Harts in the Game

Sisters in Crime (SinC) has announced that Nicole Prewitt of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, will be given the 2023 Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award for her work-in-progress, titled Harts Divided. A press release quotes Prewitt as saying, “I’m honestly so excited that opportunities like this exist and feel incredibly honored to have received the 2023 Eleanor Taylor Bland Award. Writing a novel can be such a long process, and this has provided me with encouragement to see it through to the end.”

Harts Divided is described as starring “Neema Hart, a black, bisexual thief-turned-P.I., who owns a detective agency and therapy office with her estranged wife, Genie Hart. When what should be a bread-and-butter infidelity case results in unsuspecting women getting burned, in more ways than one, the Harts are pushed to prove their commitment to their clients, their community, and each other.”

The Eleanor Taylor Bland Award was established in 2014 and is of course named in honor of African-American fictionist Bland, who died in 2010 after penning a series of books about Chicago police homicide detective Marti MacAlister. This annual commendation is designed to “support a recipient at the beginning of their crime-writing career.” Its winner receives a $2,000 grant which may be applied “toward workshops, seminars, conferences, retreats, online courses, and research activities to assist in completion of their work.”

In addition to Prewitt, SinC will give five runners-up in this competition year-long memberships to the organization: Josette Covington of Wilmington, Delaware; Ann Harris of Atlanta, Georgia; Kathryn Harrison of Bingham Farms, Michigan; Karabi Mitra of Toronto, Ontario; and Deena Short of Stonecrest, Georgia.

Congratulations to all!