202 SHAMUS AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
The Private Eye Writers of America (PWA) has announced the nominees for the 2026 Shamus Awards as follows:
BEST P.I. HARDCOVER:
WINNER The Big Empty, by Robert Crais (Putnam), featuring Elvis Cole and Joe Pike
Photograph, by Brian Freeman (Blackstone Publishing), featuring Shannon Wells
Hatchet Girls, by Joe R. Lansdale (Little, Brown), featuring Hap Collins & Leonard Pine
Gray Dawn, by Walter Mosley (Little, Brown), featuring Easy Rollins
Mirage City, by Lev AC Rosen (Minotaur Books), featuign Evander "Andy" Mills
BEST FIRST PI NOVEL:
Chase Harlem, by Elise Burke Brown (Rising Action Publishing), introducing Chase Harlem
Miles in Time, by Lee Mathew Goldberg (Wise Wolf Books), introducing Miles Hardy
WINNER Where the Bones Lie, by Nick Kolakowski (Datura Books), introducing Dash Fuller
Shadow of the Eternal Watcher, by Josh Mendoza (Inkshares), introducing Duster Raines
The Witch's Orchard, by Archer Sullivan (Minotaur Books), introducing Annie Gore
BEST ORIGINAL P.I. PAPERBACK:
The Hook and the Eye, by Raymond Benson (Ian Fleming Publications), featuring Felix Leiter
Sunday or the Highway, by Cindy Fazzi (Thomas & Mercer), featuring Domingo the Bounty Hunter
City Lights, by Claire M. Johnson (Level Best Books), featujring Maggie Laurent
WINNER Midnight Streets, by Phil Lecomber (Titan Books), featuring George Harley
Catch Me on a Blue Day, by M.E. Proctor (Shotgun Honey Books), featuring Declan Shaw
BEST P.I. SHORT STORY:
"The One Cry," by F.H. Batacan (in Accidents Happen; Soho Crime), featuring Joanna "Joe" Bonifacio
"Dr. Bones," by Libby Cudmore (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, May/June 2025), featuring Martin Wade
"Hours on the Phone," by Gregory Fallis (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, July/August 2025), feaaturing Hockney
"The Shadows," by Charles John Harper (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, May/June 2025), feaaturing Darrow Nash
WINNER "The Roosevelt Affair," by Adam Meyer (in Crimeucopia: Not So Frail Detective Agency; Murderous Ink Press), featuirng Rosie Perkins
The winners were announced on Thursday, October 22, 2026 at the Bouchercon Opening Ceremonies to be held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (October 23, 2026)
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