CrimeFest, one of Europe’s
leading crime writing conventions, has announced the shortlists for its
annual
awards.
The awards began 16 years ago
when CrimeFest launched in 2008; they honour the best crime books released in
the UK in the last year, and feature the hotly-contended Specsavers Debut Crime
Novel Award which offers a £1,000 cash prize.
Authors in contention for the £1k
prize include the Times Radio presenter and former editor of
the Times Literary Supplement, Stig Abell, for his fiction debut, Death
Under a Little Sky.
Jo Callaghan is nominated for her BBC Between the
Covers Book Club pick, In the Blink of An Eye, a daring,
original debut featuring an AI detective. Jo Callaghan works as a senior
strategist researching the future impact of AI and geonomics.
Also, up for the debut award are
Megan Davis described by Waterstones as an ‘eclectic, cut throat new voice in
thriller writing’ with The Messenger;
Jenny Lund Madsen with her
darkly funny
Thirty Days of Darkness,
the critically acclaimed historical
crime debut
Needless Alley by Natalie Marlow;
and the
pitch-black Death of a Bookseller, by Alice Slater.
Adrian Muller, Co-host of
CrimeFest, said: “The Specsavers Debut Novel Award has become one of the most
highly anticipated awards of the genre, and we’d like to thank Specsavers for
their on-going support in celebrating new talent.”
The shortlist for the CrimeFest
H.R.F. Keating Award for the best biographical or critical book includes
explorations of icons of the genre including
Steven Powell for Love Me
Fierce in Danger: The Life of James Ellroy;
Nicholas Shakespeare for Ian
Fleming: The Complete Man, and
Adam Sisman for The Secret Life of
John Le Carré.
CrimeFest’s Last Laugh Award for
best humorous crime novel sees bestselling authors in contention, including
Mark Billingham for The Last Laugh;
Mick Herron with The Secret
Hours; and
Elly Griffiths for The Great Deceiver.
They’re joined by
authors Mike Ripley, Jesse Sutanto and
Antti Tuomianen.
Nominated for the best crime
fiction e-book published in 2023 for the
E-Dunnit Award are
Rachel
Abbott’s Don't Look Away;
Jane Casey for The Close;
Marin
Edwards’ Sepulchre Street;
Christina Koning for Murder at
Bletchley Park;
Laura Lippman’s Prom Mom; and
The Devil's
Playground by Craig Russell.
This nominees for the CrimeFest
Best Crime Novel for Young Adults (aged 12-16) include
Jennifer Lynn Barnes for
her TikTok sensation, The Brothers Hawthorne, which combines puzzles, plot
twists, and romance.
She’s up against the bestselling
author Ravena Guron, the ‘trailblazing’ blockbuster Promise Boys by
Nick Brooks; the international bestseller
Karen M. McManus for One of Us
is Back; and Elizabeth Wein’s 1937 murder mystery featuring solo female
pilot Stella North, Stateless.
Adrian Muller said: “We are proud
to be one of the few genre awards that recognise and celebrate children, and
young adult crime fiction. This category has really boomed in recent years. The
top-selling female author of crime fiction in the UK last year was Holly
Jackson, and we’re thrilled to host Holly and fellow author, Robin Stevens, at
talks for state schools in Bristol this May. The genre is a fantastic
gateway into reading.”
Robin Stevens is also shortlisted
for the CrimeFest Award for Best Crime Novel for Children (ages 8-12) for The
Ministry of Unladylike Activity 2: The Body in the Blitz, published by
Puffin, which celebrates the 10th anniversary of the bestselling series
that has sold 2 million copies in the UK to date.
She’s up against a strong
shortlist that includes J.T. Williams,
Lis Jardine, Beth Lincoln, and the
footballer Marcus Rashford for The Breakfast Club Adventures: The Ghoul in
the School,
co-written by Alex Falase-Koya.
Leading British crime fiction
reviewers and reviewers of fiction for children and young adults, alongside the
members of the School Library Association (SLA), form the CrimeFest
judging panels.
The winners of the 2024 CrimeFest
Awards will be announced at a gala dinner hosted during CrimeFest on
Saturday
11 May at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel.
Hosted in Bristol, CrimeFest is one of the most popular dates in the international crime fiction calendar,
with circa 60 panel events and 150 authors attending over four days,
from 9-12
May.
This year also features the
CrimeFest Best Adapted TV Crime Drama Award, which celebrate dramas based on a
book screened in 2023.
Shortlisted shows include
Amazon’s Reacher, based on books by
Lee Child; the BBC’s Shetland, and
ITV’s Vera, based on the books by Ann Cleeves; Apple TV’s Slow Horses,
adapted from Mick Herron’s series; The Serial Killer’s Wife on
Paramount by Alice Hunter; and Dalgliesh, based on the books by P.D.
James.
The convention will feature a
panel that pays homage to P.D. James with author Frances Fyfield, the Sunday
Times chief fiction critic Peter Kemp, playwright and crime author, Simon
Brett, and PD James’ granddaughter, Dr Beatrice Groves.
Featured Guests for 2024 are
author of the international hit Murdle - G.T. Karber - who will host
a live Murdle event in a rare UK appearance; Diamond Dagger winners
James Lee Burke and Lynda La Plante, the acclaimed American author Laura
Lippman; and the seminal Scottish author, Denise Mina.
