The Mystery Writers of America has announced the nominees for the 2026 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in the previous year, 2025. The 80th Annual Edgar® Awards, which also celebrates the 217th anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe, will be celebrated on April 29th, 2026.
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BEST NOVEL
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The Big Empty by Robert Crais (Penguin Random House – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
Fagin the Thief by Allison Epstein (Penguin Random House – Doubleday)
The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami (Penguin Random House – Pantheon Books)
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (Macmillan Publishers – Flatiron Books)
Hard Town by Adam Plantinga (Hachette Book Group – Grand Central Publishing)
The Inheritance by Trisha Sakhlecha (Penguin Random House – Pamela Dorman Books)
Presumed Guilty by Scott Turow (Hachette Book Group – Grand Central Publishing)
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BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
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Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman (Penguin Random House – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
Dead Money by Jakob Kerr (Penguin Random House – Bantam Books)
Johnny Careless by Kevin Wade (Macmillan Publishers – Celadon Books)
History Lessons by Zoe B. Wallbrook (Soho Press – Soho Crime)
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BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
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Listen by Sacha Bronwasser (Penguin Random House – Penguin Books)
The Sideways Life of Denny Voss by Holly Kennedy (Amazon Publishing – Lake Union)
Broke Road by Matthew Spencer (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)
The Backwater by Vikki Wakefield (Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press)
One Death at a Time by Abbi Waxman (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
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BEST FACT CRIME
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They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals by Mariah Blake (Penguin Random House – Crown)
Blood and the Badge: The Mafia, Two Killer Cops, and a Scandal That Shocked the Nation by Michael Cannell (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser (Penguin Random House – Penguin Press)
Out of the Woods: A Girl, a Killer, and a Lifelong Struggle to Find the Way Home by Gregg Olsen (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)
Story of a Murder: The Wives, the Mistress, and Dr. Crippen by Hallie Rubenhold (Penguin Random House – Dutton)
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BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
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V is for Venom: Agatha Christie’s Chemicals of Death by Kathryn Harkup (Bloomsbury – Sigma)
The Kingdom of Cain: Finding God in the Literature of Darkness by Andrew Klavan (HarperCollins Christian Publishing – Zondervan)
Edgar Allan Poe: A Life by Richard Kopley (University of Virginia Press)
Cooler Than Cool: The Life and Work of Elmore Leonard by C.M. Kushins (HarperCollins Publishers – Mariner Books)
Criss-Cross: The Making of Hitchcock’s Dazzling, Subversive Masterpiece Strangers on a Train by Stephen Rebello (Hachette Book Group – Running Press)
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BEST SHORT STORY
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“Reading at Night,” The Strand Magazine by Graham Greene (The Strand Magazine)
“The One That Got Away,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine – January-February 2025 by Charlaine Harris (Must Read Books Publishing)
“Orphan X: A Mysterious Profile,” by Gregg Hurwitz (Penzler Publishers – Mysterious Press)
“Lucky Heart,” Blood on the Bayou – Case Closed by Tim Maleeny (Down & Out Books)
“The Kill Clause,” Amazon Original Stories by Lisa Unger (Amazon Publishing)
“Julius Katz Draws a Straight Flush,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine – September-October 2025 by Dave Zeltserman (Must Read Books Publishing)
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BEST JUVENILE
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Montgomery Bonbon: Murder at the Museum by Alasdair Beckett-King (Candlewick Press)
What Happened Then by Erin Soderberg Downing (Scholastic Press)
A Study in Secrets by Debbi Michiko Florence (Simon & Schuster – Aladdin)
Blood in the Water by Tiffany D. Jackson (Scholastic Press)
The Midwatch Institute for Wayward Girls by Judith Rossell (Penguin Young Readers – Dial)
Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave by Ally Russell (Random House Children’s Books – Delacorte Press)
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BEST YOUNG ADULT
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Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray (Macmillan Publishers – Farrar, Straus and Giroux BFYR)
Catch Your Death by Ravena Guron (Sourcebooks – Sourcebooks Fire)
This is Where We Die by Cindy R.X. He (Sourcebooks – Sourcebooks Fire)
The Scammer by Tiffany D. Jackson (HarperCollins Children’s Books – Quill Tree Books)
Codebreaker by Jay Martel (St. Martin’s Publishing Group – Wednesday Books)
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BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
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“End of the Line” – Ballard, Written by Michael Alaimo & Kendall Sherwood (Amazon/Fabel)
“Pilot” – Paradise, Written by Dan Fogelman (Hulu)
“Episode 101” – The Lowdown, Written by Sterlin Harjo (FX on Hulu)
“These Girls” – Long Bright River, Written by Nikki Toscano & Liz Moore (Peacock)
“Ye’iitsoh (Big Monster)” – Dark Winds, Written by John Wirth & Steven Paul Judd (AMC)
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ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD
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“A Textbook Example,” Sacramento Noir by Luis Avalos (Akashic Books)
“How It Happened,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, July-August 2025 by Billie Kay Fern (Must Read Books Publishing)
“Baggage,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, January-February 2025 by Rick Marcou (Must Read Books Publishing)
“Bloodsurf,” Hollywood Kills by Tiffany D. Plunkett (Level Best Books – Level Short)
“Grand Theft Auto in the Heart of Screenland,” Hollywood Kills by Robert Rotstein (Level Best Books – Level Short)
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THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
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Five Found Dead by Sulari Gentill (Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press)
Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes by Sandra Jackson-Opoku (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
No Comfort for the Dead by R.P. O’Donnell (Crooked Lane Books)
All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
Last Dance Before Dawn by Katharine Schellman (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
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THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD
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Cold as Hell by Kelley Armstrong (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
Rage: A Novel by Linda Castillo (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
Fallen Star by Lee Goldberg (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)
The Red Letter by Daniel G. Miller (Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press)
Gone in the Night by Joanna Schaffhausen (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
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THE LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN MEMORIAL AWARD
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Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library by Amandah Chapman (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
A Senior Citizen’s Guide to Life on the Run by Gwen Florio (Severn House)
The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective by Jo Nichols (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
Murder Two Doors Down by Chuck Storla (Crooked Lane Books)
Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (On a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
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SPECIAL AWARDS
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GRAND MASTER
Donna Andrews
Lee Child
ELLERY QUEEN AWARD
John Scognamiglio, Kensington Books
RAVEN AWARD
Book Passage, Corte Madera CA
