AND THE WINNER(S) ARE....

 

CRIME WRITERS OF CANADA ANNOUNCES THE WINNERS OF THE 2022 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE 

 

 

May 26, 2022

Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) is pleased to announce the winners for the 2022 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing. Started in 1984, the annual Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, then known as the Arthur Ellis Awards, recognizes the best in mystery, crime, and suspense fiction, and crime nonfiction by Canadian authors.

On behalf of CWC, Judy Penz Sheluk, Board Chair, wishes to congratulate all the winners. The presentation of the winners can be viewed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjSQew_DnnA

Best Crime Novel sponsored by Rakuten Kobo, with a $1000 prize
Dietrich Kalteis, Under an Outlaw Moon, ECW Press

Best Crime First Novel sponsored by Writers First, with a $500 prize
Ashley Audrain, The Push, Viking Canada

The Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery sponsored by Jane Doe, with a $500 prize
Candas Jane Dorsey, What’s the Matter with Mary Jane?, ECW Press

The Howard Engel Award for Best Crime Novel Set in Canada sponsored by The Engel Family, with a $500 prize
C. S. Porter, Beneath Her Skin, Vagrant Press / Nimbus Publishing Inc.

Best Crime Novella sponsored by Mystery Magazine, with a $200 prize
Wayne Ng, Letters From Johnny, Guernica Editions

Best Crime Short Story sponsored by Mystery Magazine, with a $300 prize
Elizabeth Elwood, Number 10 Marlborough Place, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

Best French Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction)
Patrick Senécal, Flots, Editions Alire

Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction) sponsored by Shaftesbury, with a $500 prize
Kevin Sands, The Traitor's Blade, Aladdin (Simon & Schuster)

The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book sponsored by Simpson & Wellenreiter LLP, Hamilton, with a $300 prize
Nate Hendley, The Beatle Bandit, Dundurn Press
 
The Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript sponsored by ECW Press, with a $500 prize
Renee Lehnen, Elmington

CWC Unpublished Award of Excellence Interview: Renee Lehnen

AND THE WINNER IS...

RENEE!

Congratulations to all the finalists!

 (see her video interview here )

 

Today we welcome first-time finalist  

AND NOW WINNER of the 

2022 Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence

 for Best Unpublished Crime Novel:   

Renee Lehnen

with her novel manuscript, Elmington

 

We interviewed Renee before the winners were announced, and after she won we asked for a winner's statement, which is below, and followed by her original interview.

Renee writes:     On the afternoon of May 26^th, I received the news via the Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) YouTube presentation that I had won an award in the category of “Best Unpublished Manuscript” for my novel, Elmington. As I was due for my afternoon shift at Spruce Lodge Home for the Aged, I only had time to text the news to my husband, daughter, and son before I set off for work on my bicycle. All evening, my heart was bursting with joy and gratitude to the CWC, contest organizers and judges, and ECW Press, the award’s sponsor. Since Thursday, I’ve had time to celebrate with my family and friends and I have a small hoard of empty wine bottles and a dull headache to show for it.

     Writing Elmington was my Everest. Although crafting the story was its own reward, winning the award feels like standing on a mountain peak with a sunrise for company. And I’m intensely curious about the work of the other writers who were shortlisted. I hope I’ll have the good fortune to read their stories in print.

     I write to try to make sense of a confusing world, to translate my frustrations into humour, and to save money on psychotherapy, but most of all, I write to be read. If any agents and publishers have found themselves in the grayest rut in Dullsville and long to take a risk on a new novelist, please contact me. A simple text will do – 226-880-1064. I promise to do my utmost to avoid ending your career!

 

Original Interview Below

Me: Tell us something about yourself. What is your life like when you’re not writing?

Renee I’m a registered nurse and I work in a long-term care home. My husband is also a nurse. When we’re not working, we like to be outdoors – hiking, canoeing, snowshoeing, etc.

 

Me:   What previous writing experience do you have? What got you started writing crime?

Renee Most of my writing has been academically oriented. For many years, I wrote to make sense of the world – not in a therapeutic journal but in essays in which I laid out my thoughts and ideas on things I struggled to understand. I still do this.

