Award Winner

2024 – National Book Awards

For 75 years, the National Book Foundation has honored the best publishing in the U.S.. Take a look at the 2024 winners in five categories

Fiction
James by Percival Everett

Nonfiction
Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling by Jason De Leon

Literature in Translation
Taiwan Travelogue  by Yang Shuang-zi

Poetry
Something about Living by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha

Young People’s Literature
Kareem Between  by Shifa Saltagi Safadi

 

Congratulations to all!

 

2024 – National Book Awards Read More »

2024 Barry Awards – Crime Fiction

Established in 1997, the Barry Awards are presented at the annual Bouchercon World Mystery Convention, held this year in Nashville. The winners were announced at the Opening Ceremonies in August. Voted on by readers of the Deadly Pleasures mystery magazine, the award was named in honor of Barry Gardner, an American critic and lover of great crime fiction. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners (indicated in red)!

Best Mystery or Crime Novel
Lou Berney, DARK RIDE
S. A. Cosby, ALL THE SINNERS BLEED
Eli Cranor, OZARK DOGS
Jordan Harper, EVERYBODY KNOWS
Dennis Lehane, SMALL MERCIES
Adrian McKinty, THE DETECTIVE UP LATE

Best First Mystery or Crime Novel
Michael Bennett, BETTER THE BLOOD
I.S. Berry, THE PEACOCK AND THE SPARROW
Bruce Borgos, THE BITTER PAST
Amy Chua, THE GOLDEN GATE
Deepti Kapoor, AGE OF VICE
Nina Simon, MOTHER-DAUGHTER MURDER NIGHT
Iris Yamashita, CITY UNDER ONE ROOF

Best Paperback Original
Mystery or Crime Novel
Mia P. Manansala, MURDER AND MAMON
Rick Mofina, EVERY THING SHE FEARED
Jake Needham, WHO THE HELL IS HARRY BLACK?
Jesse Sutanto, VERA WONG’S UNSOLICITED ADVICE FOR MURDERERS
Vanda Symon, EXPECTANT
Scott Von Doviak, LOWDOWN ROAD

Best Thriller
Mark Greaney, BURNER
Mick Herron, THE SECRET HOURS
John Lawton, MOSCOW EXILE
Anthony McCarten, GOING ZERO
T. J. Newman, DROWNING

2024 Barry Awards – Crime Fiction Read More »

2024 Pulitzer Prizes for Journalism

There are 22 Pulitzer categories. In 21 of those categories the winners receive a $15,000 cash award and a certificate. Only the winner in the Public Service category of the Journalism competition is awarded the gold medal. The Public Service prize is always awarded to a news organization, not an individual.

The Public Service Award goes to ProPublica, for the work of Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott, Brett Murphy, Alex Mierjeski and Kirsten Berg  for “Groundbreaking and ambitious reporting that pierced the thick wall of secrecy surrounding the Supreme Court to reveal how a small group of politically influential billionaires wooed justices with lavish gifts and travel, pushing the Court to adopt its first code of conduct.”

The Groundbreaking News Award goes to the Staff of Lookout Santa Cruz, CA “For its detailed and nimble community-focused coverage, over a holiday weekend, of catastrophic flooding and mudslides that displaced thousands of residents and destroyed more than 1,000 homes and businesses.”

The Investigative Reporting Award goes to Hannah Dreier of The New York Times “For a deeply reported series of stories revealing the stunning reach of migrant child labor across the United States—and the corporate and governmental failures that perpetuate it.”

The Explanatory Reporting Award goes to Sarah Stillman of The New Yorker “For a searing indictment of our legal system’s reliance on the felony murder charge and its disparate consequences, often devastating for communities of color.”

The Local Reporting Award goes to Sarah Conway of City Bureau and Trina Reynolds-Tyler of the Invisible Institute “For their investigative series on missing Black girls and women in Chicago that revealed how systemic racism and police department neglect contributed to the crisis.”

The National Reporting Award goes to the Staff of Reuters “For an eye-opening series of accountability stories focused on Elon Musk’s automobile and aerospace businesses, stories that displayed remarkable breadth and depth and provoked official probes of his companies’ practices in Europe and the United States.” 
and

the Staff of The Washington Post “For its sobering examination of the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, which forced readers to reckon with the horrors wrought by the weapon often used for mass shootings in America.”

The International Reporting Award goes to the Staff of The New York Times “For its wide-ranging and revelatory coverage of Hamas’ lethal attack in southern Israel on October 7, Israel’s intelligence failures and the Israeli military’s sweeping, deadly response in Gaza.”

The Feature Writing Award goes to Katie Engelhart, contributing writer, The New York Times “For her fair-minded portrait of a family’s legal and emotional struggles during a matriarch’s progressive dementia that sensitively probes the mystery of a person’s essential self.”

