I may be alone in this, but I love award shows.

Let me rephrase that. . . . I love award shows when I am interested in the outcome such as the Edgars, the Tonys, the Oscars, the Golden Globes and just about every mystery fiction award there is.

It’s especially interesting when you know the winners.

Certainly it’s just a coincidence, but Mystery Scene’s latest issue includes my profile of British author Tom Rob Smith, left.

During our hour-long telephone chat from his home in London, he and I talked about myriad subjects — from his background as a writer on British soap operas, to his childhood to his fondness for crime fiction.

The result is, I hope, an interesting profile in Mystery Scene about one of our up and coming writers.  His second novel The Secret Speech recently came out.

But his first novel, the chilling, unflinching and compelling Child 44, is still getting its well-deserved buzz.

So it gives me an extra smile in listing the winners of the International Thriller Writers’  literary awards, which were awarded July 11 in New York City.

Here are the winners and special honorees:

ThrillerMaster Award
David Morrell: In recognition of his vast body of work and influence in the field of literature

Silver Bullet Award
Brad Meltzer: For contributions to the advancement of literacy

Silver Bullet Corporate Award: Dollar General Literacy FoundationFor longstanding support of literacy and education

Best Thriller of the Year:
THE BODIES LEFT BEHIND by Jeffery Deaver (Simon & Schuster)

Best First Novel:
CHILD 44 by Tom Rob Smith (Grand Central Publishing)

Best Short Story:
THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN by Alexandra Sokoloff (in Darker Mask)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 at 4:39 am and is filed under Awards, International Thriller Writers, Thriller, Tom Rob Smith. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.