Cleeves Captures Commendation

As part of its excellent coverage of this weekend’s Iceland Noir festival in Reykjavik, the Web site Crime Fiction Lover reports that British author Ann Cleeves has won the “first ever Honorary Award for Services to the Art of Crime Fiction.

“The author of both the Vera [Stanhope] series, set in North East England, and the Shetland books, with the Shetland Islands as their backdrops, was handed both the award and an authentic Icelandic wool blanket. She has been instrumental in helping the bi-annual event establish itself. She’s also an advocate for reading and library provision, while in her books she explores families and communities and how they’re affected by dramatic events … such as murder.”