CyberGumshoe's Mumbling in May/June 2011
Macavity Award Nominees Announced
Mystery Readers International announced the nominees for the 2011 Macavity Awards. The nominees in the mystery novel category are as follos:
THE GLASS RAINBOW, by James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster)
FAITHFUL PLACE, by Tana French (Viking)
THE QUEEN OF PATPONG, by Timothy Hallinan (Morrow)
THIRTEEN HOURS, by Deon Meyer (Grove Atlantic) BR>
BURY YOUR DEAD, by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
THE SCENT OF RAIN AND LIGHTNING, by Nancy Pickard (Ballantine)
To see he nominees in all the categories, click here. The winners will be announced at Bouchercon to be held in St. Louis, Missouri this September. (June 29, 2011)
John Glasby Dies
John Glasby died on June 05. He was a prolific British writer in the 1950's and 60's for Badger Books/Spencer, using house names and pseudonyms: Manning K. Robertson for spy novels (SEEK AND DESTROY, 1965); A. J. Merak and A. D. Brent for adventure novels (BLOOD ON MY SHADOW, 1956); Chuck Adams for western novels; D. K. Jennings for hospital romance novels; and John E. Muller and Karl Zeigfreid for speculative fiction novels. Recently he wrote science fiction novels under his own name. He was 82. (June 28, 2011)
Alan Ryan Dies
Alan Ryan died of pancreatic cancer on June 03 in Brazil. He was a prolific horror writer and editor in the 1980's with two borderline mystery novels: THE KILL (Tor, 1982) and DEAD WHITE (Tor, 1983). He was 68. (June 28, 2011)
Marty Greenberg Dies
Martin H. Greenberg died on June 25 after a long battle with cancer at his home in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The political science professor at the University of Wisconsin was called "the king of anthologies," editing, singularly and collaboratively, too many anthologies in the science fiction, mystery, military and romance genres to list up here. He co-edited STALKERS (ROC, 1990; with Ed Gorman), 14 VICIOUS VALENTINES (Avon, 1988; with Isaac Asimov, etc), THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF PRIVATE EYE STORIES (Carroll & Graf, 1988; with Bill Pronzini) among others. He received the 1995 Ellery Queen Award from the Mystery Writers of America, and THE TONY HILLERMAN COMPANION (HarperCollins, 1994; edited singularly) and THE FINE ART OF MURDER (Carroll & Graf, 1993; co-edited by Jon L. Breen, Ed Gorman and Larry Segriff) were Edgar-nominated in the critical/biographical category. He was 70. (June 26, 2011)
Peter Falk Dies
Peter Falk died on June 23 at his home in Beverly Hills, California after a long bout with Alzheimer's disease. He was, of course, best known as Lt. Columbo on TV, and he would be most remembered as the cigar-smoking, raincoat-wearing, incompetent-looking but smart detective he portrayed since 1971 through 2003 on-and-off, but he also played two "private eyes" however serious he may have been: Sam Diamond, a send-up of Sam Spade, in "Murder by Death" (1976); and Lou Peckingpaugh, a send-up of Humphrey Bogart's movie characters, in "The Cheap Detective" (1978, both written by Neil Simon). He was 83. (June 23, 2011)
Newton Thornberg Dies
It has been reported that Newton Thornberg died on May 09 in Bothell, Washington. He may be most famous as the author of CUTTER AND BONE (Little, Brown, 1976), which became the Edgar-winning movie, "Cutter's Way" (1981), starring Jeff Bridges, with the screenplay by Jeffrey Alan Fiskin. His first novel was GENTLEMAN BORN (Gold Medal, 1967), and he wrote another paperback, KNOCKOVER (Gold Medal, 1968). He had a stroke in 1998 and could not write anymore with his left side being paralysed. His last novel was EVE'S MEN (Forge 1998). He was 81. (June 24, 2011)
David Rayfiel Dies