When my kids were teenagers, I found I had enough time to take a creative writing course at my local community college. Since then, I’ve written poetry, short stories, and three unpublished novels.

 

Me:  Is this your first entry into the Awards of Excellence? Where did you hear about this contest for unpublished crime novels, and what decided you to enter?

2022 CWC Awards: Unpublished Interview with Delee Fromm

Congratulate Delee Fromm for her finalist manuscript

 The Strength To Rise

 

Tell us something about yourself. What is your life like when you’re not writing?

DF: I would love to say I spend my spare time skydiving but my real life is more mundane. As a lawyer and former psychologist, I consult with law firms and corporations on the topics of in women’s advancement and implicit bias. I also guest lecture at various universities on the topic of negotiation, something I have taught since the late 1980’s when dinosaurs roamed the land.

 What previous writing experience do you have? What got you started writing crime?

DF: I have always written. As a psychologist I published research, while as a commercial real estate lawyer I wrote articles on land title and tax issues. More recently, as a consultant, I authored two books on career skills – one for lawyers and one for women: Advance Your Legal Career: Essential Skills for Success (LexisNexis Canada) and Understanding Gender at Work.

Unpublished Award Interview with Mark Thomas

Mark Thomas's manuscript, Part Time Crazy, is a finalist for the Crime Writers of Canada Best Unpublished Crime Novel 

I’m 62, a retired English and Philosophy teacher. When I’m not writing I’m curling with a bunch of

other old guys (in the winter) or canoeing and fishing on the French River (in the summer). I play the banjo and guitar, and do weird paintings with mis-tinted house paint. (I’ll attach a couple of images if I can figure it out). A long time ago I was a member of Canada’s national rowing team. I coached rowing and wrestling for almost thirty years.

The first pieces of writing I had published were two personal essays in the Globe and mail. I’ve had a bunch of sci fi and horror stories published in cheesy anthologies and magazines but haven’t fooled a major market yet. I like all types of crime and mystery writing, but my absolute favorite style is the mock-noir, like Richard Brautigan’s Dreaming of Babylon, Paul Tremblay’s The Little Sleep or Kinky Friedman’s Elvis, Jesus and Coca Cola.

Unpublished AE Shortlist Interview: Pamela Isfeld

 Canadian Crime Writing Awards of Excellence

 Best Unpublished finalist interview: Pamela Isfeld  

 

My guest today is Pamela Isfeld, two-time UAE shortlister. Is this going to be her year? Read on and decide for yourself if her manuscript would get your vote!

 Tell us something about yourself. What is your life like when you’re not writing?

 PI: I’m a career Foreign Service officer currently serving as President of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO). I’ve had assignments in Moscow, Nairobi, Sarajevo, Kabul, Kandahar, and Warsaw. When I’m not writing, I’m working to protect the interests of my membership in areas like salaries and working conditions, and to promote the value of Canada’s foreign service to the government, media, and the public. I’ m also the devoted servant of two fourteen-year old pugs, Lenny and Squiggy.

What previous writing experience do you have? What got you started writing crime?

A happy look back at my past, and other crime writers' future

The SHORTLISTS are OUT!!! 

Late April always heralds the finalist announcements for major crime fiction awards: the CWA Dagger Awards in the UK, the Edgars in the USA, the AE in Canada.

The Falls Mysteries got their published start with a win in the Best Unpublished Manuscript for WHEN THE FLOOD FALLS in 2016 (its prequel, WHEN THE BOW BREAKS, was a finalist for the CWA Debut Dagger a few years earlier). And years before that, my first full crime manuscript, a historical set in Prohibition era Moose Jaw, was also a finalist for the AE. 

So I have a special place in my heart for those who make the AE shortlist for their unpublished manuscripts. Over the coming days I'll have interviews with this year's Unpublished shortlisters. 

For now, let's congratulate all the finalists in all the categories.

The Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence
2022 SHORTLISTS

 

Best Crime Novel
sponsored by Rakuten Kobo, with a $1000 prize

Linwood Barclay, Find You First, William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

Daniel Kalla, Lost Immunity, Simon & Schuster

Dietrich Kalteis, Under the Outlaw Moon, ECW Press

Shari Lapena, Not a Happy Family, Doubleday Canada

Roz Nay, The Hunted, Simon & Schuster

 

Best Crime First Novel
sponsored by Writers First, with a $500 prize

Ashley Audrain, The Push, Viking Canada

Fiona King Foster, The Captive, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

Byron TD Smith, Windfall: A Henry Lysyk Mystery, Shima Kun Press

Katherine Walker, All Is Well, Thistledown Press

David Whitton, Seven Down, Rare Machines an imprint of Dundurn Press

 

The Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery
sponsored by Jane Doe, with a $500 prize

Candas Jane Dorsey, What’s the Matter with Mary Jane?, ECW Press

Alice Bienia, Three Dog Knight, Cairn Press

Jackie Elliott, Hell's Half Acre, Joffe Books

Catherine Macdonald, So Many Windings, At Bay Press

Vicki Delany, Murder in a Teacup, Kensington Publishing Corp

 

The Howard Engel Award for Best Crime Novel Set in Canada
sponsored by The Engel Family, with a $500 prize

C. S. Porter, Beneath Her Skin, Vagrant Press / Nimbus Publishing Inc.

Cathy Ace, Corpse with an Iron Will, Four Tails Publishing Inc.

Alice Walsh, Death on Darby’s Island, Vagrant Press / Nimbus Publishing Inc.

Sam Wiebe, Hell and Gone, Harbour Publishing Co. Inc.

Kevin Major, Three for Trinity, Breakwater Books

 

Best Crime Novella
sponsored by Mystery Magazine, with a $200 prize

Marcelle Dubé, Identity Withheld, Falcon Ridge Publishing

Brenda Gayle, Murder in Abstract (A Charly Hall Mystery, book 6), Bowstring Books

Wayne Ng, Letters From Johnny, Guernica Editions

Elvie Simons, Not So Fast, Dr. Quick, Dell Magazines

 

Best Crime Short Story
sponsored by Mystery Magazine, with a $300 prize

Pam Barnsley, What can You Do?, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

Hilary Davidson, Weed Man, Dell Magazines

Elizabeth Elwood, Number 10 Marlborough Place, Dell Magazines

Charlotte Morganti, All My Darlings, Die Laughing: An Anthology of Humorous Mysteries

Melissa Yi, Dead Man's Hand, Dell Magazines

 

Best French Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction)

Roxanne Bouchard, Le murmure des hakapiks, Libre Expression

Marc-André Chabot, Dis-moi qui doit vivre… Libre Expression

Guillaume Morrissette, Conduite dangereuse, Saint-Jean

Patrick Senécal, Flots, Editions Alire

Richard Ste-Marie, Stigmates, Editions Alire

 

Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction)
sponsored by Shaftesbury, with a $500 prize

Karen Bass, Blood Donor, Orca Book Publishers

Rachelle Delaney, Alice Fleck's Recipes for Disaster, Puffin Canada

Cherie Dimaline, Hunting By Stars, Penguin Teen

Kevin Sands, The Traitor's Blade, Aladdin (Simon & Schuster)

Jordyn Taylor, Don't Breathe a Word, HarperTeen (HarperCollins Publishers)

 

The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book
sponsored by Simpson & Wellenreiter LLP, Hamilton, with a $300 prize

Sarah Berman, Don't Call it a Cult, Viking Canada

Aaron Chapman, Vancouver Vice: Crime and Spectacle in the City's West End, Arsenal Pulp Press

Catherine Fogarty, Murder on the Inside: The True Story of the Deadly Riot at Kingston Penitentiary, Biblioasis

Nate Hendley, The Beatle Bandit, Dundurn Press

Lorna Poplak, The Don: The Story of Toronto's Infamous Jail, Dundurn Press

 

The Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript 

sponsored by ECW Press, with a $500 prize

Delee Fromm, The Strength to Rise

Pam Isfeld, Captives

Renee Lehnen, Elmington

Katie Mac, Ken's Corner

Mark Thomas, Part Time Crazy