Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Collins, Hart Share Top MWA Honor

Authors Max Allan Collins and Ellen Hart have been chosen by the Mystery Writers of America to receive Grand Master Awards in 2017. That annual commendation “represents the pinnacle of achievement in mystery writing and was established to acknowledge important contributions to this genre, as well as for a body of work that is both significant and of consistent high quality.” Previous winners include Rex Stout, Agatha Christie, Erle Stanley Gardner, Ellery Queen, Ross Macdonald, Stanley Ellin, and, last year, Walter Mosley.

Collins is the prolific creator of both series private eye Nathan Heller (Better Dead) and hit man Quarry (Quarry in the Black), and continues to serve as Mickey Spillane’s “collaborator” in moving new Mike Hammer tales to market. Hart is a six-time winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Mystery, whose latest private investigator Jane Lawless novel was last year’s The Grave Soul.

These two writers will be given their prizes during the 71st Annual Edgar Awards Banquet, to be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City on Thursday, April 27, 2017.

In addition to the Grand Masters, the MWA has named the recipients of two other impressive annual accolades: the 2017 Raven Award—recognizing “outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing”—will go to Dru Ann Love, an avid reader and the blogger at Dru’s Book Musings; while next year’s Ellery Queen Award—honoring “outstanding writing teams and outstanding people in the mystery-publishing industry”—will go to Neil Nyren, the executive vice-president and editor in chief of G.P. Putnam’s Sons.

(Hat tip to Mystery Fanfare.)

READ MORE:The Grand Master,” by Ray Betzner (Studies in Starrett).

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