After seeing its 2020 convention cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Killer Nashville returned this last weekend (August 19-22) with an in-person gathering in Franklin, Tennessee. Among the festivities was the presentation of several annual commendations.
Let’s start with winners of the 2021 Silver Falchion Awards, recognizing “the best stories from the previous year told through various media utilizing the elements of mystery, thriller, and/or suspense.” There are 13 Silver Falchion winners, but two of particular interest.
Best Mystery: Code Gray, by Benny Sims (Pandamoon)
Also nominated: Every Kind of Wicked, by Lisa Black (Kensington); Dark Secrets of the Bayou, by Kim Carter (Raven South); Travels of Quinn, by Sasscer Hill (Independently published); Three Houses on a Hill, by Nicholas Holloway (JPM); Relative Silence, by Carrie Stuart Parks (Thomas Nelson); Calling for the Money, by Cathy Perkins (Red Mountain e-book); Love Power, by Martha Reed (Buccaneer); Murder, Forgotten, by Deb Richardson-Moore (Lion); and Murder at Lolly Beach, by Jane Suen (Jane Suen)
Best Thriller: The Divine Devils, by R. Weir (Independently published)
Also nominated: Collateral, by Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson (Bonefrog Press); Bakersfield Boys Club, by Anne Da Vigo (Quill Driver Press); Blind Edge, by Candace Irving (Blind Edge Press); The Venezuelan, by Bill King (Independently published); Fall, by Leslie McCauley (Ingram Sparks); Percentages of Guilt, by Michael Niemann (Coffeetown Press); Ripple in the Sea, by Charley Pearson (CEP); Hot Ice, Cold Blood, by Holly Spofford (HSS); and Scorpion Scheme, by Melissa Yi (Olo)
A complete list of Silver Falchion recipients is available here.
There was also a Silver Falchion given out for Best Attending Author. That went to R.G. Belsky, author of Below the Fold (Oceanview).
On top of all that, there were 20 nominees for the 2021 Claymore Award, which is given for the “best first fifty pages of an unpublished [mystery or thriller] manuscript.” The winner was Crooked, by Mary Bush. First runner-up for that same prize was Choosing Guilt, by Frances Aylor, while the second runner-up was The Forget-Me-Knot, by Richard McGonegal. Click here to see the other contenders.
Finally, Missouri author Luis E. Rosas (A Savage Joy) walked away with this year’s C. Auguste Dupin Detective Award, for having best interpreted a convention-staged homicide scene.
Congratulations to all!
Monday, August 23, 2021
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I was amazed they did not cancel the in person side of things considering the obvious pandemic situation. From the pictures that came out during the event, shared by the conference as well as attendees, nobody was masked nor were people spread out very well. It looked like the stage for a super spreader event.
I know there was a lot of controversy last year when they cancelled and refused to refund and just rolled the monies over to this year. Obviously, I don't know if that played a role in why they went ahead anyway, despite hospitals being crushed in Tennessee and elsewhere, but it did not seem the right thing to do. I hope those who attended dodged the Covid bullet.
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