Mystery Readers International has announced nominations for the Macavity Awards. A number of ITW members have been short-listed. Congratulations, everyone!

June 24, 2008: For immediate release:

Mystery Readers International (Mystery Readers Journal) announces the Macavity Award nominations for  works published in 2007. The awards will be presented during opening ceremonies at Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention (Baltimore, October 2008).

For more information on the Macavity Award, go to: http://www.mysteryreaders.org/macavity.html or contact: Janet Rudolph at janet@mysteryreaders.org

Janet A. Rudolph, Editor, Mystery Readers Journal

MACAVITY NOMINEES:

Best Mystery Novel

Soul Patch by Reed Farrel Coleman (Bleak House)
The Unquiet by John Connolly (Hodder & Stoughton*/Atria)
Blood of Paradise by David Corbett (Ballantine Mortalis)
Water Like a Stone by Deborah Crombie (HarperCollins)
What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman (Morrow)

Best First Mystery

In the Woods by Tana French (Hodder & Stoughton*/Viking)
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (William Morrow)
The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz (Simon & Schuster)
Stealing the Dragon by Tim Maleeny (Midnight Ink)
The Collaborator of Bethlehem by Matt Beynon Rees (Soho)

Best Mystery Short Story

"A Rat's Tale" by Donna Andrews (EQMM, Sep-Oct 2007)
"Please Watch Your Step" by Rhys Bowen (The Strand Magazine, Spring 2007)
"The Missing Elevator Puzzle" by Jon L. Breen (EQMM, Feb 2007)
"Brimstone P.I." by Beverle Graves Myers (AHMM, May 2007)
"The Old Wife's Tale" by Gillian Roberts (EQMM, Mar-Apr 2007)

Best Mystery Non-Fiction

Rough Guide to Crime Fiction by Barry Forshaw (Penguin Rough Guides)
Chester Gould: A Daughter's Biography of the Creator of Dick Tracy by Jean Gould O'Connell (McFarland & Company)
Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters, edited by Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower & Charles Foley (HarperPress*/Penguin)
Police Procedure and Investigation: A Guide for Writers by Lee Lofland (Howdunit Series, Writers Digest Books)
The Essential Mystery Lists: For Readers, Collectors, and Librarians, compiled and edited by Roger Sobin (Poisoned Pen Press)

Sue Feder Memorial Historical Mystery

Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen (Penguin)
Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin (Putnam)
The Snake Stone by Jason Goodwin (Faber & Faber*/ Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Consequences of Sin by Clare Langley-Hawthorne (Viking*/Penguin)
The Gravediggers Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates (HarperCollins Ecco)
*UK publisher (first edition)

In the current issue of People Magazine, debut author Julie Kramer's STALKING SUSAN is hailed as a Sizzling Summer Read. Says People: "In this snappily paced debut thriller TV reporter Riley Spartz tries to stop a serial killer who is targeting women named Susan. Truly scary, no matter what your name is."

Julie was thrilled to be featured next to Debut Author Sponsor Lee Child, whose latest Jack Reacher novel, NOTHING TO LOSE, was described as "explosive and nearly impossible to put down."

For more on STALKING SUSAN, visit Julie's website: http://www.juliekramerbooks.com/.
For more on Lee Child and Jack Reacher, visit http://www.leechild.com/.

ITW Debut Author Julie Kramer's novel STALKING SUSAN has made the Chicago Tribune's Hot Summer Reads list of Big Thrills!

"Watch out, ladies named Sue. There's a serial killer on the loose, and your name is on his list."  Also included were books by three other ITW authors:  NOTHING TO LOSE by Lee Child, COLLISION by Jeff Abbott, and RULES OF DECEPTION by Christopher Reich.  

From Library Journal, June 1, 2008

At the 2004 Bouchercon World Mystery and Suspense Conference in Toronto, a group of prominent thriller authors hatched a diabolical plot: to establish a new organization that would promote and celebrate thrillers, award prestigious literary prizes, and build connections within the thriller community. Thus was born International Thriller Writers (ITW), Inc. (www.thrillerwriters.org), which will celebrate its third annual Thrillerfest convention July 9-12 in New York City. Here are some thrilling offerings from its members.

They're known as "creepers": urban explorers who investigate abandoned buildings to uncover hidden secrets. In David Morrell's page-turner Creepers (Perseus. 2006. ISBN 978-1-59315-357-1. pap. $7.99), a simple overnight exploration of a gutted hotel in Asbury Park, NJ, turns into a deadly visit. Morrell is considered by many to be the predominant thriller writer today.

In the male-dominated world of espionage, Gayle Lynds is truly a "spymaster." In The Last Spymaster (St. Martin's. 2007. ISBN 978-0-312-98877-7. pap. $6.99), she weaves a tale of intrigue, as legendary CIA agent-turned-traitor Charles "Jay" Tice escapes from a maximum-security facility. The manhunt that follows uncovers a shocking conspiracy.

A microbe found in the depths of the ocean proves to be the key to a medical breakthrough in David Dun's riveting scientific thriller, The Black Silent (Pinnacle: Kensington. 2005. ISBN 978-0-7860-1637-2. pap. $6.99), but will ex-covert operative Sam Wintripp survive long enough to stop a ruthless corporation from misusing this discovery?

