There seems to be very little up-to-the-minute web coverage of the Bouchercon awards, which include a few awards I’m drawn to—because either I am, or a friend is, up for them. Since I’m not in Toronto to witness defeat or success, I’ve had to carefully aim various emails to get some answers.
Thursday’s Barry Award for Best Mystery Novel was won by Laura Lippman, someone I know from the 4MA board. Congrats to her, though since I’ve actually spent a 5am drinking fit with Ken Bruen, I was admittedly pulling for him. The night did bring in an award for another drinking partner, Jason Starr, who pulled in a very well-deserved win for Best Paperback Original Mystery. Big up to him.
And me? Well, PJ Tracy’s amazingly titled Monkeewrench grabbed the Best First category I was also nominated for.
Another award I was up for was the Macavity Award, again for Best First. And again, it missed me, going instead to Maisie Dobbs, by Jacqueline Winspear. I haven’t read it yet, but I’m sure that was also well-deserved.
Ken again joined me in the ranks of the losers for the Macavity, but suddenly broke ranks when the next night he won the coveted Shamus Award for Best P.I. Novel. Deserved? You can bet your pants it is.
And tonight, I’m up for the Anthony Award for Best Historical Mystery. Am I going to scour the Net all night for the results? No. This time I’m going to a party and will return at five in the morning unable to do anything as coordinated as turn on the computer. But I’ll be able to sleep, knowing, via an email from Ken, that there is a party there that will “roar” for me.