The Editorial Writing Award goes to David E. Hoffman of The Washington Post  “For a compelling and well-researched series on new technologies and the tactics authoritarian regimes use to repress dissent in the digital age, and how they can be fought.”

The Illustrated Reporting and Commentary Award goes to Medar de la Cruz, contributor, The New Yorker “For his visually-driven story set inside Rikers Island jail using bold black-and-white images that humanize the prisoners and staff through their hunger for books.”

The Breaking News Photography Award goes to the Photography Staff of Reuters “For raw and urgent photographs documenting the October 7th deadly attack in Israel by Hamas and the first weeks of Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza.”

The Feature Photography Award goes to the Photography Staff of Associated Press “For poignant photographs chronicling unprecedented masses of migrants and their arduous journey north from Colombia to the border of the United States.”

Congratulations to all!

 

 

 

2024 Pulitzer Prizes for Journalism Read More »

2023 Pulitzer Prize for Journalism

There are 22 Pulitzer categories. In 21 of those categories the winners receive a $15,000 cash award and a certificate. Only the winner in the Public Service category of the Journalism competition is awarded the gold medal. The Public Service prize is always awarded to a news organization, not an individual. Thirteen of the news organization recipients are listed below. (Award information provided by the Pulitzer organization.)

Public Service awarded to the Associated Press, for the work of Mstyslav Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka, Vasilisa Stepanenko and Lori Hinnant for “Courageous reporting from the besieged city of Mariupol that bore witness to the slaughter of civilians in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

Breaking News Reporting awarded to the Staff of the Los Angeles Times for “Revealing a secretly recorded conversation among city officials that included racist comments, followed by coverage of the rapidly resulting turmoil and deeply reported pieces that delved further into the racial issues affecting local politics.”

Investigative Reporting awarded to the Staff of The Wall Street Journal for “Sharp accountability reporting on financial conflicts of interest among officials at 50 federal agencies, revealing those who bought and sold stocks they regulated and other ethical violations by individuals charged with safeguarding the public’s interest.”

Explanatory Reporting awarded to Caitlin Dickerson of The Atlantic for “Deeply reported and compelling accounting of the Trump administration policy that forcefully separated migrant children from their parents, resulting in abuses that have persisted under the current administration.”

Local Reporting awarded to Anna Wolfe of Mississippi Today, for “Reporting that revealed how a former Mississippi governor used his office to steer millions of state welfare dollars to benefit his family and friends, including NFL quarterback Brett Favre.”
PLUS
John Archibald, Ashley Remkus, Ramsey Archibald and Challen Stephens of AL.com, Birmingham for “A series exposing how the police force in the town of Brookside preyed on residents to inflate revenue, coverage that prompted the resignation of the police chief, four new laws and a state audit.”

National Reporting awarded to Caroline Kitchener of The Washington Post for “Unflinching reporting that captured the complex consequences of life after Roe v. Wade, including the story of a Texas teenager who gave birth to twins after new restrictions denied her an abortion.”

International Reporting awarded to the Staff of The New York Times for their “Unflinching coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including an eight-month investigation into Ukrainian deaths in the town of Bucha and the Russian unit responsible for the killings.”

Feature Writing awarded to Eli Saslow of The Washington Post for “Evocative individual narratives about people struggling with the pandemic, homelessness, addiction and inequality that collectively form a sharply-observed portrait of contemporary America.”

Editorial Writing awarded to the Miami Herald Editorial Board, for a series written by Amy Driscoll: “Editorials on the failure of Florida public officials to deliver on many taxpayer-funded amenities and services promised to residents over decades.”

Breaking News Photography awarded to the Photography Staff of Associated Press “For unique and urgent images from the first weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including the devastation of Mariupol after other news organizations left, victims of the targeting of civilian infrastructure and the resilience of the Ukrainian people who were able to flee.”

Feature Photography awarded to Christina House of the Los Angeles Times for “An intimate look into the life of a pregnant 22-year-old woman living on the street in a tent–images that show her emotional vulnerability as she tries and ultimately loses the struggle to raise her child.”

Audio Reporting awarded to Staff of Gimlet Media, notably Connie Walker, “Whose investigation into her father’s troubled past revealed a larger story of abuse of hundreds of Indigenous children at an Indian residential school in Canada, including other members of Walker’s extended family, a personal search for answers expertly blended with rigorous investigative reporting.”

Congratulations to all the recipients!

 

2023 Pulitzer Prize for Journalism Read More »

2023 – Macavity Awards

The Macavity Awards are nominated by members and friends of Mystery Readers International, and subscribers to Mystery Readers JournalCongratulations to all the nominees and winners (indicated in red)!
Mystery Readers International, Mystery Readers Journal, and the Macavity Awards, were created by Anthony Award winner, Janet Rudolph.