The line up also features Ajay
Chowdhury, Cathy Ace,
Janice Hallett, Abir Mukherjee, Vaseem Khan, Holly
Jackson, Kate Ellis, Ruth Dudley Edwards, and Martin Edwards.
CrimeFest was created following
the hugely successful one-off visit to Bristol in 2006 of the American Left
Coast Crime convention. Established in 2008, it follows the egalitarian format
of most US conventions, making it open to all commercially published authors
and readers alike.
All category winners will receive
a
Bristol Blue Glass commemorative award.
The 2024 CrimeFest Award
Shortlists in full:
SPECSAVERS DEBUT CRIME NOVEL
AWARD
In association with headline
sponsor, the Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award is for debut authors first
published in the United Kingdom in 2023. The winning author receives a £1,000
prize.
- Stig Abell Death Under a
Little Sky
(Hemlock Press/HarperCollins)
- Jo Callaghan In The Blink
Of An Eye (Simon & Schuster)
- Megan Davis The Messenger (Zaffre)
- Jenny Lund Madsen Thirty
Days of Darkness
translated by Megan Turney (Orenda Books)
- Natalie Marlow Needless
Alley (Baskerville)
- Alice Slater Death of a
Bookseller (Hodder & Stoughton)
H.R.F. KEATING AWARD
The H.R.F. Keating Award is for
the best biographical or critical book related to crime fiction first published
in the United Kingdom in 2023. The award is named after H.R.F. ‘Harry’ Keating,
one of Britain’s most esteemed crime novelists, crime reviewers and writer of
books about crime fiction.
- M, J, F & A Dall'Asta,
Migozzi, Pagello & Pepper
Contemporary European Crime Fiction:
Representing History and Politics
(Palgrave)
- Lisa Hopkins Ocular Proof
and the Spectacled Detective in British Crime Fiction (Palgrave)
- Kate Jackson How To
Survive a Classic Crime Novel
(British Library Publishing)
- Steven Powell Love Me
Fierce In Danger: The Life of James Ellroy (Bloomsbury Academic)
- Nicholas Shakespeare Ian
Fleming: The Complete Man (Harvill Secker)
- Adam Sisman The
Secret Life of John Le Carré (Profile Books)
LAST LAUGH AWARD
The Last Laugh Award is for the
best humorous crime novel first published in the United Kingdom in 2023.
- Mark Billingham The Last Dance (Sphere)
- Elly Griffiths The Great
Deceiver (Quercus)
- Mick Herron The Secret Hours
(Baskerville)
- Mike Ripley Mr Campion's
Memory (Severn House)
- Jesse Sutanto Vera Wong's
Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (HQ)
- Antti Tuomianen The Beaver
Theory (Orenda Books)
eDUNNIT AWARD
For the best crime fiction ebook
first published in both hardcopy and in electronic format in the United Kingdom
in 2023.
- Rachel Abbott Don't Look Away (Wildfire)
-Jane Casey The Close (HarperCollins)
-Martin Edwards Sepulchre
Street (Head of Zeus)
-Christina Koning Murder at
Bletchley Park (Allison & Busby)
-Laura Lippman Prom Mom (Faber
& Faber)
-Craig Russell The Devil's
Playground (Constable)
BEST CRIME FICTION NOVEL FOR
CHILDREN
This award is for the best crime
novel for children (aged 8-12)
first published in the United Kingdom in 2023.
- A.M. Howell Mysteries At
Sea: Peril On The Atlantic
(Usborne Publishing)
- Lis Jardine The Detention
Detectives
(Penguin Random House Children's UK)
- Beth Lincoln The Swifts (Penguin
Random House Children's UK)
- Marcus Rashford (with Alex
Falase-Koya)
The Breakfast Club Adventures: The Ghoul in the School
(Macmillan
Children's Books)
- Robin Stevens The Ministry
of Unladylike Activity 2: The Body in the Blitz
(Penguin Random House
Children's UK)
- J.T. Williams The Lizzie
and Belle Mysteries: Portraits and Poison
illustrated by Simone Douglas
(Farshore)
BEST CRIME FICTION NOVEL FOR YOUNG ADULTS
This award is for the best crime
novel for young adults (aged 12-16) first published in the United Kingdom in
2023.
- Jennifer Lynn Barnes The
Brothers Hawthorne
(Penguin Random House Children's UK)
- Nick Brooks Promise Boys (Macmillan
Children's Books)
- Ravena Guron This Book
Kills (Usborne Publishing)
- Ravena Guron Catch Your
Death (Usborne Publishing)
- Karen M. McManus One of Us
is Back
(Penguin Random House Children's UK)
- Elizabeth Wein Stateless (Bloomsbury
YA)
THALIA PROCTOR MEMORIAL AWARD FOR BEST ADAPTED TV CRIME DRAMA
This award is for the best
television crime drama based on a book, and first screened in the UK in 2023.
- Dalgliesh (series 2),
based on the Inspector Dalgliesh books
by P.D. James (Channel 5)
- Reacher (series 2),
based on the Jack Reacher books
by Lee Child (Amazon Prime)
- Shetland (series 8),
based on the Shetland books
by Ann Cleeves (BBC)
- Slow Horses (series
3), based on the Slough House books
by Mick Herron (Apple)
- The Serial Killer's Wife,
based on the Serial Killer books
by Alice Hunter (Paramount+)
- Vera (series 12),
based on the Vera Stanhope books
by Ann Cleeves (ITV)
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