The Crime Scene: Awards Season

The Mystery Writers of America celebrated its annual lovefest, the Edgar Awards banquet, last week, and it was, as it tends to be, a joyous occasion. Maybe not so much for the nominees who didn't get to go home with that bust of Poe, but for most in attendance, it was a blast.

I've only been nominated for one Edgar, and won, so I've experienced a little more of the thrill of victory than the agony of defeat, but as an editor and publisher, I've had scores of books and stories nominated, and so know the feeling of waiting for the appropriate category. Never does a banquet drag as much as when waiting for the announcement of voting results that involve you.

Those who never wanted the night to end as they clutched the statue to their bosoms were John Hart, who won the Best Novel award for "Down River"; Tana French, whose heart is probably still pounding after winning the Best First Novel honor for "In the Woods," and Megan Abbott, whose "Queenpin" won for Best Paperback Original.

The greatest honor that MWA can bestow is its Grand Master award for lifetime achievement; it went to Bill Pronzini, the prolific author best known for his series about the Nameless detective.

For results in other categories, as well as a list of nominees, visit the organization's website: mysterywriters.org.

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St. Martin's Minotaur announced its Best First Crime Novel Competition at last year's Edgar Awards banquet. The winner was presented last week with a prize that some might value even more highly than a ceramic bust of the father of the detective story — a check for $10,000.

The contest was open to anyone who had not been published previously, the winner receiving the cash advance and guaranteed publication. After the judges sifted through 700 entries, Stefanie Pintoff came out on top with a novel tentatively titled "In the Shadow of Gotham," set in turn-of-the-20th-century New York City.

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While we're on the subject, the Los Angeles Times announced its prestigious award winners, and the one we care about, in the mystery/thriller category, went to the Norwegian writer Karin Fossum for "The Indian Bride," translated by Charlotte Barslund.

Continuing her excellent series about Inspector Konrad Sejer, Ms. Fossum tells the story of a quiet, middle-age man who returns from a trip to India, having at last found a bride. The happy bridegroom sends a taxi to pick her up at the airport, but the driver returns without her. The peaceful little town is soon shocked to learn that she has been bludgeoned to death.

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Michael Chabon's "The Yiddish Policeman's Union" was nominated for an Edgar in the Best Novel category. It didn't win, but the year isn't a total loss for this marvelous writer. In a rare leap across genre boundaries, his ingenious book won a Nebula Award from the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America.

Mr. Chabon creates a new history for the world's Jews, who have settled in Alaska following World War II and the collapse of Israel. The book features a heavy-drinking cop investigating a murder but, in this Chandleresque kitchen sink of a book, no one genre will suffice to tell this big story. It features elements of mystery, science fiction, fantasy, history, pulp, philosophy, and enough other bits and pieces to dazzle the reader every time a page is turned.

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Don't you just love people who want to take a bite out of someone else's apple? It happened repeatedly to Dan Brown, when anyone who had ever seen the Mona Lisa in the Louvre decided that the successful author had ripped them off to produce "The Da Vinci Code."

Now it's happening to Carol Higgins Clark, who has been writing a popular series of humorous novels about private eye Regan Reilly with such titles as "Decked," "Hitched," "Snagged," "Popped," etc.

Her new one is "Zapped," set against the 2003 New York blackout. Someone else used that title for a totally unrelated book about coincidences six years ago, and now accuses Ms. Clark of plagiarism. She has proof: A cousin of hers was a childhood friend of Ms. Clark's mother, Mary Higgins Clark. Well, that sure clinches it for me.

Mr. Penzler is the proprietor of the Mysterious Bookshop in Manhattan and the series editor of the annual "Best American Mystery Stories." He can be reached at ottopenzler@mysteriousbookshop.com.