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Thursday, September 5, 2024

Using Awards Lists As A RA Tool: Anthony Awards Edition

This is part of my ongoing series on using Awards Lists as a RA tool. Click here for all posts in the series in reverse chronological order. Click here for the first post which outlines the details how to use awards lists as a RA tool.  

I forgot to post the nominees for the 2024 Anthony Awards when they were released, but over the weekend the winners were announced so I am righting that wrong here today.

The Anthony Awards are given at each annual Bouchercon World Mystery Convention with the winners selected by attendees. The award is named for the late Anthony Boucher (William Anthony Parker White), well-known writer and critic from the San Francisco Chronicle and New York Times, who helped found the Mystery Writers of America.

Now, this info leads to a few other questions. What is Bouchercon for one? The answer to that common question is found on their FAQ page

The Bouchercon [bough’•chur•con] World Mystery Convention is a nonprofit organization which holds an annual convention in honor of Anthony Boucher, the distinguished mystery fiction critic, editor, and author.

Every year, readers, writers, publishers, editors, agents, booksellers, and other lovers of crime fiction gather for a four-day weekend of education, entertainment, and fun.

How this award works is, after the nominees are listed in the spring, votes are gathered as that year's convention is going on. The Anthony Awards committee (who are separate from that year's convention planners) will take votes in each category, tally them, and announce the winners during the event. It makes me tired thinking about it, but it also makes for a 100% fan selected award.

Because this award is reader driven, I often have had better luck suggesting these titles to readers at the library than with other crime focused awards. And this is exactly why I am explaining how this award is chosen and not just posting the list. How an award is picked matters in terms of who we could best suggest those titles to.  

As you can see, there is an overall website for Bouchercon in general, since it rotates location each year, there is a specific page for each year as well. This year it was in Nashville and on this page they have a list of every nominee. 

You can also visit the Anthony Award's permanent page on the Bouchercon site or, my favorite place to see all the current and past nominees at Stop You're Killing Me here. Please use that link to access the backlist of winners and nominees, especially from the past 5 years, to make a great sure bet, crime fiction display.

Here is the full list on Nominees from Stop You're Killing Me with stars in front of the winners as they were announced 8/31/24. Please note, I kept the Stop You're Killing me links to reviews where they had them to make it easier for you to get these books into readers hands.

[Eds note: The Short story category would not layout properly. Use the link to see it better]

Best Mystery Novel 
  * All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby [review]
  ° Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper [review]
  ° Time’s Undoing by Cheryl A. Head [review]
  ° Face of Greed by James L’Etoile
  ° The Last Devil To Die by Richard Osman [review]

Best First Mystery 
  * Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon [review]
  ° The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry [review]
  ° Play the Fool by Lina Chern [review]
  ° Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy [review]
  ° City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita [review]

Best Paperback Original 
  * Hide by Tracy Clark [review]
  ° No Home for Killers by E.A. Aymar
  ° Because the Night by James D.F. Hannah
  ° The Taken Ones by Jess Lourey
  ° Magic City Blues by Bobby Matthews
  ° Lowdown Road by Scott Von Doviak

Best Short Story
 * “Ticket to Ride” by Dru Ann Love and Kristopher Zgorski from Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of The Beatles
 ° “Real Courage” by Barb Goffman Black Cat Mystery Magazine, October 2023
  “Knock” by James D.F. Hannah  Playing Games
° “Green and California Bound” by Curtis Ippolito Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September/October 2023
  ° “Tell Me No Lies” by Holly West Shotgun Honey Presents: Thicker Than Water
Best Juvenile/Young Adult
  * Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose by Nancy Springer
  ° Finney and the Secret Tunnel by Jamie Lane Barber
  ° Myrtle, Means, and Opportunity by Elizabeth C. Bunce
  ° The Sasquatch of Hawthorne Elementary by K.B. Jackson
  ° The Mystery of the Radcliffe Riddle by Taryn Sounders

Best Critical or Nonfiction Work
  * A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan 
  ° Finders: Justice, Faith and Identity in Irish Crime Fiction by Anjili Babbar
  ° Spillane: King of Pulp Fiction by Max Allan Collins and James L. Traylor
  ° A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Mark Dawidziak
  ° Fallen Angel: The Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Robert Morgan
  ° Agatha Christie, She Watched: One Woman's Plot to Watch 201 Christie Adaptations Without Murdering the Director, Screenwriter, Cast, or Her Husband by Teresa Peschel
  ° Love Me Fierce in Danger: The Life of James Ellroy by Steven Powell

Best Anthology or Collection
  * Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon Anthology 2023 edited by Holly West
  ° School of Hard Knox edited by Donna Andrews, Greg Herren, and Art Taylor
  ° Here in the Dark: Stories by Meagan Lucas
  ° Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of The Beatles edited by Josh Pachter
  ° The Adventure of the Castle Thief and Other Expeditions and Indiscretions by Art Taylor

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