Short and Sweet and Satisfying

Almost two full months after the British Crime Writers’ Association announced the winners of its 2006 Dagger Awards in other categories, CWA judges have finally settled on a roster of nominees for the Short Story Award. In the running:

• “Sins of Scarlet,” by Robert Barnard (from I.D.: Crimes of Identity, edited by Martin Edwards; Comma Press)

• “Loaded,” by Ken Bruen (from London Noir, edited by Cathi Unsworth; Serpent’s Tail)

• “The Part-Time Job,” by P.D. James (from The Detection Collection, edited by Simon Brett; Orion)

• “Les’s Story,” by Stuart Pawson (from I.D.: Crimes of Identity)

• “Love,” by Martyn Waites (from London Noir)

A winner in this category will be named during the Off the Shelf Festival, to be held in Sheffield, England, on October 18. He or she will receive £1,500 in prize money. Judges for this year’s Short Story Award were author Peter Lovesey, along with crime-fiction reviewers Ayo Onatade and Ali Karim.

Still to come: the shortlist for this year’s Ellis Peters Award.