Rewards and Rejoicing in Albany

On this first night of Bouchercon 2013 in Albany, New York, three different sets of prizes were handed out to authors and others. Thanks to Ali Karim, our correspondent on the spot (who also walked away with one of those awards!), we have the names of the winners.

MACAVITY AWARDS

Best Mystery Novel: The Beautiful Mystery, by Louise Penny (Minotaur)

Also nominated: Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn (Crown); The Blackhouse, by Peter May (Silver Oak); The Other Woman, by Hank Philippi Ryan (Forge); The Art Forger, by B.A. Shapiro (Algonquin); The Twenty-Year Death, by Ariel S. Winter (Hard Case Crime); and The Last Policeman, by Ben H. Winters (Quirk)

Best First Mystery Novel: Don’t Ever Get Old, by Daniel Friedman (Minotaur/Thomas Dunne)

Also nominated: Low Country Boil, by Susan M. Boyer (Henery Press); Mr. Churchill’s Secretary, by Susan Elia MacNeal (Bantam); and The Expats, by Chris Pavone (Crown)

Best Mystery Non-Fiction: Books to Die For: The World’s Greatest Mystery Writers on the World’s Greatest Mystery Novels, edited by John Connolly and Declan Burke (Atria/Emily Bestler)

Also nominated: Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China, by Paul French (Penguin); and In Pursuit of Spenser: Mystery Writers on Robert B. Parker and the Creation of an American Hero, edited by Otto Penzler (BenBella/Smart Pop)

Best Mystery Short Story: “The Lord Is My Shamus,” by Barb Goffman (in Chesapeake Crimes: This Job Is Murder, edited by Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, and Marcia Talley; Wildside Press)

Also nominated: “The Unremarkable Heart,” by Karin Slaughter (in Mystery Writers of America Presents: Vengeance, edited by Lee Child; Mulholland); “Thea’s First Husband,” by B.K. Stevens (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, June 2012); “When Duty Calls,” by Art Taylor (in Chesapeake Crimes: This Job Is Murder); “Blind Justice,” by Jim Fusilli (n Mystery Writers of America Presents: Vengeance); and “The Sequel,” by Jeffery Deaver (The Strand Magazine, November-February 2012-2013)

Sue Feder Historical Memorial Award: An Unmarked Grave, by Charles Todd (HarperCollins)

Also nominated: A City of Broken Glass, by Rebecca Cantrell (Forge); Princess Elizabeth’s Spy, by Susan Elia MacNeal (Bantam); The Confession, by Charles Todd (HarperCollins); and Elegy for Eddie, by Jacqueline Winspear (HarperCollins)

BARRY AWARDS

Best Novel: The Blackhouse, by Peter May (Silver Oak)

Also nominated: Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn (Crown); Trust Your Eyes, by Linwood Barclay (NAL); Defending Jacob, by William Landay (Delacorte); Live by Night, Dennis Lehane (Morrow); and Dead Scared, by S.J. Bolton (Minotaur)

Best First Novel: A Killing in the Hills, by Julia Keller (Minotaur)

Also nominated: The Yard, by Alex Grecian (Putnam); Sacrifice Fly, by Tim O’Mara (Minotaur); The Dark Winter, by David Mark (Blue Ridge Press); Black Fridays, by Michael Sears (Putnam); and The Professionals, by Owen Laukkanen (Putnam)

Best Paperback Original: Mr. Churchill’s Secretary, by Susan Elia McNeal (Bantam)

Also nominated: Pago Pago Tango, by John Enright (Thomas & Mercer); Blessed Are the Dead, by Malla Nunn (Washington Square); The Other Woman’s House, by Sophie Hannah (Penguin); Bloodland, by Alan Glynn (Picador); and Beneath the Abbey Wall, by A.D. Scott (Atria)

Best Thriller: The Fallen Angel, by Daniel Silva (Harper)

Also nominated: The Last Refuge, by Ben Coes (St. Martin’s); The Right Hand, by Derek Haas (Mulholland); A Foreign Country, by Charles Cumming (St. Martin’s); House Blood, by Mike Lawson (Atlantic Monthly); and Red Star Burning, by Brian Freemantle (Minotaur)

Don Sandstrom Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement in Mystery Fandom: Ali Karim

DERRINGER AWARDS

The winners of these commendations were actually announced at the end of March, but the Derringer Awards themselves weren’t handed out until this evening.

Best Flash Story (up to 1,000 words): “The Cable Job,” by Randy DeWitt (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine [AHMM], September 2012)

Also nominated: “An Old-Fashioned Villain,” by Nick Andreychuk (Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, May 2012); “Dead Man,” by A.J. Hayes (from Off the Record 2: At the Movies, edited by Luca Veste and Paul D. Brazill; Guilty Conscience); “’Twas the Knife Before Christmas,” by Allan Leverone (Shotgun Honey, December 24, 2012); “Daddy’s Girl,” by Nicola Kennington (The Flash Fiction Offensive, July 22, 2012)

Best Short Story (1,001-4,000 words): “Getting Out of the Box,” by Michael Bracken (from Crime Square, edited by Robert J. Randisi; Vantage Point)

Also nominated: “A Special Kind of Hell,” by Hilary Davidson (from Beat to a Pulp: Round Two, edited by David Cramer and Matthew P. Mayo; Beat to a Pulp); “Dead Weight,” by Allan Leverone (from Burning Bridges: A Renegade Fiction Anthology, edited by Benjamin Sobieck, Heath Lowrance, and McDroll; e-book); “Nain Rouge,” by Barbara Nadel (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine [EQMM], August 2012); and “Baby Boy,” by Todd Robinson (from Protectors: Stories to Benefit PROTECT, edited by Thomas Pluck; Goombah Gumbo Press)

Best Long Story (4,001-8,000 words): “When Duty Calls,” by Art Taylor (from Chesapeake Crimes: This Job Is Murder, edited by Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, and Marcia Talley; Wildside Press)

Also nominated: “The Pot Hunters,” by David Hagerty (AHMM, June 2012); “A Regular Story,” by Peggy McFarland (from Best New England Crime Stories 2013: Blood Moon, edited by Mark Ammons, Katherine Fast, Barbara Ross, and Leslie Wheeler; Level Best Books); “Peaches,” by Todd Robinson (Grift Magazine, April 2012); and “Double Wedding” Mo Walsh (from Best New England Crime Stories 2013: Blood Moon)

Best Novelette (8,001 – 20,000 words): “Wood-Smoke Boys,” by Doug Allyn (EQMM, March/April 2012)

Also nominated: “Iphigenia in Aulis,” by Mike Carey (from An Apple for the Creature, edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner; Ace); “Mariel,” by David Dean (EQMM, December 2012); “Pirate Dave and the Captain’s Ghost,” by Toni L.P. Kelner (from An Apple for the Creature); and “The Sunny South,” by Chris Muessig (AHMM, March/April 2012)

Golden Derringer Award (for lifetime achievement):
Loren D. Estleman

Congratulations to all of the victors and other nominees.