Best Mystery Novel:
Laurie R. King: Back to the Garden 
Chris Pavone:
Two Nights in Lisbon 
Louise Penny: A World of Curiosities 
Ian Rankin:
A Heart Full of Headstones 
Deanna Raybourn:
Killers of a Certain Age 
Alex Segura:
Secret Identity

Best First Mystery:
Jacqueline Bublitz: Before You Knew My Name
A.J. Devlin: Five Moves of Doom
Ramona Emerson: Shutter
Rob Osler: Devil’s Chew Toy
Jane Pek: The Verifiers
Nita Prose: The Maid

Best Mystery Short Story:
Brendan DuBois: “The Landscaper’s Wife” (Mystery Tribune, Aug/Sep 2022)
Barb Goffman: “Beauty and the Beyotch” (Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, Jan 2022)
Donna Moore: “First You Dream, Then You Die” (Black is the Night, Titan Books)
Anna Scotti: “Schrödinger, Cat” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Mar/Apr 2022)
Catherine Steadman: “Stockholm” (Amazon Original Stories)
Jess Walter: “The Angel of Rome” (in The Angel of Rome and Other Stories, Harper)
Melissa Yi: “My Two-Legs” (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Sep/Oct 2022)

Sue Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Mystery:
Mariah Fredericks: The Lindbergh Nanny
Catriona McPherson: In Place of Fear 
Wanda M. Morris: Anywhere You Run
Ann Parker: The Secret in the Wall
Gary Phillips: One-Shot Harry
Lev A.C. Rosen: Lavender House

 

2023 – Macavity Awards Read More »

2023 Goodreads Choice Awards

Thanks to “Publishers Lunch,” a daily publication for the book business, we have a list of the winners of the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards. This is one of the few book awards chosen and voted upon by the readers themselves, with hundreds of thousands participating each year. Here is the winning list, in order of number of votes received.

Romantasy: Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros (397,565 votes)
Fiction: Yellowface, by R. F. Kuang (200,722 votes)
Romance: Happy Place, by Emily Henry (157,687 votes)
Memoir & Autobiography: The Woman in Me, by Britney Spears (132,867 votes)
YA Fantasy: Divine Rivals, by Rebecca Ross (117,671 votes)
Mystery & Thriller: The Housemaid’s Secret, by Freida McFadden (86,468 votes)
Horror: Holly, by Stephen King (77,993 votes)
Fantasy: Hell Bent, by Leigh Bardugo (75,800 votes)
Young Adult Fiction: Check & Mate, by Ali Hazelwood (68,736 votes)
Historical Fiction: Weyward, by Emilia Hart (62,211 votes)
Science Fiction: In the Lives of Puppets, by T.J. Klune (57,535 votes)
Debut Novel: Weyward, by Emilia Hart (45,420 votes)
History & Biography: The Wager, by David Grann (40,132 votes)
Humor: Being Henry: The Fonz…and Beyond, by Henry Winkler (36,770 votes)
Nonfiction: Poverty, by America, by Matthew Desmond (25,910 votes)

Congratulations to all!

 

 

2023 Goodreads Choice Awards Read More »

Book List: Author Ellen Byron

Ellen Byron’s writing is like her: clever, funny, deeply sincere, and thoughtful. Her books are full of diverse, quirky characters – just like the people you know in your own neighborhood or at work. When I read the dialogue, I feel as if I’m joining a real conversation. When her characters are cooking, I’m there in the kitchen as well and the aromas waft right off the pages. It’s no wonder that her work has won so many awards.

Take a look at her current book list and click on the titles to learn more about the books. Click on the ‘review here’ links to read what I thought about specific titles.

 

Cajun Country Mystery Series – Agatha and Lefty Award winning series, set primarily in New Orleans

Plantation Shudders

Body on the Bayou

A Cajun Christmas Killing

 “Mardi Gras Murder” – review here

“Fatal Cajun Festival”

Murder in the Bayou Boneyard

Cajun Kiss of Death

Series review here

 

 

 

Catering Hall Mysteries (as Maria DiRico) Set in Queens, a borough of NYC, with all the food and Long Island feel that a Queens cozy should have!

Here Comes the Body

Long Island Iced Tina

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder”

Four Parties and a Funeral”

The Witless Protection Program” (coming in March, 2024)

 

Vintage Cookbook Mystery Series   A new amateur sleuth is in town (New Orleans)

Bayou Book Thief

Wined and Died in New Orleans

 

Enjoy each of the series from this engaging, talented author, found at https://www.ellenbyron.com/   and on Facebook as well as other social media.

You’re welcome!   🙂

(Photo and art work courtesy of Ellen Byron)

 

Book List: Author Ellen Byron Read More »

Scroll to Top