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NORTH AMERICAN HAMMETT PRIZE NOMINEES ANNOUNCED |
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by Mary Frisque
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The North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers is pleased to announce nominees for their annual Hammett Prize for a work of literary excellence in the field of crime writing by a US or Canadian author. The nominees are as follows:
James Lee Burke, Feast Day of Fools: A Novel (Simon & Schuster)
Sara Gran, Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead ( Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Michael Ondaatje, The Cat's Table (McClelland & Stewart/Canada; Knopf/US)
Thomas Perry, The Informant (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/An Otto Penzler Book)
James Sallis, The Killer is Dying: A Novel (Walker & Company)
A reading committee of IACW/NA members selected the nominees, based on recommendations from other members and the publishing community. The committee was headed by Deen Kogan and included Jedediah Berry, Vicki Cameron, Lorenzo Carcaterra, and Thomas Laird.
The winner will be chosen by three distinguished outside judges: Kevin Connolly, Canadian poet and editor; Eileen Hutton, founder of Brilliance Audio; and Paula J. Massood, author of Black City Cinema: African American Urban Experiences in Film.
The organization will name the HAMMETT PRIZE winner, during the Bloody Words Conference, in Toronto, June 1-3. The winner will receive a bronze trophy, designed by sculptor Peter Boiger. |
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by Mary Frisque
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From the North American Branch weekly newsletter
SAD NEWS: Our long-time member Josef Skvorecky died on January 3, in Toronto. He was 87. Skvorecky was a Czech émigré writer who moved to Canada in 1969, where he taught for many years at the University of Toronto, and with his wife, Zdena Salivarova, ran 68 Publishers, which published banned Czech works, including his. His best known novel was The Engineer of Human Souls, which won the Governor-General’s Award in Canada. He also won the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 1980, and in 1990, he won the Arthur Ellis Award from the Crime Writers of Canada for "Humbug," in The End of Lieutenant Boruvka.
Here’s a link to a fine piece about Josef from the Globe & Mail.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/josef-skvorecky-a-writer-between-two-worlds/article2291370/
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It was a dazzling criminal night at the ball … |
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by Jutta Motz (translated by Mary Tannert)
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… or at least it seemed that way as the members of the International Association of Crime Writers (IACW / AIEP) joined Swiss writers of crime fiction for dinner at Zurich’s Alt-Klösterli restaurant to celebrate the end of IACW’s 2011 annual meeting. This evening also marked the end of the Swiss crime fiction festival Mordstage, which took place simultaneously in Zurich.
IACW met in Zurich for the first time this year, and organizers put together a rich and varied program for members and guests. Many of the events offered the opportunity for both specialists and lay audiences to gather information of the highest quality, such as:
• Metamorphosis: Crime Fiction in/and Translation, a roundtable discussion on the pitfalls of translating crime fiction, featuring American, British and German authors;
• e-Book: A New Media, a look at a new publication medium that is becoming ever more popular in addition to print publication;
• Crime Series – The Pleasure of Repetition at the University of Zurich, likewise a roundtable discussion, this time focusing on television crime fiction series.
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Conan Doyle's House In Danger |
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by Jim Madison Davis
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Nick Griffiths, Downroad Photography
An Open Letter:
Without a doubt, the destruction of the house in which Arthur Conan Doyle lived and wrote The Hound of the Baskervilles, as well as other stories, would be regarded by crime writers of all nations as a desecration. Although the creator of Sherlock Holmes was not the first crime writer, he shaped the genre into a vital and evolving form which has become one of the great cultural traditions of Britain and of the world. There is no form of mystery writing that is not in his debt. It is not at all excessive to say Conan Doyle is to crime writing what Beethoven is to music, Michelangelo is to sculpture, and Leonardo is to painting. Contemporary literature’s roots run deep into those words penned in Undershaw, and the branches continue to flower and spread. This site is not just of British cultural significance but world cultural significance.
I think I can with confidence speak for crime writers around the world in emphasizing that it would be an appalling act of barbarism to destroy Undershaw. There could be no more appropriate use of the property than that proposed by Mr. Rose and Ms. Patel, to become a museum and center for the celebration and study of crime writing,and I urge all crime writers everywhere to support their efforts.
For further explanations, please read Mr. David Charles Rose's cry for help: : "House of the Baskervilles in Peril." A link to Save Undershaw, which contains a brief video on the situation is available on the site.
Most Sincerely,
J. Madison Davis
President, The International Association of Crime Writers and
Gaylord Family Endowed Chair of Professional Writing, the University of Oklahoma |
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Food for Thought from Canada |
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by The Writers' Union of Canada
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A WRITERS' BILL OF RIGHTS FOR THE DIGITAL AGE
What do we, as book writers, want for ourselves in the digital age?
Having asked this question of dozens of book authors and other writers,
The Writers' Union of Canada presents the following twelve rights for Canadian authors. They are not written in stone. The publishing and digital landscapes are changing too quickly for that. Our goal is to encourage thought and discussion and to encourage action that respects writers' rights. Next year our statement may look different. For now the question is, What are our core demands and principles with respect to our rights in the digital age? Here is what we propose.
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