Today is Edgar Allan Poe’s birthday, so it’s the day Mystery Writers of America announces this year’s Edgar Award nominees. I usually stay offline in the morning until I’ve completed a solid chunk of writing for the day. This morning, my phone started lighting up with text messages from friends congratulating me.
Congratulating me? What was going on? One text mentioned the Edgar Award, but… that couldn’t possibly be right. Could it? I broke my rule of staying offline to investigate. It turned it’s true! I’m an Edgar Award nominee!
I’ve been short-listed for an Edgar Award for my locked-room mystery short story "The Locked Room Library," published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine last year! Wow. Simply, wow.
I'm a huge fan of locked room mysteries, aka impossible crime stories, and I love writing them. That particular style of puzzle plot mystery fell out of fashion decades ago, but I've been so happy to see it gaining popularity once more, so I'm thrilled to get this recognition for one of my impossible crime stories.
The other nominees are Michael Bracken & James A. Hearn, V.M. Burns, Tracy Clark, R.T. Lawton, and a previously undiscovered story by by Cornell Woolrich. What a great group! I’ve read most of the stories, and it’s truly an honor to be a finalist alongside them.
The Edgars are given out by the Mystery Writers of America, and this year’s Edgar Awards banquet is April 28 in New York City. I had hoped to attend two years ago, when I was nominated for a Sue Grafton Memorial Award, but the event was canceled due to the pandemic. This year, I’ll be there!
The Best Short Story Nominees
“Blindsided,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by Michael Bracken & James A. Hearn (Dell Magazines)
“The Vermeer Conspiracy,” Midnight Hour by V.M. Burns (Crooked Lane Books) “Lucky Thirteen,” Midnight Hour by Tracy Clark (Crooked Lane Books)
“The Road to Hana,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by R.T. Lawton (Dell Magazines)
“The Locked Room Library,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Gigi Pandian (Dell Magazines)
“The Dark Oblivion,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Cornell Woolrich (Dell Magazines)
The full list of nominees in all the categories can be found at: https://mysterywriters.org/mwa-announce-the-2022-edgar-award-nominations/
Congratulations to all the nominees! I look forward to seeing folks at the Edgars in April.