Who Will Take Home the Anthonys?

There are a number of familiar names among the just-announced nominees for this year’s Anthony Awards. S.A. Cosby, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Art Taylor, Lori Rader-Day, Richard Osman—they’re all there. Strangely missing, however, are several other authors whose books also deserved to be among this year’s Anthony contenders, notably Anthony Horowitz (Moonflower Murders), Stuart Turton (The Devil and the Dark Water), and Ivy Pochoda (These Women). But no matter: everyone’s tastes are not the same, and it was left up to Bouchercon participants—both from last year and this one—to select the candidates, rather than relying on judging panels to make the picks.

Here are the books contending for the 2021 Anthonys:

Best Hardcover Novel:
• What You Don’t See, by Tracy Clark (Kensington)
• Blacktop Wasteland, by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron)
• Little Secrets, by Jennifer Hillier (Minotaur)
• And Now She’s Gone, by Rachel Howzell Hall (Forge)
• The First to Lie, by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge)

Best First Novel:
• Derailed, by Mary Keliikoa (Camel Press)
• Murder in Old Bombay, by Nev March (Minotaur)
• Murder at the Mena House, by Erica Ruth Neubauer (Kensington)
• The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman (Pamela Dorman)
• Winter Counts, by David Heska Wanbli Weiden (Ecco)

Best Paperback Original/E-Book/Audiobook Original Novel:
• The Fate of a Flapper, by Susanna Calkins (Griffin)
• When No One Is Watching, by Alyssa Cole (Morrow)
• Unspeakable Things, by Jess Lourey (Thomas & Mercer)
• The Lucky One, by Lori Rader-Day (Morrow)
• Dirty Old Town, by Gabriel Valjan (Level Best)

Best Short Story:
• “Dear Emily Etiquette,” by Barb Goffman (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September/October)
• “90 Miles,” by Alex Segura (from Both Sides: Stories from the Border, edited by Gabino Iglesias; Agora)
• “The Boy Detective & The Summer of ’74,” by Art Taylor (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, January/February)
• “Elysian Fields,” by Gabriel Valjan (from California Schemin’: The 2020 Bouchercon Anthology, edited by Art Taylor; Wildside Press)
• “The Twenty-Five Year Engagement,” by James W. Ziskin (from In League with Sherlock Holmes, edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger; Pegasus Crime)

Best Juvenile/Young Adult:
• Midnight at the Barclay Hotel, by Fleur Bradley (Viking Books for Young Readers)
• Premeditated Myrtle, by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Algonquin Young Readers)
• From the Desk of Zoe Washington, by Janae Marks (Katherine Tegen)
• Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco, by Richie Narvaez (Piñata)
• Star Wars Poe: Dameron: Free Fall, by Alex Segura (Disney
Lucasfilm Press)

Best Critical or Non-fiction Work:
• Sometimes You Have to Lie: The Life and Times of Louise Fitzhugh, Renegade Author of Harriet the Spy, by Leslie Brody (Seal Press)
• American Sherlock: Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI, by Kate Winkler Dawson (Putnam)
• Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club, edited by Martin Edwards (Collins Crime Club)
• The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia, by Emma Copley Eisenberg (Hachette)
• Phantom Lady: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, the Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock, by Christina Lane (Chicago Review Press)
• Unspeakable Acts: True Tales of Crime, Murder, Deceit, and Obsession, edited by Sarah Weinman (Ecco)

Best Anthology or Collection:
• Shattering Glass: A Nasty Woman Press Anthology, edited by Heather Graham (Nasty Woman Press)
• Both Sides: Stories from the Border, edited by Gabino
Iglesias (Agora)
• Noiryorican, by Richie Narvaez (Down & Out)
• The Beat of Black Wings: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Joni Mitchell, edited by Josh Pachter (Untreed Reads)
• California Schemin’: The 2020 Bouchercon Anthology, edited by Art Taylor (Wildside Press)
• Lockdown: Stories of Crime, Terror, and Hope During a Pandemic, edited by Nick Kolakowski and Steve Weddle (Polis)

Winners will be made known during a special event on Saturday, August 28—the last full day of Bouchercon 2021, to be held in New Orleans from August 25-29. Congratulations to all of the finalists!