2011 Anthony Awards Brunch at Bouchercon

What is that odd, blurry row of lucite gravestones, you ask?  They’re beautifull etched Anthony Awards, only my phone is not ideal for photos, and I forgot to bring a decent camera.  Therefore, these on-scene pictures are tragically unable to capture the splendor of several hundred people quaffing coffee and scarfing eggs.  (Only half of them were battling raging hangovers, and they did so with dignity and elan, I might add.)  But it proves I was there, doesn’t it?

The brunch marked the final, official event of Bouchercon, concluding with the Anthony Awards so named for Anthony Boucher, noted critic and author.  This award isn’t granted by panel, but by the conference attendees, and I was one of the people running at 5 minutes to 5pm yesterday to get my ballot into the official slot-topped box.   This year, each winner got to select the next category to be called out, so the order was spontaneously detemined.  Without further ado, the Anthony winners. . .

Best Website/Blog:
Jen’s Book Thoughts – Jen Forbus
The Rap Sheet – J. Kingston Pierce
Sirens of Suspense – Chantelle Aimée Osman
Spinetingler – Sandra Ruttan
Stop. You’re Killing Me – Surber/Ulrich

Best Novel:
Bury Your Dead – Louise Penny – Minotaur
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter – Tom Franklin – William Morrow
Faithful Place – Tana French – Viking
I’d Know You Anywhere – Laura Lippman – William Morrow
The Lock Artist – Steve Hamilton – Minotaur

Best First Novel:
Damage Done – Hilary Davidson – Tor/Forge
The Poacher’s Son – Paul Doiron – Minotaur
Rogue Island– Bruce DeSilva – Tor/Forge
The Sherlockian – Graham Moore – Twelve
Snow Angels – James Thompson – Putnam

Best Paperback Original:
Drive Time – Hank Phillippi Ryan – Mira
Expiration Date – Duane Swierczynski – Minotaur
The Hanging Tree – Bryan Gruley – Touchstone
Long Time Coming – Robert Goddard – Bantam
Vienna Secrets – Frank Tallis – Random House

Best Short Story:
“The Frame Maker” – Simon Wood – The Back Alley
“The Hitter” – Chris F. Holm – Needle
“Homeless” – Patricia L. Morin – Mystery Montage
“Scent of Lilacs” – Doug Allyn – Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Sept/Oct 2010
“So Much in Common” – Mary Jane Maffini – Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Sept/Oct 2010
“Swing Shift” – Dana Cameron – Crimes By Moonlight

Best Critical/Non-fiction:
Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks – John Curran – Harper Collins
Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable
Detective and His Rendezvous with American
History –Yunte Huang – W. W. Norton & Co.
Sherlock Holmes for Dummies – Steven Doyle and David A. Crowder- For Dummies
Thrillers: 100 Must Reads – David Morrell – Oceanview
The Wire: Truth Be Told – Rafael Alvarez – Grove Press