Surprised and Saluted

The Mystery Writers of America organization today announced the recipients of three special commendations. The MWA board, reports the Associated Press, “chose Laurie R. King as the 2022 Grand Master, the 2022 Raven Award recipient is Lesa Holstine, and Juliet Grames will receive the Ellery Queen Award. They will accept their awards at the 76th Annual Edgar Awards Ceremony, which will be held April 28, 2022, at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City.”

King, the best-selling author of the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series (Castle Shade), is quoted by the AP as responding thusly to news that she’d been picked as this year’s Grand Master:

“I am sure I’m not the only person who greeted the announcement that they had been given this extreme honor of the mystery world first with silence, then with, ‘Really? Me??’ I mean, any list that begins with Agatha Christie and touches on such gods as Ross Macdonald and Daphne du Maurier, Ngaio Marsh and John le Carré, Tony Hillerman and—well, you get the idea. ‘I am honored’ is an inadequate response (You are sure you counted the votes, right?) when what I mean is, ‘I am stunned, dumbfounded, gobsmacked.’ And honored too, of course—intensely, humbly, and gratefully.”

Congratulations as well to Lesa Holstine, a career library manager/administrator, enthusiastic blogger, and award-winning book reviewer. The Raven Award, it should be noted, “recognizes outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing.” I loved Holstine’s surprised reaction to word that she’d captured this year’s Raven: “You’re kidding!”

I was less familiar with Juliet Grames, this year’s recipient of the Ellery Queen prize, which honors “outstanding writing teams and outstanding people in the mystery-publishing industry.” The AP article says she is an associate publisher at Soho Press, “where she has curated the award-winning Soho Crime imprint since 2011. Her debut novel, The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna, was published by Ecco/HarperCollins and has been translated into ten languages.”