Character Counts

In honor of hard-boiled author Mickey Spillane, who created the private-eye character Mike Hammer and died last July, the Private Eye Writers of America is going to create a new annual award called--you guessed it--“The Hammer.” According to Mystery News: “Unlike other awards, which go to the writer, this award will go to a character, i.e., a Private Eye who has exhibited quality and endurance in a field where many characters have come and gone.” The first Hammer will be presented during Bouchercon 2007, to be held in Anchorage, Alaska, next September.