The Mystery Writers of America has announced the winners for the 2020 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction and television published or produced in 2019. The Edgar® Awards were presented via a live presentation on Twitter (@EdgarAwards). The winners’ acceptance speeches can be found on their YouTube channel.

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

2020 Winners

BEST NOVEL
THE STRANGER DIARIES by Elly Griffiths (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
MIRACLE CREEK by Angie Kim (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
THE HOTEL NEVERSINK by Adam O’Fallon Price (Tin House Books)

BEST FACT CRIME
THE LESS PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT US: A Mystery of Betrayal, Family Secrets, and Stolen Identity, by Axton Betz-Hamilton (Grand Central Publishing)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
HITCHCOCK AND THE CENSORS by John Billheimer (University Press of Kentucky)

BEST SHORT STORY
“One of These Nights," from CUTTING EDGE: New Stories of Mystery and Crime by Women Writers, by Livia Llewellyn (Akashic Books)

BEST JUVENILE
ME AND SAM-SAM HANDLE THE APOCALYPSE by Susan Vaught (Paula Wiseman Books)

BEST YOUNG ADULT
CATFISHING ON CATNET by Naomi Kritzer (Tor Teen)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
“Season 5, Episode 4” – "Line of Duty," Teleplay by Jed Mercurio (Acorn TV)

ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD
“There’s a Riot Goin’ On," from MILWAUKEE NOIR by Derrick Harriell (Akashic Books)

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
THE NIGHT VISITORS by Carol Goodman (William Morrow)

THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD
BORROWED TIME: A Chicago Mystery, by Tracy Clark ( Kensington)
 

2020 Nominees

BEST NOVEL

• FAKE LIKE ME by Barbara Bourland (Grand Central Publishing)
• THE STRANGER DIARIES by Elly Griffiths (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• THE RIVER by Peter Heller (Knopf)
• SMOKE AND ASHES by Abir Mukherjee (Pegasus Books)
• GOOD GIRL, BAD GIRL by Michael Robotham (Scribner)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

• MY LOVELY WIFE by Samantha Downing (Berkley)
• MIRACLE CREEK by Angie Kim (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
• THE GOOD DETECTIVE by John McMahon (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
• THE SECRETS WE KEPT by Lara Prescott (Knopf)
• THREE-FIFTHS by John Vercher (Agora Books)
• AMERICAN SPY by Lauren Wilkinson (Random House)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

• DREAD OF WINTER by Susan Alice Bickford (Kensington)
• FREEDOM ROAD by William Lashner (Thomas & Mercer)
• BLOOD RELATIONS by Jonathan Moore (Mariner Books)
• FEBRUARY'S SON by Alan Parks (World Noir)
• THE HOTEL NEVERSINK by Adam O’Fallon Price (Tin House Books)
• THE BIRD BOYS by Lisa Sandlin (Cinco Puntos Press)

BEST FACT CRIME

• THE GHOSTS OF EDEN PARK: The Bootleg King, the Women Who Pursued Him, and the Murder that Shocked Jazz-Age America, by Karen Abbott (Crown)
• THE LESS PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT US: A Mystery of Betrayal, Family Secrets, and Stolen Identity, by Axton Betz-Hamilton (Grand Central Publishing)
• AMERICAN PREDATOR: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century, by Maureen Callahan (Viking)
• NORCO '80: The True Story of the Most Spectacular Bank Robbery in American History, by Peter Houlahan (Counterpoint Press)
• INDECENT ADVANCES: A Hidden History of True Crime and Prejudice Before Stonewall, by James Polchin (Counterpoint Press)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

• HITCHCOCK AND THE CENSORS by John Billheimer (University Press of Kentucky)
• BEYOND THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS: A Life of John Buchan, by Ursula Buchan (Bloomsbury Publishing)
• THE HOODED GUNMAN: An Illustrated History of Collins Crime Club, by John Curran (Collins Crime Club)
• MEDIEVAL CRIME FICTION: A Critical Overview, by Anne McKendry (McFarland)
• THE MUTUAL ADMIRATION SOCIETY: How Dorothy L. Sayers and her Oxford Circle Remade the World for Women, by Mo Moulton (Basic Books)

BEST SHORT STORY

• “Turistas," from PAQUE TU LO SEPAS by Hector Acosta (Down & Out Books)
• “One of These Nights," from CUTTING EDGE: New Stories of Mystery and Crime by Women Writers, by Livia Llewellyn (Akashic Books)
• “The Passenger," from SYDNEY NOIR by Kirsten Tranter (Akashic Books)
• “Home at Last," from DIE BEHIND THE WHEEL: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of Steely Dan, by Sam Wiebe (Down & Out Books)
• “Brother’s Keeper," from Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Dave Zeltserman (Dell Magazine)

BEST JUVENILE

• THE COLLECTED WORKS OF GRETCHEN OYSTER by Cary Fagan (Tundra Books)
• EVENTOWN by Corey Ann Haydu (Katherine Tegen Books)
• THE WHISPERS by Greg Howard (G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers)
• ALL THE GREYS ON GREENE STREET by Laura Tucker (Viking Books for Young Readers)
• ME AND SAM-SAM HANDLE THE APOCALYPSE by Susan Vaught (Paula Wiseman Books)

BEST YOUNG ADULT

• CATFISHING ON CATNET by Naomi Kritzer (Tor Teen)
• KILLING NOVEMBER by Adriana Mather (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
• PATRON SAINTS OF NOTHING by Randy Ribay (Kokila)
• THE DECEIVERS by Kristen Simmons (Tor Teen)
• WILD AND CROOKED by Leah Thomas (Bloomsbury Publishing)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY

• “Season 5, Episode 3” – "Line of Duty," Teleplay by Jed Mercurio (Acorn TV)
• “Season 5, Episode 4” – "Line of Duty," Teleplay by Jed Mercurio (Acorn TV)
• “Episode 1” – "Dublin Murders," Teleplay by Sarah Phelps (STARZ)
• “Episode 1” – "Manhunt," Teleplay by Ed Whitmore (Acorn TV)
• “Episode 1” – "The Wisting," Teleplay by Katherine Valen Zeiner and Trygve Allister Diesen (Sundance Now)

ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD

• “There’s a Riot Goin’ On," from MILWAUKEE NOIR by Derrick Harriell (Akashic Books)

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD

• THE NIGHT VISITORS by Carol Goodman (William Morrow)
• ONE NIGHT GONE by Tara Laskowski (Graydon House)
• STRANGERS AT THE GATE by Catriona McPherson (Minotaur Books)
• WHERE THE MISSING GO by Emma Rowley (Kensington)
• THE MURDER LIST by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge Books)

THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD

• SHAMED by Linda Castillo (Minotaur Books)
• BORROWED TIME: A Chicago Mystery, by Tracy Clark ( Kensington)
• THE MISSING ONES: A Hester Thursby Mystery, by Edwin Hill (Kensington)
• THE SATAPUR MOONSTONE: A Perveen Mistry Novel, by Sujata Massey (Soho Crime)
• THE ALCHEMIST'S ILLUSION: An Accidental Alchemist Mystery, by Gigi Pandian (Midnight Ink)
• GIRL GONE MISSING: A Cash Blackbear Mystery, by Marcie R. Rendon (Cincos Puntos Press)

GRAND MASTER

• Barbara Neely

RAVEN AWARD

• Left Coast Crime

ELLERY QUEEN AWARD

• Kelley Ragland