Edgar Allan Poe Awards 2016

Mystery Writers of America has announced the winners of the 2016 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction and television published or produced in 2015. The Edgar® Awards were presented to the winners at the 70th Gala Banquet on April 28, 2016 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.

Read more »

Charles J. Shields, author of Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD --- the 20th century's most widely read American novel --- has sold 30 million copies and still sells a million yearly. In this in-depth biography, first published in 2006, Charles J. Shields brings to life the woman who gave us two of American literature's most unforgettable characters: Atticus Finch and his daughter, Scout. Now, 10 years after its initial publication --- with revisions throughout the book and a new epilogue --- Shields finishes the story of Harper Lee's life, up to its end.

Read more »

Anderson Cooper, author of The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Loss

Though Anderson Cooper has always considered himself close to his mother, his intensely busy career as a journalist for CNN and CBS affords him little time to spend with her. After she suffers a brief but serious illness at the age of 91, they resolve to change their relationship by beginning a year-long conversation unlike any they had ever had before. The result is a correspondence of surprising honesty and depth in which they discuss their lives, the things that matter to them, and what they still want to learn about each other.

Read more »

You Got This!: Unleash Your Awesomeness, Find Your Path, and Change Your World by Maya S. Penn

April 2016

Maya Penn is a remarkable teen entrepreneur who has given three TED Talks, created her own eco-friendly fashion line, developed animated films, and appeared on "The View" with Whoopi Goldberg. She has even been name-checked by bestselling authors Gabrielle Bernstein, Steve Harvey and Eve Ensler. All while still in middle school! In YOU GOT THIS!, Maya shares her incredible journey to becoming an artist, designer, philanthropist and business owner. She provides a creative blueprint for teens and young adults, along with the tools she used to build an authentic, exciting and connected life, and offers creative prompts for cultivating success.

Read more »

Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse

April 2016

Amsterdam, 1943. Hanneke spends her days procuring and delivering sought-after black market goods to paying customers, her nights hiding the true nature of her work from her concerned parents, and every waking moment mourning her boyfriend, who was killed on the Dutch front lines when the Germans invaded. On a routine delivery, a client asks Hanneke for help. Expecting to hear that Mrs. Janssen wants meat or kerosene, she is shocked by the older woman's frantic plea to find a person --- a Jewish teenager Mrs. Janssen had been hiding, who has vanished without a trace from a secret room.

Read more »

Golden Boys by Sonya Hartnett

April 2016

Colt Jenson and his younger brother, Bastian, have moved to a new, working-class suburb. The Jensons are different. Their father, Rex, showers them with gifts --- toys, bikes, all that glitters most --- and makes them the envy of the neighborhood. To the local kids, the Jensons are a family out of a movie, and Rex a hero --- successful, attentive, attractive, always there to lend a hand. But to Colt, he's an impossible figure: unbearable, suffocating. Has Colt got Rex wrong, or has he seen something in his father that will destroy their fragile new lives?

Read more »