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2009 Anthony Award Nominees

This is a very strong list of nominees. Lots of big names and big books. I already have some thoughts I want to share, but I am in Wisconsin this week. I'm watching the Brewers game and enjoying time with my parents. Check back in a few days for ill advised commentary.

--EDIT-- It has been more than a few days for those ill advised comments, so you maybe one of the select few to actually read them.

Official announcement here.

BEST NOVEL
Trigger City by Sean Chercover - William Morrow
The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly - Little, Brown and Company
Red Knife by William Kent Krueger - Atria
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - Knopf
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny - Minotaur

I am real curious to see how this shakes out. Last year's winner was the deserving WHAT THE DEAD KNOW by Laura Lippman. Not to diminish that win in any way, but the awards were given out in Baltimore. Again deserving, but decidedly lacking in excitement. Kreuger and Connelly are multiple winners of this award, although Connelly's hasn't won since 2003 and Krueger has won 3 times since then. It will also be interesting to see who becomes the bigger awards juggernaught; Chercover or Penny.

BEST FIRST NOVEL
Pushing Up Daisies by Rosemary Harris - Minotaur
Stalking Susan by Julie Kramer - Doubleday
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - Knopf
Death of a Cozy Writer by G.M. Malliet - Midnight Ink
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith - Grand Central

I wonder if a novel has ever done the double? Has there even been a double nominee before. Patrica Cornwell perhaps? I would be stunned to see the Larsson book do it, and give only a 5% chance of that happening.

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
The First Quarry by Max Allan Collins - Hard Case Crime
Money Shot by Christa Faust - Hard Case Crime
State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy - Berkley
In a Dark Season by Vicki Lane - Dell
South of Hell by P.J. Parrish - Pocket Star

I know exactly who is going to win this award. Exactly.

BEST SHORT STORY
"The Night Things Changed" by Dana Cameron from Wolfsbane and Mistletoe - Ace
"A Sleep Not Unlike Death" by Sean Chercover from Hardcore Hardboiled - Kensington
"Killing Time" by Jane K. Cleland from Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine - November
"Skull and Cross Examination" by Toni L. P. Kelner from Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine - February
"Scratch a Woman" by Laura Lippman from Hardly Knew Her -William Morrow
"The Secret Lives of Cats" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch from Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine - July

BEST CRITICAL NONFICTION WORK
African American Mystery Writers: A Historical and Thematic Study by Frankie Y. Bailey - McFarland
How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries by Kathy Lynn Emerson - Perseverance Press
Anthony Boucher: A Bibliography by Jeffrey Marks - McFarland
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale - Walker & Company

BEST CHILDREN'S/YA NOVEL
The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein - Random House
Paper Towns by John Green - Dutton Juvenile
Kiss Me, Kill Me by Lauren Henderson - Delacorte
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart - Little, Brown
Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash by Wendelin Van Draanen - Knopf

BEST COVER ART
Death Was the Other Woman designed by David Rotstein and written by Linda L. Richards - Minotaur
Death Will Get You Sober designed by David Rotstein and written by Elizabeth Zelvin - Minotaur
The Fault Tree designed by David Rotstein and written by Louise Ure - Minotaur
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo designed by Peter Mendelsund and written by Stieg Larsson - Knopf
Money Shot designed by Steve Cooley and written by Christa Faust - Hard Case Crime

I enjoy the inclusion of this award. How quickly David Rotstein could become a three time loser though. I generally feel whatever the year, the Hard Case Crime cover will be hard to beat. I'm also guessing Chip Kidd had no books out there?

SPECIAL SERVICE AWARD
Jon and Ruth Jordan
Ali Karim
David Montgomery
Gary Warren Niebuhr
Sarah Weinman

I'm calling for a five way split. All are deserving.
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Comments

Jared said…
Go Sean!
5:30 AM
Sean Chercover said…
Thanks, Jared!!
9:59 PM
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