Just when I thought I was done with Rap Sheet reporting for the day, here come the 2009 Anthony Award nominations--finally.
Best Novel:
• Trigger City, by Sean Chercover (Morrow)
• The Brass Verdict, by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)
• Red Knife, by William Kent Krueger (Atria)
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)
• The Cruelest Month, by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
Best First Novel:
• Pushing Up Daisies, by Rosemary Harris (Minotaur)
• Stalking Susan, by Julie Kramer (Doubleday)
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)
• Death of a Cozy Writer, by G.M. Malliet (Midnight Ink)
• Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith (Grand Central)
Best Paperback Original:
• The First Quarry, by Max Allan Collins (Hard Case Crime)
• Money Shot, by Christa Faust (Hard Case Crime)
• State of the Onion, by Julie Hyzy (Berkley)
• In a Dark Season, by Vicki Lane (Dell)
• South of Hell, by P.J. Parrish (Pocket Star)
Best Short Story:
• “The Night Things Changed,” by Dana Cameron (from Wolfsbane and Mistletoe, edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner; Ace)
• “A Sleep Not Unlike Death,” by Sean Chercover (from Hardcore Hardboiled, edited by Todd Robinson; Kensington Publishing)
• “Killing Time,” by Jane K. Cleland (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, November 2008)
• “Skull and Cross Examination,” by Toni L.P. Kelner (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine [EQMM], February 2008)
• “Scratch a Woman,” by Laura Lippman (from Hardly
Knew Her; Morrow)
• “The Secret Lives of Cats,” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
(EQMM, July 2008)
Best Critical Non-fiction Work:
• African American Mystery Writers: A Historical and Thematic Study, by Frankie Y. Bailey (McFarland & Company)
• How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries, by Kathy Lynn Emerson (Perseverance Press)
• Anthony Boucher: A Biobibliography, by Jeffrey Marks
(McFarland & Company)
• The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective, by Kate Summerscale (Walker)
Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel:
• The Crossroads, by Chris Grabenstein (Random House)
• Paper Towns, by John Green (Dutton Juvenile)
• Kiss Me, Kill Me, by Lauren Henderson (Delacorte)
• The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey, by Trenton Lee Stewart (Little, Brown)
• Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash, by Wendelin Van
Draanen (Knopf)
Best Cover Art:
• Death Was the Other Woman, designed by David Rotstein and written by Linda L. Richards (Minotaur)
• Death Will Get You Sober, designed by David Rotstein and written by Elizabeth Zelvin (Minotaur)
• The Fault Tree, designed by David Rotstein and written by
Louise Ure (Minotaur)
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, designed by Peter Mendelsund
and written by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)
• Money Shot, designed by Steve Cooley and written by Christa
Faust (Hard Case Crime)
Special Service Award:
• Jon and Ruth Jordan
• Ali Karim
• David Montgomery
• Gary Warren Niebuhr
• Sarah Weinman
Hmm. Could I be growing more cynical in my old age? While there are some excellent candidates here, it’s my opinion that there are also a few dubious nominees. And I don’t remember having such doubts about previous years’ Anthony short lists. Unfortunately, I won’t be at the next Bouchercon to tip the scales in any direction.
The 2009 Anthony winners will be announced during a gala awards ceremony on Saturday, October 17, at the Hilbert Circle Theatre in Indianapolis, Indiana.
UPDATE: Sarah Weinman offers a fairly astute analysis of why some of this year’s Anthony nominees might not appeal to everybody, including me. And I just noticed something: There are no nominees for Best Web Site. Are those still to come, or has the category been eliminated for this Bouchercon? If the latter is true, then I hope the organizers of Bouchercon 2010 in San Francisco will restore that classification. There’s a tremendous amount of activity in the crime-fiction blogosphere, and it deserves recognition.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
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8 comments:
Do you care to explain your hesitance to commend all of the nominated books?
It would be illuminating.
Kathy D.
Sorry, Kathy D. While it might be edifying to some people if I were to take the clubs to a small handful of the 2009 Anthony nominees, others could be hurt by my personal opinions. Since I cannot influence who does and does not receive these awards, and since I won’t be at Bouchercon in October to vote on the nominees myself, my best course of action is to remain silent. At least publicly. I’m sure there have been years when other readers or critics have thought a few of the nominees unworthy; this happens to be my year.
What I am willing to say is that all of the following books deserved to be nominated, but were not: The Dawn Patrol, by Don Winslow; The Black Tower by Louis Bayard; The Given Day, by Dennis Lehane; and Toros and Torsos, by Craig McDonald.
Cheers,
Jeff
I can't argue with any of those you named, particularly Toros & Torsos. It was my personal choice for the best read of '08. And I probably would add Dave Zeltserman's Small Crimes to that list, too.
But I'm getting rather sanguine about awards these days (esp since I've started to give my own awards). No matter how nominees are selected, subjectivity can never be removed from the process, and some good - great, even - material will get slighted. But usually good material will be selected as well, with the occasional 'how did that happen?' slipping into the mix. Subjectivity. If we were somehow able to make the process entirely objective, I bet most people still wouldn't be altogether happy with the results. We humans are so contrary.
I wonder . . . will the Anthony awards dare to award two prizes (Best Novel and Best First Novel) to Larsson's THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO? It may be an odd decision but one that I would endorse.
Jeff,
it's a popularlity contest. This is only my third Anthony nomination in my entire career, so I'm not that popular, and certainly don't expect to win.
But it's unkind to throw anonymous stones. Plenty of undeserving books get nominated and even win in all of the various award competitions. Give the nominees their tiny moment in the sun. Do what the rest of us do when we see unworthy works get nominations -- grit your teeth in private and go on about your business.
I always laugh at people who say "This book deserved to be nominated" or "this book didn't deserve it."
Reading is 100% subjective and until it's not, spouting off what should or should not be nominated just makes you appear uninformed.
Ted Chambers
Oh, please. Expressing a judgment about a book's eligibility for some award does not make one "uninformed." Everyone knows that awards nominations are subjective. But that doesn't mean that one can't have an opinion about the results. And, subjectively speaking, my opinion is as good as anyone else's.
Cheers,
Jeff
Everyone should have a website/blog to express opinions.
I understand why not to criticize any books' or authors' nominations.
And there is subjectivity involved in selecting books to be nominated; there is also taste.
I, for one, love Fred Vargas' writings, Donna Leon's and Tana French's books. Now I'm hooked on Arnaldur Indridason.
As Sarah Weinman once said, "it's a matter of taste."
It is true but there are also books that are good reads and those that are not--however, that could be subjective. But many books I take out of the library I return after reading five pages and they're not worth my time.
I, for one, enjoy reading other people's opinions of books, even if I disagree--or agree.
I share disappointment at mystery websites not being nominated. There are such good ones.
Kathy D.
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