David Rayfiel died of congestive heart failure on June 22 in Manhattan, New York. The screenwriter was not well-knownn to the general public but he worked with Sydney Pollack and Robert Red ford on "Out of Africa" (1985) and The Way We Were" (1973) uncredited. He also wrote for "Valdez Is Coming" (1971; based on the novel by Elmore Leonard) and "The Firm" (1993; based on the novel by John Grisham). He won the 1976 screenplay Edgar with Lorenzo Semple, Jr. for "Three Days of the Condor" (1975; based on the novel by James Grady). He was 87. (June 23, 2011)
Robert Foster Dies
Robert Foster died of brain cancer on May 30 in Sherman Oaks, California. He wrote for and/or produced several TV programs such as "Night Rider," "Chicago Story," "Kate McShane," "Kojak," "The Mod Squad" "Run for Your Life" among others. In 1976, he was Edgar-nominated with Milt Rosen in the TV episode category for "Murder Comes in Little Pills," an episode of "Kate McShane" (starring Anne Meara, mother of Ben Stiller, as a no-nonsense lawyer). He was 73. (June 12, 2011)
Leonard Stern Dies
Leonard B. Stern died of heart failure on June 07 in Los Angeles, California. He was famous as the creator of "The Jackie Gleason Show" and "The Honeymooners," but he wrote for and produced several crime TV programs such as "McMillan and Wife," "The Snoop Sisters, "Get Smart" "Partners in Crime" and "Lanigan's Rabbi" (based on the novels by Harry Kemelman). He was 87. (June 12, 2011)
Nero Wolfe Award Nominees Announced
The Wolfe Pack has announced the nominees for the 2011 Nero Wolfe Award as follows:
ICE COLD, by Tess Gerritsen (Ballantine)
THE BOOK OF SPIES, by Gayle Lynds (St. Martin's)
BURY YOUR DEAD, by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books)
THE MIDNIGHT SHOW MURDERS, by Al Roker and Dick Lochte (Delacorte)
THINK OF A NUMBER, by John Verdon (Crown)
The winner will be announced at the Black Orchid Banquet in December in New York City. (June 10, 2011)
Lilian Jackson Braun Dies
Lilian Jackson Braun died of natural causes at the Hospice House of the Carolina Foothills in Landrum, South Carolina on June 04. Arguably she may be called the pioneer of the recent cat mystery craze. She started to write short stories with cats for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine in the early 60's such as "The Sin of Madame Phloi" (published in the June 1962 issue of EQMM). She wrote the first Cat Who mystery, THE CAT WHO COULD READ BACKWARDS (Dutton, 1966), featuring newspaper reporter Jim Qwilleran and two Siamese feline "detectives," Koko and Yum Yum. After the third one, THE CAT WHO TURNED ON AND OFF (1968), she took an 18-year hiatus. Then after her retirement from the Detroit Free Press job, with her second husband encouragement, she resumed writing. THE CAT WHO SAW RED (Jove, 1986), the fourth in the series, got nominated for the paperback Edgar. The 29th and last one in the series, THE CAT WHO HAD 60 WHISKERS was published in 2007, and the 30th, THE CAT WHO SMELLED SMOKE, remains unfinished. She was 97. (June 07, 2011)
Joel Rosenberg Dies
Joel Rosenberg, not to be confused with thriller writer Joel C. Rosenberg, died suddenly of a heart attack, brain damage and major organ failures on June 2 at Hennepin County Medical Center in minneapolis, Minnesota. He was famous as a fantasy writer of "Guardians of the Flame" fame but he wrote two mystery novels featuring Ernest "Spanky" Hemingway: HOME FRONT (2003) and FAMILY MATTERS (2004), both from Forge. You could call the D'Shai series fantasy mysteries. He was 57. (June 04, 2011)
Arthur Ellis Award Winners Announced
On June 2, The Crime Writers of Canada announced the winners for the 2011 Arthur Ellis Awards as follows:
Derrick Murdock Award: Louise Allin
Derrick Murdock Award: N.A.T. Grant
Best Novel: BURY YOUR DEAD, by Louise Penny (Little, Brown UK)
Best Short Story: "So Much in Common," by Mary Jane Maffini (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, September/October 2010)
Best Non-Fiction: ON THE FARM, by Stevie Cameron (Knopf Canada)
