This year, the Crime Writers of Canada adds a new aspect to its annual Arthur Ellis Awards—a Grand Master.
This is the inaugural year of the Crime Writers of Canada’s Grand Master Award, intended to recognize Canadian crime writers who have a substantial body of work that has garnered national and international recognition.
Howard Engel, left, the author of the award winning Benny Cooperman detective series, has the honor of being the group’s first Grand Master. In its announcement, the Crime Writers of Canada stated “A mainstay of the Canadian crime writing scene for many years, Mr. Engel helped put Canadian crime writing on the map at a time when few mysteries were set in this country.”
The Crime Writers of Canada was established by Derrick Murdoch, a prolific Canadian crime fiction reviewer, in 1982, and has sponsored the Arthur Ellis Awards for Crime and Mystery Writing for 30 years. Engel is among the group’s seven founding members.
And in case you are wondering where the name Arthur Ellis came from, here’s a bit of history. “Arthur Ellis” was the pseudonym for the man who became Canada’s hangman in 1912. Among the various categories, the organization annually awards the Unhanged Arthur Award, which recognized and promotes the careers of emerging crime writers.
All awards will be announced during the group’s annual banquet, scheduled to be June 5, 2014.
The 2014 Arthur Ellis Shortlists for Excellence in Crime Writing
Best Novel
John Brooke, Walls of a Mind, Signature Editions
Seán Haldane, The Devil’s Making, Stone Flower Press
Lee Lamothe, Presto Variations, Dundurn
Howard Shrier, Miss Montreal, Vintage Canada
Simone St. James, An Inquiry into Love and Death, Penguin Books
Best First Novel
E.R. Brown, Almost Criminal, Dundurn
A.S.A. Harrison, The Silent Wife, Penguin Books Canada
Axel Howerton, Hot Sinatra, Evolved Publishing
J. Kent Messum, Bait, Penguin Canada
S.G. Wong, Die on Your Feet, Carina Press
Best Novella
Melodie Campbell, The Goddaughter’s Revenge, Orca Books
Brenda Chapman, My Sister’s Keeper, Grassroots Press
James Heneghan, A Woman Scorned, Orca Books
Best Short Story
Donna Carrick, Watermelon Weekend, Thirteen, Carrick Publishing
Jas. R. Petrin, Under Cap Ste. Claire, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, October 2013, Dell Magazines
Twist Phelan, Footprints in Water, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, July 2013, Dell Magazines
Sylvia Maultash Warsh, The Emerald Skull, Thirteen, Carrick Publishing
Sam Wiebe, The Third Echo, Girl Trouble: Malfeasance Occasional, MacMillan/St Martin’s Press
Best Book in French
Chrystine Brouillet, Saccages, La courte échelle
Jacques Côté, Et à l'heure de votre mort, éditions Alire
Maureen Martineau, L’enfant promis, La courte échelle
Jacques Savoie, Le fils emprunté, Éditions Libre Expression
Best Juvenile/YA
Karen Autio, Sabotage, Sono Nis Press
Gail Gallant, Apparition, Doubleday Canada
Elizabeth MacLeod, Bones Never Lie: How Forensics Helps Solve History’s Mysteries, Annick Press
Ted Staunton, Who I’m Not, Orca Books
Unhanged Arthur
L.J. Gordon, Death at the Iron House Lodge
Rachel Greenaway, Cold Girl
Charlotte Morganti, The Snow Job
Kristina Stanley, Descent
Kevin Thornton, Coiled
