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Arthur Ellis Awards announce 2020 shortlist of the best Canadian crime writing

The shortlist for the 2020 Arthur Ellis Awards for Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing was announced via Facebook on April 21. While the awards gala for this year has been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, winners will be announced in late May on the Canadian Crime Writers of Canada’s website and social media channels.

Best Crime Novel

  • Greenwood, Michael Christie (McClelland & Stewart)
  • Fate, Ian Hamilton (House of Anansi Press)
  • Hideaway, Nicole Lundrigan (Penguin Random House Canada)
  • The Last Resort, Marissa Stapley (Simon & Schuster Canada)
  • In the Dark, Loreth Anne White (Montlake Romance)

The Angela Harrison Memorial Award for Best Crime First Novel

  • Nobody Move, Philip Elliott (Into the Void Press)
  • Blindshot, Denis Coupal (Linda Leith Publishing)
  • Past Presence, Nicole Bross (Literary Wanderlust)

Best Crime Novella

  • The Red Chesterfield, Wayne Arthurson (University of Calgary Press)
  • Blood Ties, Barbara Fradkin (Orca Book Publishers)
  • Too Close to Home, Brenda Chapman (Grass Roots Press)
  • The Goddaughter Does Vegas, Melodie Campbell (Orca Book Publishers)
  • The Woman in Apartment 615, Devon Shepherd (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine)

Best Crime Short Story

  • “In Plain Sight,” Y.S. Lee, (Life is Short and Then You Die, Macmillan Publishers)
  • “Closing Doors,” Peter Sellers (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)
  • “The Dead Man’s Dog,” Zandra Renwick (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine)

Best French Crime Book

  • Les offrandes, Louis Carmain (VLB Éditeur)
  • Tempêtes, Andrée Michaud (Éditions Québec Amériques)
  • Ghetto X, Martin Michaud (Libre Expression)
  • Le tribunal de la rue Quirion, Guillaume Morrissette (Guy Saint-Jean Éditeur)
  • Le cercle de cendres, Félix Ravenelle-Arcouette (Héliotrope)

Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book

  • Tank & Fizz: The Case of the Tentacle Terror, Liam O’Donnell & Mike Dean (Orca Book Publishers)
  • The Grey Sisters, Jo Treggiari (Penguin Teen)
  • Keep This to Yourself, Tom Ryan (Albert Whitman & Company)
  • Ghosts, David A. Robertson (HighWater Press)

Best Non-fiction Crime Book

The Unhanged Arthur Award for Best Unpublished Crime Manuscript

  • Bert Mintenko and the Serious Business, B.L. Smith
  • Henry’s Bomb, K.P. Bartlett
  • One Bad Day After Another, Max Folsom
  • The Dieppe Letters, Liz Rachel Walker
  • The River Cage, Pam Barnsley

The 2020 Grand Master Award: Peter Robinson