Best Juvenile/Young Adult: THE WORST THING SHE EVER DID, by Alice Kuipers (HarperCollins)
Best Crime Writing in French: DANS LE QUARTIER DES AGITES, by Jacques Cote (Alire)
Best First Novel: THE DEBBA, by Avner Mandleman (Other Press)
Unhanged Arthur (Best Unpublished First Crime Novel): BETTER OFF DEAD, by John Jeneroux
(June 03, 2011)
First Batch of Dagger Award Shortlists Announced
The Crime Writers' Association of Britain announces in Bristol on May 20 the first batch of the CWA Dagger Award shorlists. The shortlist for the International Dagger is as follows:
THE WINGS OF THE SPHINX, by Andrea Camilleri, translated by Stephen Sartarelli (Mantle)
NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK, by Ernesto Mallo, translated by Jethro Soutar (Bitter Lemon Press)
THE SAINT-FLORENTIN MURDERS, by Jean-Francios Parot, translated by Howard Curtis (Gallic)
THREE SECONDS, by Anders Roslund & Borge Hellstrom, translated by Kari Dickson (Quercus)
RIVER OF SHADOWS, by Valerio Varesi, translated by Joseph Farrell (Maclehose)
AN UNCERTAIN PLACE, by Fred Vargas, translated by Sian Reynolds (Harvill Secker)
DEATH ON A GALICIAN SHORE, by Domingo Villar, translated by Sonia Soto (Abacus)
To see the shortlists for the other categories (Non-Fiction, Short Story, In the Library, and Debut), click here. The winners will be announced in Harrogate on July 22. The shortlists for the Crime Novel Gold Dagger, for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, and for the John Creasey First Novel Dagger will be also announced on July 22. (May 21, 2011)
Anthony Award Nominees Announced
Bouchercon 2011 announced the nominees for the 2011 Anthony Awards. The nominees in the best novel category are as follows:
BURY YOUR DEAD, by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
CRROKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER, by Tom Franklin (Morrow)
FAITHFUL PLACE, by Tana French (Viking)
I'D D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE, by Laura Lippman (Morrow)
THE LOCK ARTIST, by Steve Hamilton (Minotaur)
To see the nominees in all the categories, click here. The winners will be announced on September 18 in St. Louis, Missouri. (May 10, 2011)
SF Mystery Bookstore To Close
Diane Kudisch, owner of The San Francisco Mystery Bookstore, announced that the Noe Valley bookstore will close on May 31. She also wrote that she would continue to sell mystery books online. I visited the bookstore in 2002. (May 08, 2011
Arthur Laurents Dies
Arthur Laurents died from complications of pneumonia on May 5 at his home in New York City. He was best known as the writer of Broadway musicals such as "West Side Story" (1957) and "Gypsy" (1959) and as the screenwriter of "The Way We Were" (1973) and "The Turning Point" (1977). He also wrote the screenplay for "Rope" (1948), based on the play by Patrick Hamilton and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and Laurents was nominated for the 1949 Edgar in the screenplay category. In 1991, he wrote and directed the musical play, "Nick & Nora," with the characters created by Dashiell Hammett. It was a flop and ran only nine performances on Broadway. He was 93. (May 08, 2011)
Louise Penny Wins Agatha Again
Malice Domestic announced the winners for the 2011 Agatha Awards on April 30 as follows:
Best Novel: BURY YOUR DEAD, by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books)
Best First Novel: THE LONG QUICHE GOODBYE, by Avery Aames (Berkley)
Best Non-Fiction: AGATHA CHRISTIE'S SECRET NOTEBOOKS, by John Curran (Harper)
Best Short Story: "So Much in Common," by Mary Jane Maffini (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, September/October 2010)
Best Children/Young Adult: THE OTHER SIDE OF DARK, by Sarah Smith (Atheneum)
Lifetime Achivement Award: Sue Grafton
Poirot Award: Janet Rudolph
(May 01, 2011)
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