Let Us Hail the Anthony Hopefuls

The organizers of Bouchercon 2022—to be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from September 8 to 11—have announced seven categories of nominees for this year’s Anthony Awards. Convention attendees will cast their votes between Thursday and Saturday of that week, with the winners to be revealed during a Saturday evening ceremony.

Best Novel:
• Runner, by Tracy Clark (Kensington)
• Razorblade Tears, by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron)
• The Collective, by Alison Gaylin (Morrow)
• Clark and Division, by Naomi Hirahara (Soho Crime)
• These Toxic Things, by Rachel Howzell Hall (Thomas & Mercer)

Best First Novel:
• Her Name Is Knight, by Yasmin Angoe (Thomas & Mercer)
• The Other Black Girl, by Zakiya Dalila Harris (Atria)
• Walking Through Needles, by Heather Levy (Polis)
• Arsenic and Adobo, by Mia P. Manansala (Berkley Prime Crime)
• All Her Little Secrets, by Wanda M. Morris (Morrow)

Best Short Story:
• “The Search for Eric Garcia,” by E.A. Aymar (from Midnight Hour: A Chilling Anthology of Crime Fiction from 20 Authors of Color, edited by Abby L. Vandiver; Crooked Lane)
• “The Vermeer Conspiracy,” by V.M. Burns (from Midnight Hour)
• “Lucky Thirteen,” by Tracy Clark (from Midnight Hour)
• “Doc’s at Midnight,” by Richie Narvaez (from Midnight Hour)
• “Not My Cross to Bear,” by S.A. Cosby (from Trouble No More: Crime Fiction Inspired by Southern Rock and the Blues, edited by Mark Westmoreland; Down & Out)
• “The Locked Room Library,” by Gigi Pandian (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, July/August 2021)
• “Burnt Ends,” by Gabriel Valjan (from This Time for Sure: Bouchercon Anthology 2021, edited by Hank Phillippi Ryan; Down & Out)

Best Children’s/YA:
• Cold-Blooded Myrtle, by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Algonquin Young Readers)
• Bury Me in Shadows, by Greg Herren (Bold Strokes)
• The Forest of Stolen Girls, by June Hur (Feiwel & Friends)
• I Play One on TV, by Alan Orloff (Down & Out)
• Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche, by Nancy Springer (Wednesday)

Best Anthology:
• Under the Thumb: Stories of Police Oppression, edited by S.A. Cosby (Rock & A Hard Place Press)
• Midnight Hour: A Chilling Anthology of Crime Fiction from 20 Authors of Color, edited by Abby L. Vandiver (Crooked Lane)
• Trouble No More: Crime Fiction Inspired by Southern Rock and the Blues, edited by Mark Westmoreland (Down & Out)
• This Time for Sure: Bouchercon Anthology 2021, edited by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Down & Out)
• When a Stranger Comes to Town, edited by Michael Koryta (Hanover Square Press)

Best Paperback/EBook/AudioBook (paperback publishers listed):
• The Ninja Betrayed, by Tori Eldridge (Agora)
• Warn Me When It’s Time, by Cheryl A. Head (Bywater)
• Bury Me in Shadows, by Greg Herren (Bold Strokes)
• The Mother Next Door, by Tara Laskowski (Graydon House)
• Bloodline, by Jess Lourey (Thomas & Mercer)

Best Critical/Non-fiction:
• The Combat Zone: Murder, Race, and Boston’s Struggle for Justice, by Jan Brogan (Bright Leaf Press)
• Murder Book: A Graphic Memoir of a True Crime Obsession, by Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell (Andrews McMeel)
• Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York, by Elon Green (Celadon)
• How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America, edited by Lee Child and Laurie R. King (Simon & Schuster)
• The Haunting of Alma Fielding: A True Ghost Story, by Kate Summerscale (Penguin Press)

Congratulations to all of this year’s contenders!

In addition, Minnesota’s Ellen Hart, author of the Jane Lawless and Sophie Greenway series, will be given the convention’s Life Achievement Award. And British novelist Alexander McCall Smith is slated to receive its International Lifetime Achievement Award.