MWA Announces the 2026 Edgar Award Winners

Last night in New York City, the Mystery Writers of America announced the winners of the 80th annual Edgar Awards. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees.

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BEST NOVEL

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WINNER

The Big Empty by Robert Crais (Penguin Random House – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

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NOMINEES

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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Allison Epstein writes a love letter to the fictional thief.

Laila Lalami asks, why do we fear real-life dystopia but love dystopian fiction?

 

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BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

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WINNER

Dead Money by Jakob Kerr (Penguin Random House – Bantam Books)

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NOMINEES

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)
Johnny Careless by Kevin Wade (Macmillan Publishers – Celadon Books)
History Lessons by Zoe B. Wallbrook (Soho Press – Soho Crime)

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Jakob Kerr on the power of the twist.

Hannah Deitch on mining gig work for plot ideas.

Kevin Wade recommends five novels and a movie.

 

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BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

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WINNER

The Backwater by Vikki Wakefield (Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press)

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NOMINEES

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)
One Death at a Time by Abbi Waxman (Penguin Random House – Berkley)

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Abbi Waxman on a childhood of library visits and watching her mother at work.

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BEST FACT CRIME

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WINNER

Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser (Penguin Random House – Penguin Press)

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NOMINEES

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)
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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Molly Odintz interviews Caroline Fraser.

Michael Cannell on the mafia’s favorite pastime.

Gregg Olsen on a haunting crime and its lasting legacy.

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BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

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WINNER

Edgar Allan Poe: A Life by Richard Kopley (University of Virginia Press)

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NOMINEES

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)
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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WINNER

“Julius Katz Draws a Straight Flush,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine – September-October 2025 by Dave Zeltserman (Must Read Books Publishing)

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NOMINEES

“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 (The Mysterious Bookshop)
“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)

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BEST JUVENILE

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WINNER

Blood in the Water by Tiffany D. Jackson (Scholastic Press)

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NOMINEES

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)
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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WINNER

Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray (Macmillan Publishers – Farrar, Straus and Giroux BFYR)

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NOMINEES

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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WINNER

“Pilot” – Paradise, Written by Dan Fogelman (Hulu)

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NOMINEES

“End of the Line” – Ballard, Written by Michael Alaimo & Kendall Sherwood (Amazon/Fabel)
“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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WINNER

“How It Happened,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, July-August 2025 by Billie Kay Fern (Must Read Books Publishing)

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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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WINNER

All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)

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NOMINEES

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)
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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WINNER

Gone in the Night by Joanna Schaffhausen (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)

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NOMINEES

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)

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THE LILLIAN JACKSON BRAUN MEMORIAL AWARD

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WINNER

A Senior Citizen’s Guide to Life on the Run by Gwen Florio (Severn House)

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NOMINEES 

Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library by Amanda Chapman (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
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

RAVEN AWARD

 Book Passage, Corte Madera CA

ELLERY QUEEN AWARD

John Scognamiglio, Kensington Books