Hailing Canadian Offenses

The Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) has announced the nominees for its 2016 Arthur Ellis Awards in eight categories, as follows.

Best Novel:
• Hungry Ghosts, by Peggy Blair (Simon & Schuster)
• The Storm Murders, by John Farrow (Minotaur)
• A Killing in Zion, by Andrew Hunt (Minotaur)
• Open Season, by Peter Kirby (Linda Leith)
• The Night Bell, by Inger Ash Wolfe (McClelland & Stewart)

Best First Novel:
• Hard Drive, by J. Mark Collins (iUniverse)
• What Kills Good Men, by David Hood (Vagrant Press)
• The Unquiet Dead, by Ausma Zehanat Khan (Minotaur)
• Encore, by Alexis Koetting (Five Star)
• Old Bones, by Brian R. Lindsay (Volumes)

Best Novella:
• Black Canyon, by Jeremy Bates (Dark Hearts)
• Deadly Season, by Alison Bruce (Imajin)
• Glow Glass, by M.H. Callway (Carrick)
• The Night Thief, by Barbara Fradkin (Orca)
• Beethoven’s Tenth, by Brian Harvey (Orca)

Best Short Story:
• “With One Shoe,” by Karen Abrahamson (from The Playground of Lost Toys, edited by Colleen Anderson and Ursula Pflug; Exile Press)
• “The Siege,” by Hilary Davidson (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine [EQMM], December 2015)
• “The Water Was Rising,” by Sharon Hunt (EQMM, August 2015)
• “The Avocado Kid,” by Scott Mackay (EQMM, June 2015)
• “Movable Type,” by S.G. Wong (from AB Negative: An Alberta Crime Anthology, edited by Axel Howerton; Coffin Hop Press)

Best Book in French:
• L’Affaire Myosotis, by Luc Chartrand (Québec Amérique)
• L’affaire Céline, by Jean-Louis Fleury (Éditions Alire)
• La bataille de Pavie, by André Jacques (Druide)
• Le mauvais côté des choses, by Jean Lemieux (Québec Amérique)
• L’affaire Mélodie Cormier, by Guillaume Morrissette
(Guy Saint-Jean éditeur)

Best Juvenile/YA Book:
• Diego’s Crossing, by Robert Hough (Annick Press)
• Set You Free, by Jeff Ross (Orca)
• The Blackthorn Key, by Kevin Sands (Aladdin)
• The Dogs, by Allan Stratton (Scholastic)
• Trouble Is a Friend of Mine, by Stephanie Tromly (Kathy Dawson)

Best Non-fiction Book:
• Human on the Inside: Unlocking the Truth about Canada’s Prisons, by Gary Garrison (University of Regina Press)
• Empire of Deception: The Incredible Story of a Master Swindler Who Seduced a City and Captivated the Nation, by Dean Jobb (HarperCollins)
• The Bastard of Fort Stikine: The Hudson’s Bay Company and the Murder of John McLoughlin Jr., by Debra Komar (Goose Lane)
• Cold War, by Jerry Langton (HarperCollins)
• Mr. Big: The Investigation into the Deaths of Karen and Krista Hart, by Colleen Lewis and Jennifer Hicks (Flanker Press)

The Dundurn Unhanged Arthur for Best Unpublished
First Crime Novel:
• When the Flood Falls, by Jayne Barnard
• Knight Blind, by Alice Bienia
• Brave Girls, by Pam Isfeld
• Better the Devil You Know, by J.T. Siemens
• Give Out Creek, by J.G. Toews

This year’s winners are scheduled to be announced on May 26.

In addition, the CWC has named Eric Wright as its 2016 Grand Master. “If there ever was a crime writer whom the Canadian crime-writing community needs to thank it is Eric Wright,” reads a press release. “He wrote 18 crime novels, in four different series, as well as novels, a novella, and a memoir. Eric’s first novel, The Night the Gods Smiled (1983), won the first Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel, the John Creasey Award from the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA), and the City of Toronto Book Award. The Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn (2000) won an Arthur and was nominated for an Edgar from the Mystery Writers of America (MWA). His writing career spanned over 40 years and his contribution to Canadian crime writing was, without question, immense. This was recognized in 1998 when Eric received the Derrick Murdoch Award for lifetime contribution to Canadian crime writing. Eric Wright passed away in October, 2015, shortly after being notified that he had been selected for the Grand Master Award.”

(Hat tip to Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan.)