Thursday, January 11, 2024

Mastering Mysteries

Mystery Writers of America today revealed the identities of its 2024 Grand Master and Ellery Queen award recipients.

The organization’s board has named two Grand Masters this year: New England author Katherine Hall Page, whose first novel was the Agatha Award-winning The Body in the Belfry (1990), and who last year released The Body in the Web, her 15th tale featuring amateur sleuth Faith Fairchild; and R.L. Stine, who writes the best-selling Goosebumps series for children.

According to a press release, the Grand Master “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 Grand Masters include Michael Connelly, Laurie R. King, Jeffery Deaver, Sara Paretsky, Martin Cruz Smith, Peter Lovesey, Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, Mary Higgins Clark, Stephen King, Daphne du Maurier, Lawrence Block, and P.D. James.

On top of that main prize, Michaela Hamilton, the executive editor at New York-based Kensington Publishing, will be given the MWA’s Ellery Queen Award, which honors “outstanding writing teams and outstanding people in the mystery-publishing industry.”

All three of this year’s winners are expected to collect their commendations at the 78th Annual Edgar Awards Ceremony, to be held on May 1 at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City.

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