

Need – Joelle Charbonneau - HMH Books for Young Readers

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BEST CRIME FICTION AUDIOBOOK

 

Winner: 

 

The Nature of the Beast – Louise Penny – Robert Bathurst, narrator - Macmillan Audio


Nominees:

 

Dark Waters – Chris Goff – Assaf Cohen, narrator - Crooked Lane

The Girl on the Train – Paula Hawkins – Clare Corbett, Louise Brealey & India Fisher, narrators - Penguin Audio/Random House Audiobooks

Causing Chaos – Deborah J. Ledford – Christina Cox, narrator - IOF Productions

Young Americans – Josh Stallings – Em Eldridge, narrator - Josh Stallings

The Nature of the Beast – Louise Penny – Robert Bathurst, narrator - Macmillan Audio

2019 Dallas
2018 St. Petersberg
2017 Toronto
2016 New Orleans
2015 Raleigh
2015  · Raleigh, North Carolina
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BEST NOVEL


Winner: 

 

After I’m Gone – Laura Lippman - William Morrow


Nominees: 

 

Lamentation – Joe Clifford - Oceanview

The Secret Place – Tana French - Hodder & Stoughton/Viking

The Long Way Home – Louise Penny - Minotaur

Truth Be Told – Hank Phillippi Ryan -Forge

After I’m Gone – Laura Lippman - William Morrow

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BEST FIRST NOVEL


Winner: 

 

The Black Hour – Lori Rader-Day  - Seventh Street


Nominees: 

 

Blessed Are the Dead – Kristi Belcamino - Witness Impulse

Ice Shear – M.P. Cooley - William Morrow

Invisible City – Julia Dahl - Minotaur

The Life We Bury – Allen Eskens - Seventh Street

The Black Hour – Lori Rader-Day  - Seventh Street

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BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL


Winner: 

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The Day She Died – Catriona McPherson - Midnight In


Nominees: 

 

Stay With Me – Alison Gaylin - Harper

The Killer Next Door – Alex Marwood - Penguin

World of Trouble – Ben H. Winters Quirk

No Stone Unturned – James W. Ziskin - Seventh Street

The Day She Died – Catriona McPherson - Midnight In

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BEST CRITICAL OR NON-FICTION WORK


Winner: 

 

Writes of Passage: Adventures on the Writer’s Journey – Hank Phillippi Ryan, ed. - Henery


Nominees: 

 

The Figure of the Detective: A Literary History and Analysis – Charles Brownson - McFarland

Death Dealer: How Cops and Cadaver Dogs Brought a Killer to Justice – Kate Clark Flora - New Horizon

Dru’s Book Musings – Dru Ann Love - http://drusbookmusing.com

Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe – J.W. Ocker - Countryman

Writes of Passage: Adventures on the Writer’s Journey – Hank Phillippi Ryan, ed. - Henery

 

BEST SHORT STORY


Winner: 

 

“The Odds Are Against Us” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Nov 2014 – Art Taylor - Dell


Nominees: 

 

“Honeymoon Sweet” Murder at the Beach: The Bouchercon Anthology 2014 – Craig Faustus Buck - Down & Out

“The Shadow Knows” Chesapeake Crimes: Homicidal Holidays – Barb Goffman - Wildside

“Howling at the Moon” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Nov 2014 – Paul D. Marks - Dell

“Of Dogs and Deceit” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Nov 2014 – John Shepphird - Dell

“The Odds Are Against Us” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Nov 2014 – Art Taylor - Dell

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BEST ANTHOLOGY OR COLLECTION


Winner: 

 

In the Company of Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon – Laurie R. King & Leslie S. Klinger, eds.

- Pegasus Crime


Nominees: 

 

FaceOff – David Baldacci, ed. - Simon & Schuster

Murder at the Beach: The Bouchercon Anthology 2014 – Dana Cameron, ed. - Down & Out

Trouble in the Heartland: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Bruce Springsteen – Joe Clifford, ed. - Gutter/Zelmer Pulp

Carolina Crimes: 19 Tales of Love, Lust, and Longing – Karen Pullen, ed. - Wildside

In the Company of Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon – Laurie R. King & Leslie S. Klinger, eds. - Pegasus Crime

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