Bringing Out the Prizes in Bristol

Grantchester Mysteries author James Runcie holds forth as the toastmaster at tonight’s CrimeFest “gala awards dinner.”

This third day of CrimeFest 2015 in Bristol, England, found convention-goers turning out in droves to see author Lee Child’s onstage interview with legendary Swedish crime writer Maj Sjöwall (“One of the best one-on-one interviews that they have ever had at CrimeFest,” pronounced Shots contributor Ayo Onatade). Also crowded, though, was its concluding event: this evening’s presentation of five awards for different sorts of excellence in the genre.

The Audible Sounds of Crime Award (for the best unabridged crime audiobook): The Silkworm, by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling); read by Robert Glenister (Little, Brown)

Also nominated: Foxglove Summer, by Ben Aaronovitch; read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Orion); Personal, by Lee Child; read by Jeff Harding (Penguin); Moriarty, by Anthony Horowitz; read by Derek Jacobi and Julian Rhind-Tutt (Orion); Want You Dead, by Peter James; read by Daniel Weyman (Macmillan); Mr. Mercedes, by Stephen King; read by Will Patton (Hodder & Stoughton); The Son, by Jo Nesbø; read by Sean Barrett (Penguin); and The Hangman’s Song, by James Oswald; read by Ian Hanmore (Penguin)

E-Dunnit Award (for the best crime fiction e-book): A Colder War, by Charles Cumming (HarperCollins)

Also nominated: No Safe House, by Linwood Barclay (Orion); The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons, by Lawrence Block (Orion); Dark Tides, by Chris Ewan (Faber & Faber); Natchez Burning, by Greg Illes (HarperCollins); Hollow Mountain, by Thomas Mogford (Bloomsbury); Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Thomas Sweterlitsch (Headline); and The Silent Boy, by Andrew Taylor (HarperCollins)

The Goldsboro Last Laugh Award (for the best humorous crime novel): Crooked Herring, by L.C. Tyler (Allison & Busby)

Also nominated: The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons, by Lawrence Block (Orion); Crime Always Pays, by Declan Burke (Severn House); Bryant & May: The Bleeding Heart, by Christopher Fowler (Bantam); Kill Your Boss, by Shane Kuhn (Little, Brown); and The Accident, by Chris Pavone (Faber & Faber)

The H.R.F. Keating Award (for the best biographical or critical book related to crime fiction): Late Victorian Crime Fiction in the Shadows of Sherlock, by Clare Clarke (Palgrave)

Also nominated: Dime Novels and the Roots of American Detective Fiction, by Pamela Bedore (Palgrave); Nordic Noir, by Barry Forshaw (Pocket Essentials); Euro Noir, by Barry Forshaw (No Exit Press); Crime Scene: Britain & Ireland, by John Martin (Five Leaves); and A Very British Murder, by Lucy Worsley (BBC Books)

Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year:
The Silence of the Sea, by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, translated by Victoria Cribb (Hodder & Stoughton; Iceland)

Also nominated: The Hummingbird, by Kati Hiekkapelto, translated by David Hackston (Arcadia Books; Finland); The Hunting Dogs, by Jørn Lier Horst, translated by Anne Bruce (Sandstone Press; Norway); Reykjavik Nights, by Arnaldur Indriðason, translated by Victoria Cribb (Harvill Secker; Iceland); The Human Flies, by Hans Olav Lahlum, translated by Kari Dickson (Mantle; Norway); and Falling Freely, As If in a Dream, by Leif G.W. Persson, translated by Paul Norlen (Doubleday; Sweden)

Congratulations to all of tonight’s winners!

(Photograph © 2015 by Ali Karim)

READ MORE: “The Best Things About CrimeFest 2015”
(Crime Fiction Lover).