Edgar Awards

Last night was the Mystery Writers of America's 64th annual Edgar Awards dinner. I was thrilled to see two of my favorite books of 2009 were winners - congratulations to John Hart on winning another very well deserved Edgar for THE LAST CHILD, and to Otto Penzler for THE LINEUP, a fascinating glimpse into the minds of so many truly creative and gifted crime fiction writers.

Here are the winners!

Best Novel
The Last Child by John Hart (Minotaur)


Best First Novel by an American Author
In the Shadow of Gotham by Stephanie Pintoff (Minotaur)

Best Paperback Original
Body Blows by Marc Strange (Dundurn)

Best Short Story
"Amapola" by Luis Alberto Urrea in Phoenix Noir, edited by Patrick Millikin (Akashic)

Best Fact Crime
Columbine by Dave Cullen (Twelve)

Best Critical/Biographical
The Lineup: The World's Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives edited by Otto Penzler (Little, Brown)

Mary Higgins Clark Award
Awakening by S.J. Bolton

Ellery Queen Award
Barbara Peters and Robert Rosenwald of Poisoned Pen Press

MWA Grand Master
Dorothy Gilman, best known for her Mrs. Pollifax series