Lauding Irish and Historical Fiction

Two small book-prize updates to begin this Thanksgiving Day.

First off, In Reference to Murder reports that organizers of the annual Irish Book Awards have “announced the winners of the various categories including Irish Independent Crime Fiction Book of the Year, awarded to Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent. The other finalists [were] The Lock-Up by John Banville; The Close by Jane Casey; Kill for Me, Kill for You by Steve Cavanagh; No One Saw a Thing by Andrea Mara; and The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard.”

Secondly, Britain’s Historical Writers’ Association last evening made known the recipients of its 2023 Crown Awards. Taking home the Gold Crown for fiction was The Colour Storm, by Damien Dibben (Michael Joseph), which some critics have categorized as mystery fiction. Among the contenders for this year’s Debut Crown Award was Tom Mead’s Death and the Conjuror (Head of Zeus), which certainly qualifies as a mystery. However, that particular commendation was snapped up in the end by The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho, by Paterson Joseph (Dialogue). The longlists of nominees for these three Crown prizes can be found here.