Cool in Canada

During a celebration this evening at the Mysteriously Yours Dinner Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, the Crime Writers of Canada organization announced the winners of its 2010 Arthur Ellis Awards.

Best Crime Novel: High Chicago, by Howard Shrier (Vintage Canada/Random House)

Also nominated: Finger’s Twist, by Lee Lamothe (Ravenstone); Death Spiral, by James W. Nichol (McArthur & Co.); Aloha, Candy Hearts, by Anthony Bidulka (Insomniac Press); and Arctic Blue Death, by R.J. Harlick (RendezVous Crime)

Best First Crime Novel: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie,
by Alan Bradley (Doubleday Canada)

Also nominated: The Cold Light of Mourning, by Elizabeth Duncan (Minotaur Books); Weight of Stones, by C.B. Forrest (RendezVous Crime); A Magpie’s Smile, by Eugene Meese (NeWest Press); and Darkness at the Break of Dawn, by Dennis Richard Murphy (Harper Collins)

Best French Language Crime Novel: Le mort du chemin des Arsène, by Jean Lemieux (La courte échelle)

Also nominated: Je compte les morts, by Genevieve Lefebvre (Groupe Librex); La Faim de la Terre, Volumes 1 & 2, by Jean Jacques Pelletier (Editions Alire Inc.); and Peaux de chagrins, by Diane Vincent (Les Editions Triptyques)

Best Juvenile Crime Novel: Haunted, by Barbara Hayworth Attard (HarperCollins)

Also nominated: Not Suitable for Family Viewing, by Vicki Grant (HarperCollins); Homicide Related, by Norah McClintock (Red Deer Press); The Hunchback Assignments, by Arthur Slade (HarperCollins); and The Uninvited, by Tim Wynne Jones (Candlewick)

Best Crime Non-fiction: Murder Without Borders, by Terry Gould (Random House of Canada)

Also nominated: The Slasher Killings, by Patrick Brode (Painted Turtle Press); The Fat Mexican, by Alex Caine (Random House of Canada); Runaway Devil, by Robert Remington and Sherri Zickefoose (McClelland); and Postmortem, by Jon Wells (John Wiley & Sons)

Best Crime Short Story: “Prisoner in Paradise,” by Dennis Richard Murphy (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine [EQMM])

Also nominated: “Backup,” by Rick Mofina (Ottawa Magazine, July/August 2009); “Nothing Is Easy,” by James Petrin (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine); “Time Will Tell,” by Twist Phelan (in The Prosecution Rests, edited by Linda Fairstein; Little Brown/Back Bay Books); and “Clowntown Pajamas,” by James Powell (EQMM)

Best Unpublished First Crime Novel (The Unhanged Arthur):
Corpse Flower, by Gloria Ferris

Also nominated: This Cage of Bones, by Pam Barnsley; Confined Space, by Deryn Collier; Bait of Pleasure, by Blair Hemstock; and Putting Them Down, by Peter Kirby

In addition, British-born Canadian novelist Peter Robinson was presented with the coveted Derrick Murdoch Award, “Crime Writers of Canada’s Presidential prize for outstanding contributions to crime writing.” Robinson said that it was “a great honor” to be given that commendation, adding: “So many fine people connected with Canadian crime writing over the years have been given it, and I’m honored to be in such august company. But if it gives anyone the least idea that it’s the culmination of anything, forget it! I’m not packing it in yet.”