Courting Arthur

Two weeks ago, Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) released its longlist of books and authors vying for the 2014 Arthur Ellis Award in the Best Novel category. Today brings the shortlists of nominees for Ellis Awards in all seven categories. They are:

Best Novel:
• Walls of a Mind, by John Brooke (Signature Editions)
• The Devil’s Making, by Seán Haldane (Stone Flower Press)
• Presto Variations, by Lee Lamothe (Dundurn)
• Miss Montreal, by Howard Shrier (Vintage Canada)
• An Inquiry into Love and Death, by Simone St. James (Penguin)

Best First Novel:
• Almost Criminal, by E.R. Brown (Dundurn)
• The Silent Wife, by A.S.A. Harrison (Penguin Canada)
• Hot Sinatra, by Axel Howerton (Evolved)
• Bait, by J. Kent Messum (Penguin Canada)
• Die on Your Feet, by S.G. Wong (Carina Press)

Best Novella:
• The Goddaughter’s Revenge, by Melodie Campbell (Orca)
• My Sister’s Keeper, by Brenda Chapman (Grassroots Press)
• A Woman Scorned, by James Heneghan (Orca)

Best Short Story:
• “Watermelon Weekend,” by Donna Carrick (from Thirteen, edited by M.H. Callway, Donna Carrick, and Joan O'Callaghan; Carrick)
• “Under Cap Ste. Claire,” by Jas. R. Petrin (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, October 2013)
• “Footprints in Water,” by Twist Phelan (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, July 2013)
• “The Emerald Skull,” by Sylvia Maultash Warsh (from Thirteen)
• “The Third Echo,” by Sam Wiebe (from The Malfeasance Occasional: Girl Trouble, edited by Claire Toohey; St Martin’s Press)

Best Book in French:
• Saccages, by Chrystine Brouillet (La courte échelle)
• Et à l'heure de votre mort, by Jacques Côté (Éditions Alire)
• L’enfant promis, by Maureen Martineau (La courte échelle)
• Le fils emprunté, by Jacques Savoie (Éditions Libre Expression)

Best Juvenile/Young Adult Book:
• Sabotage, by Karen Autio (Sono Nis Press)
• Apparition, by Gail Gallant (Doubleday Canada)
• Bones Never Lie: How Forensics Helps Solve History’s Mysteries, by Elizabeth MacLeod (Annick Press)
• Who I’m Not, by Ted Staunton (Orca)

Unhanged Arthur (for unpublished work):
• Death at the Iron House Lodge, by L.J. Gordon
• Cold Girl, by Rachel Greenaway
• The Snow Job, by Charlotte Morganti
• Descent, by Kristina Stanley
• Coiled, by Kevin Thornton

The CWC has added an additional commendation this year, its Grand Master Award, “intended to recognize Canadian crime writers who have a substantial body of work that has garnered national and international recognition.” The recipient is Toronto, Ontario, novelist Howard Engel, author of the Benny Cooperman private eye series.

Winners of the 2014 Arthur Ellis Awards will be announced during an event in Toronto scheduled for Thursday, June 5.

(Hat tip to Mystery Fanfare.)