Nothing Like a Dame

From Mike Ripley's blog - Getting Away with Murder

I am rarely asked to be a judge for anything these days, as most judging positions in the crime fiction field are now stipendiary or even hereditary, so it was a distinct honour to be asked to represent the UK – nay, Europe – on an international panel to decide the 2011 Dame Ngaio Marsh Award for best crime novel by a New Zealander.

In fact it is a double honour, for I have been invited back as a judge after serving last year for the inaugural award and despite the fact that I totally failed to predict the winner and discovering that the time difference between Ripster Hall and New Zealand does not work in my favour when it comes to putting a bet on after hearing the result.

The judging panel for this year’s ‘Ngaio’ comprises: myself, a Canadian, an American and a clutch of New Zealanders including the ace crime fiction blogger Craig Sanderson, who masterminded the creation of this award with its splendid trophy and indeed has set up an interweb page dedicated to the Award at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ngaio-Marsh-Award-for-Best-Crime-Novel/233991183282311