While the mystery genre has a number of well-respected awards, there’s always room for one more, especially when it comes from such a group with a tradition of honoring excellence.

The Women's National Book Association of New Orleans is establishing two prizes for crime fiction to honor the late Diana Pinckley, longtime director of university relations at Tulane University and founder of communications firm Pinckley Inc.

Pinckley also was a long-time supporter of mystery fiction and wrote the "Get a Clue!," column about crime fiction, in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, for more than 23 years.

Pinckley also was a founding member of Women's National Book Association of New Orleans, which began in 2011.

The Pinckley Prize for Debut Novel will honor a debut novelist in adult crime fiction, and the Pinckley Prize for Achievement in Crime Fiction will honor an established writer who has created a significant body of work.

The prizes will be presented for the first time at the 2014 Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, which will be held March 19-23.

The entry forms and the website do not stipulate that the authors have to be from Louisiana nor that the novels have to be set in New Orleans or the state. But authors may want to contact the contest organizers first for more details.

The achievement award will be selected by a jury; the debut novel prize judges are accepting submissions of first novels published in 2013.

For more information, go to pinckleyprizes.org.