MWA announces Edgar winners

2010 Edgar Award winners:


Best Novel: The Last Child by John Hart

Best First Novel: In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff

Best Paperback Original: Body Blows by Marc Strange

Best Fact Crime: Columbine by Dave Cullen

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

Best Short Story: "Amapola"--Phoenix Noir by Luis Alberto Urrea

The annual prize – named after Edgar Allan Poe – is given by the Mystery Writers of America to the best mystery authors. It has been given annually since 1945.

Local Writing Groups of Interest

For those interested, here are the meeting times of several of the writing groups that meet in the Des Moines area:

Borders Books and Music: Every Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m., 4100 University Ave., West Des Moines.

West Des Moines Writers: 10 a.m. the second and fourth Saturdays at the West Des Moines Public Library, 4000 Mills Civic Parkway, West Des Moines.

Beaverdale Books: The first Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m., 2629 Beaver Ave. Suite 1, Des Moines.

If anyone has information on any others, please forward them to me. As you know, a writing group is a great way to not only get feedback on your writing, but to get you into a writing routine. Try one out!

The reviews for End of the Line are starting to come in

Merrimon Book Reviews at Book Illuminations:

“. . . Manno assembles a wonderful cast of characters, characters as lovable for their flaws and quirks as for their ability to solve a baffling murder case . . . [a] delightful, humorous feel-good mystery with a clever twist. . .”

Read the full review here.

Jacqueline Vick at Jackie Houchin's News & Reviews:

“Manno’s clean writing style sets a fast pace. . . . The ending brings a surprise, but the clues are all in the book if you’re sharp enough to catch them.”

Read the full review here.

Remember, the book can be ordered now from Amazon.

New book's dust cover

JUST IN:  The full copy of the dust cover for End of the Line.

Remember, you can pre-order the book now from Amazon.

MWA - Harlequin dispute ended

THIS JUST IN from the Mystery Writers of America:

“We are pleased to welcome Harlequin, and all of its imprints, back onto our Approved Publishers list. Harlequin has agreed to abide by all of our existing criteria for inclusion. This means that Harlequin books, including those published within the last year, are eligible for Edgar consideration and their authors for active status MWA membership.”

As you recall, MWA suspended Harlequin from its approved publisher list last December due to the operation of its vanity press subsidiary. Apparently that dispute has been resolved and authors who publish through Harlequin will continue to be eligible for active membership in MWA. As you may recall, the paperback edition of Murder Most Holy was published by a Harlequin imprint, World Wide Mystery. This was in 2008, several years before the dispute erupted. The hard back version was published in 2006 by Five Star, an approved publisher, who is also publishing my latest, End of the Line, due out in June (don’t forget to get your pre-order in to Amazon!).

Here’s another chance at getting your novel published

MYSTERY WRITERS OF AMERICA and St. Martin’s Minotaur have announced their annual First Crime Novel Competition. It is open to any writer who has not been published in any genre before and is not under contract with a publisher. The story must involve a murder or other serious crime and manuscripts must be no less than 220 typewritten pages (approximately 60,000 words. The winner will be offered a publishing contract with Minotaur Books. Entry forms with specific rules must be requested by November 12, 2010 at Minotaur Books/MWA Competition, St. Martin’s Minotaur, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. An on-line copy of the rules can be found here on the MWA website.

More chances to get into print with short stories

THE LOVE IS MURDER Mystery Conference has announced a first ever short story writing contest. It is open to authors who have never been published in fiction in any medium, the story must be in the crime, suspense, thriller, or horror genre and the maximum word count is 5,000 words. Deadline is July 16. Further details can be found on the Love Is Murder website under the “Events” tab. Winners will be announced at Love Is Murder (February 4-6, 2011, Rosemont, Ill. ) and will be published in the February issue of CrimeSpree Magazine.

Another first for Love Is Murder is a track on the graphic novel. An expert panel will teach the nuts and bolts of this widely popular genre. So if you’ve ever wondered what it takes to produce such a story, this will be the place to find out.

Love Is Murder, as I’ve said before, is the almost perfect conference for would-be mystery writers. There is ample time to meet with editors and agents and to pitch their work. If there is only one conference that you can attend, this is the one. Hope to see you there!