Prizing Thrillers

Last evening, at the conclusion of the ThrillerFest VIII convention in New York City, the International Thriller Writers (ITW) organization announced the winners of its 2013 Thriller Awards. They are:

Best Hardcover Novel:
Spilled Blood, by Brian Freeman (SilverOak)

Also nominated: The Trinity Game, by Sean Chercover (Thomas & Mercer); The Survivor, by Gregg Hurwitz (St. Martin’s Press); Catch Me, by Lisa Gardner (Dutton); and Defending Jacob, by William Landay (Delacorte Press)

Best First Novel:
The 500, by Matthew Quirk (Reagan Arthur)

Also nominated: Don’t Ever Get Old, by Daniel Friedman (Minotaur); The Professionals, by Owen Laukkanen (Putnam); The Expats, by Chris Pavone (Crown); and Black Fridays, by Michael Sears (Putnam)

Best Paperback Original Novel:
Lake Country, by Sean Doolittle (Bantam)

Also nominated: Pines, by Blake Crouch (Thomas & Mercer); And She Was, by Alison Gaylin (Harper); The Wicked Girls, by Alex Marwood (Penguin); and Night Blind, by Michael W. Sherer (Thomas & Mercer)

Best Short Story:
“Lost Things,” by John Rector (Thomas & Mercer e-book)

Also nominated: “The Devil to Pay,” by David Edgerley Gates (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, April 2012); “The Street Ends at the Cemetery,” by Clark Howard (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine [EQMM], August 2012); “The Consumers,” by Dennis Lehane (from Mystery Writers of America Presents: Vengeance, edited by Lee Child; Mulholland Books); and “The History Lesson,” by Gordon McEachern (EQMM, May 2012)

Best Young Adult Novel:
False Memory, by Dan Krokos (Hyperion)

Also nominated: Don’t Turn Around, by Michelle Gagnon (HarperCollins); If We Survive, by Andrew Klavan (Thomas Nelson); Crusher, by Niall Leonard (Delacorte); and Dark Eyes, by William Richter (Razorbill)

Best E-book Original Novel:
Blind Faith, by C.J. Lyons (C.J. Lyons)

Also nominated: Pandora’s Temple, by Jon Land (Open Road); Huntress Moon, by Alexandra Sokoloff (Alexandra Sokoloff); Dead End Deal, by Allen Wyler (Astor + Blue Editions); and Dead Wrong, by Allen Wyler (Astor + Blue Editions)

In addition, Anne Rice was presented with the ThrillerMaster award “in recognition of her legendary career and outstanding contributions to the thriller genre.” Steve Berry received the Literary Silver Bullet Award, and the USO was given the Corporate Silver Bullet Award.

Congratulations to all of this year’s winners!

(Hat tip to Mystery Fanfare.)