Each Spring, Mystery Writers of America present the Edgar^® Awards, widely acknowledged to be the most prestigious awards in the genre. These awards recognize the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction and television in the past year.

For more information on The Edgars, or the Mystery Writers of America, please visit http://www.TheEdgars.com/

2009 Winners

Best Novel
BLUE HEAVEN by C. J. Box (St. Martin’s Minotaur)

Best First Novel by an American Author
THE FOREIGNER by Francie Lin (Picador)

Best Paperback Original
CHINA LAKE by Meg Gardiner (New American Library / Obsidian Mysteries)

Best Fact Crime
AMERICAN LIGHTNING: Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century by Howard Blum (Crown Publishers)

Best Critical / Biographical
EDGAR ALLAN POE: An Illustrated Companion to His Tell-Tale Stories by Dr. Harry Lee Poe (Metro Books)

Best Short Story
"Skinhead Central" by by T. Jefferson Parker, in THE BLUE RELIGION (Hachette Book Group / Little, Brown and Company)

Best Juvenile
THE POSTCARD by Tony Abbott (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

Best Young Adult
PAPER TOWNS by John Green (Penguin Young Readers Group / Dutton Children’s Books)

Best Play
The Ballad of Emmett Till by Ifa Bayeza (Goodman Theatre, Chicago, IL)

Best Television Episode Teleplay
Prayer of the Bone – "Wire in the Blood", Teleplay by Patrick Harbinson (BBC America)

Best Motion Picture Screenplay
In Bruges, Screenplay by Martin McDonagh (Focus Features)

Robert L. Fish Memorial Award
"Buckner's Error" - Queens Noir by Joseph Guglielmelli (Akashic Books)

Grand Master
James Lee Burke
Sue Grafton

Raven Awards
Edgar Allan Poe Society, Baltimore, Maryland
Poe House, Baltimore, Maryland

The Simon & Schuster - Mary Higgins Clark Award
THE KILLER'S WIFE by Bill Floyd (St. Martin’s Minotaur)

2009 Nominees

BEST NOVEL
MISSING by Karin Alvtegen (Felony & Mayhem Press)
BLUE HEAVEN by C.J. Box (St. Martin's Minotaur)
SINS OF THE ASSASSIN by Robert Ferrigno (Simon & Schuster / Scribner)
THE PRICE OF BLOOD by Declan Hughes (HarperCollins / William Morrow)
THE NIGHT FOLLOWING by Morag Joss (Random House / Delacorte Press)
CURSE OF THE SPELLMANS by Lisa Lutz (Simon & Schuster)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
THE KIND ONE by Tom Epperson (Five Star, div of Cengage)
SWEETSMOKE by David Fuller (Hyperion)
THE FOREIGNER by Francie Lin (Picador)
CALUMET CITY by Charlie Newton (Simon & Schuster / Touchstone)
A CURE FOR NIGHT by Justin Peacock (Random House / Doubleday)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
THE PRINCE OF BAGRAM by Alex Carr (Random House Trade)
MONEY SHOT by Christa Faust (Hard Case Crime)
ENEMY COMBATANT by Ed Gaffney (Random House / Dell)
CHINA LAKE by Meg Gardiner (New American Library / Obsidian Mysteries)
THE COLD SPOT by Tom Piccirilli (Random House / Bantam)

BEST FACT CRIME
FOR THE THRILL OF IT: Leopold, Loeb and the Murder that Shocked Chicago by Simon Baatz (HarperCollins)
AMERICAN LIGHTNING: Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century by Howard Blum (Crown Publishers)
HAVANA NOCTURN: How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It To The Revolution by T. J. English (HarperCollins / William Morrow)
THE MAN WHO MADE VERMEERS: Unvarnishing the Legend of Master Forger Hans van Meegeren by Jonathan Lopez (Harcourt)
THE SUSPICIONS OF MR. WHICHER by Kate Summerscale (Walker & Company)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
AFRICAN AMERICAN MYSTERY WRITERS: A Historical and Thematic Study by Frankie Y. Bailey (McFarland & Company)
HARD-BOILED SENTIMENTALITY: The Secret History of American Crime Stories by Leonard Cassuto (Columbia University Press)
SCIENCE OF THE CRIME: The Importance of Place in Crime and Mystery Fiction by David Geherin (McFarland & Company)
THE RISE OF TRUE CRIME by Jean Murley (Greenwood Publishing / Praeger)
EDGAR ALLAN POE: An Illustrated Companion to His Tell-Tale Stories by Dr. Harry Lee Poe (Sterling Publishing / Metro Books)