"To Dream, To Dare, To Win" personifies Michael Tiranno's life. A master of high finance, he opens an extravagant Las Vegas casino that outshines all the others on the Strip. He also has a secret, and a rival is willing to kill Michael's family and friends to unveil the shocking truth in Jon Land's amazing The Seven Sins (Forge: Tor. 2008. ISBN 978-0-7653-1534-2. $24.95).

The votes of 2007 and 2008 Bouchercon participants have been tabulated by the Anthony Award Committee (led by John Purcell), and there are many ITW members on the finalist list.

Congratulations to all!

The awards will be voted on and presented at Bouchercon 2008 (Charmed to Death) in Baltimore, October 9-12.

The 2008 Anthony Award Nominees

Best Novel:

James Lee Burke - Tin Roof Blowdown Simon and Schuster

Lee Child - Bad Luck and Trouble Delacorte Press

Robert Crais - The Watchman Simon and Schuster

William Kent Krueger - Thunder Bay Atria

Laura Lippman - What the Dead Know William Morrow

Best First Novel:

Sean Chercover - Big City, Bad Blood William Morrow

Tana French - In the Woods Viking Adult

Lisa Lutz - The Spellman Files Simon and Schuster

Craig MacDonald - Head Games Bleak House Books

Marcus Sakey - The Blade Itself St. Martin Minotaur

Best Paperback Original

Megan Abbot - Queenpin Simon and Schuster

Ken Bruen and Jason Starr - Slide Hard Case Crime

David Corbett - Blood of Paradise Ballantine Books

Robert Fate - Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues Capital Crime Press

P.J. Parrish - A Thousand Bones Pocket

Short Story

Rhys Bowen - "Please Watch Your Step" (The Strand Magazine, Spring 07)

Steve Hockensmith -  "Dear Dr. Watson"  (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)

Toni L. P. Kelner -   "How Stella Got her Grave Back" (Many Bloody Returns edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner) for Ace Hardcover

Laura Lippman - "Hardly Knew Her" (Dead Man's Hand edited by Otto Penzler) for Harcourt

Daniel Woodrell - "Uncle" (A Hell of A Woman: An Anthology of Female Noir edited by Megan Abbott) for Busted Flush Press

Critical Work

Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters by Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower & Charles Foley -  Penguin

The Essential Mystery Lists Compiled by Roger Sobin -  Poisoned Pen Press

The Triumph of the Thriller: How Cops, Crooks and Cannibals Captured Popular Fiction  by Patrick Anderson - Random House

Deviance in Contemporary Crime Fiction by Christiana Gregoriou Palgrave -  MacMillan

Special Services

Jon and Ruth Jordan - Crime Spree Magazine

Ali Karim - Shotz Magazine

Maddy Van Hertbruggen - 4MA

Sarah Weinman - Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind

Judy Bobalik - for being one of the best friends and supporters of mystery writers anywhere

Web Site

 Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind - Sarah Weinman

Rap sheet/January Magazine  - J Kingston Pierce

Murderati -  A Writer's Blog

Stop, You're Killing Me - Stan Ulrich and Lucinda Surber

Crime Fiction Dossier - David Montgomery

ITW member Charlie Newton's first novel, CALUMET CITY, has made the American Library Association's list of the Best Crime Novel Debuts for 2008.

The Chicago Tribune said CALUMET CITY "was destined to become a cult classic." In a four-column headline Kevin Nance of the Chicago Sun Times wrote: "CHANDLERESQUE: Crime Writer Charlie Newton Actually Deserves the Compliment."

Newton's reaction: "You're typing away, too invisible to be called anonymous, then: L.A. Mystery picks your book for their heavy-hitter book club, asks you to autograph eighty. Seattle Mystery says you're their top seller and their pick for the 2008 Edgars. Nationwide your book goes to No. 2 with the independents. While you're catching your breath, the ALA does this. Funny, libraries saved me as a kid and it looks like they're doing it again."

For more information, visit www.CharlieNewton.com.

The Barry Award is sponsored by Mystery News and Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine and is presented each year at Bouchercon (this year in Baltimore on October 9, 2008). Without further ado, here are the nominations for BEST THRILLER of 2007 -- congratulations to all!

NO TIME FOR GOODBYE, Linwood Barclay (Bantam)

THE CLEANER, Brett Battles (Delacorte)

THE WATCHMAN, Robert Crais (Simon & Schuster)

VOLK'S GAME, Brent Ghelfi (Henry Holt)

SILENCE, Thomas Perry (Harcourt)

MIDNIGHT RAMBLER, Jim Swain (Ballantine)

UPDATE: June 4, 2008. NICK OF TIME will debut on the New York Times Children's Chapter Book Bestseller list at #4.

Ted Bell will debut his first novel for younger readers, NICK OF TIME, on May 13th, 2008. This will be his first book for St. Martin's, and will be a hardcover edition, beautifully illustrated by Russ Kramer, whose work has been compared to the NC Wyeth illustrations for TREASURE ISLAND.

The novel tells the tale of a young boy and his sister, living in England in the summer of 1939. Nazi U-boats are circling their small island home preparatory to invasion. The two children become spies, and eventually heroes, in their efforts to stave off the Germans. A second plotline involves time travel with young Nick returning to the year 1805 to defeat a dastardly conspiracy by the French and Spanish to ambush Admiral Lord Nelson's fleet en route to Trafalgar. The book was optioned by Paramount Pictures and is Ted's first foray into the world of young adult fiction.

Ted's new Alex Hawke spy thriller, TSAR, will be published by Simon & Schuster on September 23rd, 2008.