Edgar Award winners named

Best Novel: William Kent Krueger, ORDINARY GRACE

Best First Novel: Jason Matthews, RED SPARROW

Best Paperback Original: Alex Marwood, THE WICKED GIRLS

Best Young Adult: Annabelle Pitcher, KETCHUP CLOUDS


And from Shelf Awareness:

Edgar Awards: 'Stories Are Your Power'

William Kent Krueger

Robin and Jamie Agnew, owners of Aunt Agatha's Mystery Bookshop

"Your stories are your power," said Brad Meltzer, author and president of the Mystery Writers of America, at the 68th annual Edgar Allan Poe Awards banquet last night. The ceremonies, held at the Grand Hyatt New York City, were dedicated to the women of crime fiction and honored mysteries and thrillers in all their forms. "They're your legacy, your impact. What we all do hits people in a way that nothing else can."

Marcia Talley, author of the Hannah Ives mystery series and the general awards chair, said that she was "struck each year" by the fact that an Edgar Award was "so special because it's an award from your peers."

Robin and Jamie Agnew, the husband and wife co-owners of Aunt Agatha's Mystery Bookshop in Ann Arbor, Mich., received the Raven Award, which recognizes "outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing." Robin called the award a "lifetime pinnacle for us," and Jamie promised that "as long as you keep writing and editing and publishing [mysteries], we will do our best to sell them."

Authors Robert Crais and Carolyn Hart each received Grand Master Awards for their contributions to the genre and overall bodies of work. The Best First Novel Award went to Jason Matthews for the book Red Sparrow (Scribner), and the night's final award, the much coveted Best Novel, went to William Kent Krueger for Ordinary Grace (Atria). Said Krueger: "To write, to be published, to be read, to be appreciated. What more could any storyteller ask for?" --Alex Mutter