Quality Is Job One

Non-fiction author turned crime-fictionist Clyde W. Ford has won the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in Contemporary Fiction for his first mystery, The Long Mile (2005), published by Midnight Ink.

“The Hurston/Wright Award is the highest honor bestowed on an African-American writer,” says Ford, “and I’m humbled that my fellow authors voted for me to receive it.”

From the jacket copy for The Long Mile:

Framed for murder during a failed drug bust, former NYPD officer John Shannon spends two years in jail before his release on appeal. Eager to find the true killer and clear his name, he enjoys two scant minutes of freedom before being brutally arrested, knocked unconscious, and whisked away to the Office of Municipal Security, run by a former CIA director. Refusing their job offer, Shannon heads home to make amends with his estranged wife and discovers terrifying news: his teenage son J.J., who has become mixed up with a drug gang, has been kidnapped. Shannon’s desperate search for J.J. is complicated by a new warrant for his arrest, the mysterious murder of his former partner, and Shannon’s personal struggle with anger, violence, and justice.

Written in the tradition of Raymond Chandler and Walter Mosley, this is the first in a series of thrillers featuring the compelling character of John Shannon.

The Long Mile was also the winner of the 2006 Independent Publisher Book Award for Best Mystery/Suspense/Thriller.

A Washington Post piece about the 206 Hurston/Wright Award is here. Midnight Ink’s page on Ford’s book is here. Clyde W. Ford’s own Web site can be found here.