This weekend, the mystery community gathered in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, for the annual crime fiction extravaganza better known as Bouchercon (named for famed writer/editor/critic Anthony Boucher). In addition to the panel discussions on literary craft, social issues, and “how to bury a dead body,” the conference also presented the highly anticipated Anthony Awards. Voting was conducted on the grounds at Bouchercon, with all attendees eligible to weigh in on the prizes. The nominees were announced earlier this spring, to give voters a chance to read all the year’s best novels, short stories, anthologies, and more, before the final tally was taken. The Anthony Awards always provide a reliable snapshot of what’s new and exciting in the world of mystery, and a glimpse at where the literature is headed. This year’s winners were announced at a star-studded reception on Saturday night. Below, we’ve listed the 2018 finalists, with the winners in bold and a few helpful links for those who want more—interviews, excerpts, features—to better know these fantastic writers.
Congratulations to all the winners and nominees.
BEST NOVEL
The Late Show by Michael Connelly [Little, Brown and Company]
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz [HarperCollins]
Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke [Mulholland]
Glass Houses by Louise Penny [Minotaur Books]
The Force by Don Winslow [William Morrow]
Attica Locke on Texas, the Blues, and the Rise of the Aryan Brotherhood
BEST FIRST NOVEL
Hollywood Homicide by Kellye Garrett [Midnight Ink]
She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper [Ecco]
The Dry by Jane Harper [Flatiron Books]
Ragged; or, The Loveliest Lies of All by Christopher Irvin [Cutlass Press]
The Last Place You Look by Kristen Lepionka [Minotaur Books]
Read from the Second Novel in Kellye Garrett’s Award-Winning Series
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
Uncorking a Lie by Nadine Nettmann [Midnight Ink]
Bad Boy Boogie by Thomas Pluck [Down & Out Books]
What We Reckon by Eryk Pruitt [Polis Books]
The Day I Died by Lori Rader-Day [William Morrow]
Cast the First Stone by James W. Ziskin [Seventh Street Books]
Lori Rader-Day on the Thriving Midwestern Crime Fiction Scene
BILL CRIDER AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL IN A SERIES
Give Up the Dead (Jay Porter #3) by Joe Clifford [Oceanview Publishing]
Two Kinds of Truth (Harry Bosch #20) by Michael Connelly [Little, Brown and Company]
Y is for Yesterday (Kinsey Millhone #25) by Sue Grafton [A Marian Wood Book]
Glass Houses (Armand Gamache #13) by Louise Penny [Minotaur Books]
Dangerous Ends (Pete Fernandez #3) by Alex Segura [Polis Books]
Sue Grafton on Kinsey Millhone and Keeping a Series Fresh
Remembering and Mourning Sue Grafton
BEST SHORT STORY
The Trial of Madame Pelletier by Susanna Calkins from Malice Domestic 12: Mystery Most Historical [Wildside Press]
God’s Gonna Cut You Down by Jen Conley from Just to Watch Them Die: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Johnny Cash [Gutter Books LLC]
My Side of the Matter by Hilary Davidson from Killing Malmon [Down & Out Books]
Whose Wine Is It Anyway by Barb Goffman from 50 Shades of Cabernet [Koehler Books]
The Night They Burned Ms. Dixie’s Place by Debra H. Goldstein from Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, May/June 2017 [Dell]
A Necessary Ingredient by Art Taylor from Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea [Down & Out Books]
BEST ANTHOLOGY
Just to Watch Them Die: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Johnny Cash, Joe Clifford, editor [Gutter Books LLC]
Killing Malmon, Dan & Kate Malmon, editors [Down & Out Books]
Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea, Andrew McAleer & Paul D. Marks, editors [Down & Out Books]
Passport to Murder, Bouchercon Anthology 2017, John McFetridge, editor [Down & Out Books]
The Obama Inheritance: Fifteen Stories of Conspiracy Noir, Gary Phillips, editor [Three Rooms Press]
BEST CRITICAL/NON-FICTION BOOK
From Holmes to Sherlock: The Story of the Men and Women Who Created an Icon by Mattias Boström [The Mysterious Press]
The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books by Martin Edwards [Poisoned Pen Press]
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann [Doubleday]
Chester B. Himes: A Biography by Lawrence P. Jackson [W.W. Norton & Company]
Rewrite Your Life: Discover Your Truth Through the Healing Power of Fiction by Jessica Lourey [Conari Press]
David Grann on Unraveling a Dark Conspiracy
BEST ONLINE CONTENT
Writer Types Podcast
Do Some Damage: An Inside Look at Crime Fiction
Jungle Red Writers
Dru’s Book Musings
BOLO Books