BEST SHORT STORY
"A Sleep Not Unlike Death" in HARDCORE HARDBOILED by Sean Chercover (Kensington Publishing)
"Skin and Bones" in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by David Edgerley Gates (Dell Magazines)
"Scratch of a Woman" in HARDLY KNEW HER by Laura Lippman (HarperCollins / William Morrow)
"La Vie en Rose" in PARIS NOIR by Dominique Mainard (Akashic Books)
"Skinhead Central" in THE BLUE RELIGION by T. Jefferson Parker (Hachette Book Group / Little, Brown and Company)

BEST JUVENILE
THE POSTCARD by Tony Abbott (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
ENIGMA: A Magical Mystery by Graeme Base (Abrams Books for Young Readers)
ELEVEN by Patricia Reilly Giff (Random House Children's Books – Wendy Lamb Books)
THE WITCHES OF DREDMOORE HOLLOW by Riford McKenzie (Marshall Cavendish Children's Books)
CEMETARY STREET by Brenda Seabrooke (Holiday House)

BEST YOUNG ADULT
BOG CHILD by Siobhan Dowd (Random House Children's Books / David Fickling Books)
THE BIG SPLASH by Jack D. Ferraiolo (Harry N. Abrams Books / Amulet Books)
PAPER TOWNS by John Green (Penguin Young Readers Group / Dutton Children's Books)
GETTING THE GIRL by Susan Juby (HarperCollins Children's Books / HarperTeen)
TORN TO PIECES by Margo McDonnell (Random House Children's Books / Delacorte Books for Young Readers)

BEST PLAY
The Ballad of Emmett Till by Ifa Bayeza (Goodman Theatre, Chicago, IL)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, based on the story by Robert Lewis Stevenson (Arizona Theatre Company)
Cell by Judy Klass (International Mystery Writers' Festival)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
Streetwise – "Law & Order: SVU" by Paul Grellong (Wolf Films/NBC Universal)
Prayer of the Bone – "Wire in the Blood" by Patrick Harbinson (BBC America)
Signature – "Law & Order: SVU" by Judith McCreary (Wolf Films/NBC Universal)
You May Now Kill the Bride – "CSI: Miami" by Barry O'Brien (CBS)
Burn Card – "Law & Order" by David Wilcox (Wolf Films/NBC Universal)

BEST MOTION PICTURE SCREENPLAY
The Bank Job, Screenplay by Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais (Lionsgate)
Burn After Reading, Screenplay by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen (Focus Features)
In Bruges, Screenplay by Martin McDonagh (Focus Features)
Tell No One, Screenplay by Guillaume Canet, based on the book by Harlan Coben (Music Box Films)
Transsiberian, Screenplay by Brad Anderson & Will Conroy (First Look International)

ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD
"Buckner's Error" - QUEENS NOIR by Joseph Guglielmelli (Akashic Books)

GRAND MASTERS
James Lee Burke
Sue Grafton

RAVEN AWARDS
Edgar Allan Poe Society, Baltimore, Maryland
Poe House, Baltimore, Maryland

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER - MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
SACRIFICE by S. J. Bolton (St. Martin's Minotaur)
THE KILLER'S WIFE by Bill Floyd (St. Martin's Minotaur)
STALKING SUSAN by Julie Kramer (Random House / Doubleday)
A SONG FOR YOU by Betsy Thornton (St. Martin's Minotaur)
THE FAULT TREE by Louise Ure (St. Martin's Minotaur)