The 2019 Anthony Awards were handed out at The World Mystery Convention (usually referred to as Bouchercon) on November 2, 2019. Bouchercon is an annual conference named after Anthony Boucher, a mystery author and critic who helped found the Mystery Writers of America. This event honors various segments of the mystery and crime fiction community.
The nominees for the 2019 Anthony Awards were chosen by attendees at the 2018 convention, as well as early registrants for the 2019 event. The recognized works were published during 2018 and the finalists were voted upon by the 2019 Bouchercon attendees.
Congratulations to all the nominees and winners (indicated in red)! (Links included to highlighted short story titles.)
BEST NOVEL
- Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott
- November Road by Lou Berney
- Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier
- Sunburn by Laura Lippman
- Blackout by Alex Segura
BEST FIRST NOVEL
- My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
- Broken Places by Tracy Clark
- Dodging and Burning by John Copenhaver
- What Doesn’t Kill You by Aimee Hix
- Bearskin by James A. McLaughlin
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL
- Hollywood Ending by Kellye Garrett
- If I Die Tonight by Alison Gaylin
- Hiroshima Boy by Naomi Hirahara
- Under a Dark Sky by Lori Rader-Day
- A Stone’s Throw by James W. Ziskin
BEST SHORT STORY
- “The Grass Beneath My Feet” by S.A. Cosby, in Tough
- “Bug Appétit” by Barb Goffman, in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
- “Cold Beer No Flies” by Greg Herren, in Florida Happens
- “English 398: Fiction Workshop” by Art Taylor, in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
- “The Best Laid Plans” by Holly West, in Florida Happens
BEST CRITICAL OR NONFICTION WORK
- Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession by Alice Bolin
- Mastering Plot Twists: How To Use Suspense, Targeted Storytelling Strategies, and Structure To Captivate Your Readers by Jane K. Cleland
- Pulp According to David Goodis by Jay A. Gertzman
- Classic American Crime Fiction of the 1920s by Leslie S. Klinger
- I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara
- The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel that Scandalized the World by Sarah Weinman
Have fun reading them all!
