Take a Shot Yourself

The winners of this year’s Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards--presented jointly by the British Crime Writers’ Association, Specsavers, Cactus TV, and ITV3--will be announced on Wednesday, October 21, at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel. Until that date, though, you still have a chance to vote on which crime novelist you think ought to walk away with the 2009 ITV3 Bestseller Dagger Award. The nominees are Dick Francis, Alexander McCall Smith, Nicci French, Harlan Coben, and Martina Cole.

Let your opinion be known here.

To encourage voting, the UK-based e-zine Shots has organized a little contest. It’s giving away “three books from one of the shortlisted authors.” To win, all you need to do is enter your name and e-mail address in the Comments section of this post in Shots’ blog. You also have to tell which author you voted for from those five on the shortlist; the date you voted; and--in 20 words or fewer--why the author you selected is your favorite. “The three best responses to question [c],” Shots explains, “will be selected Tuesday, 22nd October and contacted for a mailing address for their winning book.”

Again, details of Shots’ contest can be found here.