Nominees for the Anthony Awards for works published in 2004 have been announced.

The Anthony Awards, named for mystery's premier reviewer and critic, Anthony
Boucher, will be presented on Saturday, September 3, at Bouchercon 2005, the
World Mystery Convention at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers in Chicago.

Best Novel
Bruen, Ken -- The Killing of the Tinkers (St. Martins/Minotaur)
Katzenbach, John -- The Madman's Tale (Random House/Ballantine)
Krueger, William Kent -- Blood Hollow (Simon & Schuster/Atria)
Lippman, Laura -- By a Spider's Thread (HarperCollins)
Parker, T. Jefferson -- California Girl (HarperCollins)
Spencer-Fleming, Julia -- Out of the Deep I Cry (St. Martins/Minotaur)

Best First Novel
Balzo, Sandra -- Uncommon Grounds (Five Star)
Clemens, Judy -- Until the Cows Come Home (Poisoned Pen Press)
Hoffman, Juliane P -- Retribution (Putnam)
Konrath, JA (Joe) -- Whiskey Sour (Hyperion)
Kozak, Harley Jane -- Dating Dead Men (Random House/Doubleday)

Best Non Fiction
Frankie Bailey & Steven Chermak -- Famous American Crimes & Trials (Greenwood
Publishing)
Collins, Max Allan (et al) -- Men's Adventure Magazines (Taschen)
Conlon, Edward -- Blue Blood (Penguin Putnam/Riverhead)
Klinger, Leslie S (ed) -- The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes (Norton)
Rubinstein, Julian -- The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber (TimeWarner/Little, Brown)

Best Paperback Original
Burcell, Robin -- Cold Case (HarperCollins/Avon)
Isleib, Roberta -- Putt to Death (Penguin/Berkley Prime Crime)
McBride, Susan -- Blue Blood (HarperCollins/Avon)
Rose, M.J. -- The Halo Effect (Harlequin/Mira)
Starr, Jason -- Twisted City (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)

Best Short Story
Bowen, Rhys -- "Voodoo," Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Nov. 2004
Faherty, Terence -- "The Widow of Slane," Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, March/April 2004
Hertel, Ted Jr -- "It's Crackers to Slip a Rozzer the Dropsey in Snide," Small Crimes; Bracken, ed (Betancourt/Wildside)
Nersesian, Arthur -- "Hunter Trapper," Brooklyn Noir (Akashic Books)
Viets, Elaine -- "Wedding Knife," Chesapeake Crimes (Quiet Storm)

Best Cover Art
Brooklyn Noir -- Sohrab Habibion; Tim McLoughlin (Akashic)
Fade to Blonde -- cover by Gregory Manchess; Max Phillips (Hard Case Crime)
Whiskey Sour -- Sal Barracca/Bradford Foltz Design; JA Konrath (Hyperion)
Good Morning Darkness -- Robert Santora; Ruth Francisco (TimeWarner/Mysterious)
Monkology -- Michael Kellner; Gary Phillips (Dennis McMillan)

The age of 50 marks authors' peak

Fifty is the perfect age to write a novel, a study of the best-selling authors of the past 50 years has shown.
The average age of writers who topped the hardback fiction section of the New York Times Bestseller List from 1955-2004 was 50.5 years.

"We wanted to discover the optimum age to write a best-seller," said Bob Young of Lulu, a website for writers and independent publishers.

"Unlike scientists or musicians, say, writers tend to mature with age."

Romantic novelist Judith Krantz and writer Joe Klein, who published political comedy Primary Colors anonymously, are among the novelists who topped the best-seller list in their 50th year.

Of the 350 authors who saw their novels reach the number one spot over the past 50 years, Francoise Sagan was the youngest with Bonjour Tristesse, published at the age of 19 in 1955.

By comparison, Agatha Christie was the oldest author to top the list, with her novel Sleeping Murder, published shortly after her death at the age of 85.

The authors who most frequently topped the list were horror writer Stephen King who has topped the list 27 times, and Danielle Steel who has amassed 26 number ones.

Nonetheless, authors like JK Rowling and Da Vinci Code writer Dan Brown, who both achieved global fame in their thirties, appear to be bucking the trend.

Story from BBC NEWS
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Arts | The age of 50 marks authors' peak