The Mystery Writers of America has announced the winners for the 2021 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction and television published or produced in 2020. The Edgar® Awards were presented via a live presentation on Zoom and can be found on You Tube or Facebook.

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

2021 Winners

BEST NOVEL
DJINN PATROL ON THE PURPLE LINE by Deepa Anappara (Random House)

BEST FIRST NOVEL
PLEASE SEE US by Caitlin Mullen (Gallery Books)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING by Alyssa Cole (William Morrow)

BEST FACT CRIME
DEATH IN MUD LICK: A Coal Country Fight Against the Drug Companies that Delivered the Opioid Epidemic, by Eric Eyre (Scribner)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
PHANTOM LADY: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, the Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock, by Christina Lane (Chicago Review Press)

BEST SHORT STORY
"Dust, Ash, Flight," ADDIS ABABA NOIR by Maaza Mengiste (Akashic Books)

BEST JUVENILE
PREMEDITATED MYRTLE by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Algonquin Young Readers)

BEST YOUNG ADULT
THE COMPANION by Katie Alender (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers)

BEST TV EPISODE TELEPLAY
“Episode 1, Photochemistry” – "Dead Still," written by John Morton (Acorn TV)

ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD
"The Bite,” TAMPA BAY NOIR by Colette Bancroft (Akashic Books)

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
THE CABINETS OF BARNABY MAYNE by Elsa Hart (Minotaur Books)

THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD
VERA KELLY IS NOT A MYSTERY by Rosalie Knecht (Tin House Books)

GRAND MASTER
Jeffrey Deaver
Charlaine Harris

RAVEN AWARD
Malice Domestic

ELLERY QUEEN AWARD
Reagan Arthur, Publisher – Alfred A. Knopf
 

2021 Nominees

BEST NOVEL

• DJINN PATROL ON THE PURPLE LINE by Deepa Anappara (Random House)
• BEFORE SHE WAS HELEN by Caroline B. Cooney (Poisoned Pen Press)
• THURSDAY MURDER CLUB by Richard Osman (Pamela Dorman Books)
• THESE WOMEN by Ivy Pochoda (Ecco)
• THE MISSING AMERICAN: The First Emma Djan Investigation, by Kwei Quartey (Soho Crime)
• THE DISTANT DEAD by Heather Young (William Morrow)

BEST FIRST NOVEL

• MURDER IN OLD BOMBAY by Nev March (Minotaur Books)
• PLEASE SEE US by Caitlin Mullen (Gallery Books)
• CATHERINE HOUSE by Elisabeth Thomas (William Morrow)
• WINTER COUNTS by David Heska Wanbli Weiden (Ecco)
• DARLING ROSE GOLD by Stephanie Wrobel (Berkley)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

• WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING by Alyssa Cole (William Morrow)
• THE DEEP, DEEP SNOW by Brian Freeman (Blackstone Publishing)
• UNSPEAKABLE THINGS by Jess Lourey (Thomas & Mercer)
• THE KEEPER by Jessica Moor (Penguin Books)
• EAST OF HOUNSLOW by Khurrum Rahman (Harper360)

BEST FACT CRIME

• BLOOD RUNS COAL: The Yablonski Murders and the Battle for the United Mine Workers of America, by Mark A. Bradley (W. W. Norton & Company)
• THE THIRD RAINBOW GIRL: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia, by Emma Copley Eisenberg (Hachette Books)
• DEATH IN MUD LICK: A Coal Country Fight Against the Drug Companies that Delivered the Opioid Epidemic, by Eric Eyre (Scribner)
• YELLOW BIRD: Oil, Murder, and a Woman's Search for Justice in Indian Country, by Sierra Crane Murdoch (Random House)
• VERITAS: A Harvard Professor, a Con Man, and the Gospel of Jesus's Wife, by Ariel Sabar (Doubleday)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

• HOWDUNIT: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club, by Martin Edwards (Harper360/Collins Crime Club)
• PHANTOM LADY: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, the Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock, by Christina Lane (Chicago Review Press)
• IAN RANKIN: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction, by Erin E. MacDonald (McFarland)
• GUILT RULES ALL: Irish Mystery, Detective, and Crime Fiction, by Elizabeth Mannion and Brian Cliff (Syracuse University Press)
• THIS TIME NEXT YEAR WE'LL BE LAUGHING: A Memoir, by Jacqueline Winspear (Soho Press)

BEST SHORT STORY

• "The Summer Uncle Cat Came to Stay," Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Leslie Elman (Dell Magazines)
• "Dust, Ash, Flight," ADDIS ABABA NOIR by Maaza Mengiste (Akashic Books)
• "Etta at the End of the World," Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by Joseph S. Walker  (Dell Magazines)
• “The Twenty-Five Year Engagement,” IN LEAGUE WITH SHERLOCK HOLMES by James W. Ziskin (Pegasus Crime)

BEST JUVENILE

• PREMEDITATED MYRTLE by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Algonquin Young Readers)
• ME AND BANKSY by Tanya Lloyd Kyi (Puffin Canada)
• FROM THE DESK OF ZOE WASHINGTON by Janae Marks (Katherine Tegen Books)
• IKENGA by Nnedi Okorafor (Viking Books for Young Readers)
• NESSIE QUEST by Melissa Savage (Crown Books for Young Readers)
• COOP KNOWS THE SCOOP by Taryn Souders (Sourcebooks Young Readers)

BEST YOUNG ADULT

• THE COMPANION by Katie Alender (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers)
• THE INHERITANCE GAMES by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
• THEY WENT LEFT by Monica Hesse (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
• SILENCE OF BONES by June Hur (Feiwel & Friends)
• THE COUSINS by Karen M. McManus (Delacorte Press)

BEST TV EPISODE TELEPLAY

• “Episode 1, The Stranger” – Harlan Coben’s "The Stranger," written by Danny Brocklehurst (Netflix)
• “Episode 1, Open Water” – "The Sounds," written by Sarah-Kate Lynch (Acorn TV)
• “Episode 1, Photochemistry” – "Dead Still," written by John Morton (Acorn TV)
• “Episode 1” – "Des," written by Luke Neal (Sundance Now)
• “What I Know” – "The Boys," written by Rebecca Sonnenshine, based on the comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson (Amazon)

ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD

• "The Bite,” TAMPA BAY NOIR by Colette Bancroft (Akashic Books)

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD

• DEATH OF AN AMERICAN BEAUTY by Mariah Fredericks (Minotaur Books)
• THE CABINETS OF BARNABY MAYNE by Elsa Hart (Minotaur Books)
• THE LUCKY ONE by Lori Rader-Day (William Morrow)
• THE FIRST TO LIE by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge Books)
• COLD WIND by Paige Shelton (Minotaur Books)

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

• THE BURN by Kathleen Kent (Mulholland Books)
• RIVIERA GOLD: A Novel of Suspense Featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, by Laurie R. King (Ballantine Books)
• VERA KELLY IS NOT A MYSTERY by Rosalie Knecht (Tin House Books)
• DEAD LAND: A V.I. Warshawski Novel, by Sara Paretsky (William Morrow)
• THE SLEEPING NYMPH: A Teresa Battaglia Novel, by Ilaria Tuti (Soho Crime)
• TURN TO STONE: An Ellie Stone Mystery, by James W. Ziskin (Seventh Street Books)

GRAND MASTER

• Jeffrey Deaver
• Charlaine Harris

RAVEN AWARD

• Malice Domestic

ELLERY QUEEN AWARD

• Reagan Arthur, Publisher – Alfred A. Knopf