A Cheerleader for Crime Fiction

Lesa Holstine, a blogger and veteran library administrator based in Evansville, Indiana, has won the 2018 David Thompson Memorial Special Service Award. She was chosen by the Bouchercon board, and will receive her prize during the Anthony Awards ceremony at Bouchercon in St. Petersburg, Florida, on September 8.

As Mystery Fanfare explains, this commendation honors “the memory and contributions to the crime-fiction community of David Thompson, a beloved Houston bookseller who passed away in 2010. Winners are recognized for their ‘extraordinary efforts to develop and promote the crime fiction field.’” That piece goes on to say,

Lesa Holstine has been sharing her passion for books—especially mysteries—with readers since 2005. Her blog, Lesa’s Book Critiques, is a go-to destination for readers. Her reviews now appear in Mystery Readers Journal, ReadertoReader.com, and in Library Journal. Lesa is also the blogger for Poisoned Pen Bookstore, and she started the Authors @ The Teague program in the Glendale, Arizona, Library System.

Lesa is the author of the “Mystery Fiction” chapter in Genreflecting: A Guide to Popular Reading Interests (7th ed.) and has been a panelist for Sisters in Crime at the Public Library Association’s conference and has served on panels at Left Coast Crime and Bouchercon. She has also moderated crime fiction panels at the Tucson Festival of Books.

Among the previous recipients of the David Thompson Award are George Easter, Marv Lachman, Otto Penzler, Bill and Toby Gottfried, and The Rap Sheet’s own British correspondent, Ali Karim.