Evidence of Ellis

The Crime Writers of Canada is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. As part of the festivities, it has announced the nominees for its 2012 Arthur Ellis Awards in seven categories.

Best Crime Novel:
• A Trick of the Light, by Louise Penny (St. Martin’s Press)
• Before the Poison, by Peter Robinson (McClelland & Stewart)
• I Am Half-Sick of Shadows, by Alan Bradley (Doubleday Canada)
• I’ll See You in My Dreams, by William Deverell (McClelland & Stewart)
• The Guilty Plea, by Robert Rotenberg (Simon & Schuster)

Best First Novel:
• The Man Who Killed, by Fraser Nixon (Douglas & McIntrye)
• The Survivor, by Sean Slater (Simon & Schuster)
• The Water Rat of Wanchai, by Ian Hamilton (House of Anansi Press)
• Tight Corner, by Roger White (BPS Books)
• Watching Jeopardy, by Norm Foster (XLibris)

Best Crime Book in French:
• La chorale du diable, by Martin Michaud (Les Editions Guelette)
• Pwazon, by Diane Vincent (Editors Triptyque)
• Pour Ne Pas Mourir ce soir, by Guillaume Lapierre-Desnoyers (Levesque Editeur)

Best Juvenile or Young Adult Crime Book:
• Blink & Caution, by Tim Wynne-Jones (Candlewick Press)
• Charlie’s Key, by Rob Mills (Orca)
• Empire of Ruins, by Arthur Slade (HarperCollins)
• Held, by Edeet Ravel (Annick Press)
• Missing, by Becky Citra (Orca)

Best Crime Non-fiction:
• A Season in Hell, by Robert Fowler (HarperCollins)
• Hot Art: Chasing Thieves and Detectives Through the Secret World of Stolen Art, by Joshua Knelman (Douglas & McIntyre)
• The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, by Steven Laffoley (Pottersfield)
• The Pirates of Somalia, by Jay Bahader (HarperCollins)
• The Weasel: A Double Life in the Mob, by Adrian Humphreys (Wiley)

Best Crime Short Story:
• “A New Pair of Pants,” by Jas. R. Petrin (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, September 2011)
• “Beer Money,” by Shane Nelson (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, February 2011)
• “The Girl with the Golden Hair,” by Scott Mackay (EQMM,
December 2011)
• “The Perfect Mark,” by Melodie Campbell (Flash Fiction, July 2011)
• “What Kelly Did,” by Catherine Astolfo (North Word Magazine)

Best Unpublished First Novel (“Unhanged Arthur”):
• Gunning for Bear, by Madeleine Harris-Callway
• Last of the Independents, by Sam Wiebe
• Snake in the Snow, by William Bonnell
• The Rhymester, by Valerie A. Drego
• Too Far to Fall, by Shane Sawyer

The winners will be declared during a banquet on May 31 in Toronto, Canada. Click here to order tickets.

(Hat tip to The Gumshoe Site.)