The Arthur Ellis Awards

For readers of crime, mystery, espionage and all manner of criminal doings, both fictional and factual, the Arthur Ellis Awards for Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing are the awards to check out for the newest and the best. (A bit of trivia: The awards are named for the pseudonym of the Official Executioner for the Dominion of Canada from 1913-1935, which explains the appearance of the award as seen to the right.)  Awarded annually by the Crime Writers of Canada since 1984, the Arthur Ellis Awards include the following categories:

For Published Works:

• Best Crime Novel *
• Best First Crime Novel *
• Best Crime Book in French
• Best Crime Nonfiction
• Best Juvenile/Young Adult Crime Book
• Best Crime Short Story

For Unpublished Work:

• The Unhanged Arthur Award for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel *
  

*Awards for which prizes are provided

This year's shortlist of works from 2011 will be announced in April 2012, and the awards presented at the Arthur Ellis Awards Banquet in Toronto on Thursday, May 31, 2012.

So, if you're looking for a great mystery or thriller, until the 2012 short list is announced, the books nominated for the  2011 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Juvenile/Young Adult Crime Book will provide you with a strong selection.

Short List:

• Borderline by Allan Stratton (HarperCollins Canada, 2010) 

• Pluto's Ghost by Sheree Fitch (Doubleday Canada, 2010)

• Victim Rights by Norah McClintock (Red Deer Press, 2010)

• The Vinyl Princess by Yvonne Prinz (HarperCollins Canada, 2010)

• The Worst Thing She Ever Did by Alice Kuipers (HarperCollins Canada, 2010)

Winner:

The Worst Thing She Ever Did  
by Alice Kuipers
HarperCollins Canada, 2010

While the title suggests a mystery to which the reader is not privy,  sixteen-year-old Sophie knows what she did and what it has cost.  After her sister's death, Sophie is instructed by a therapist to share herself, particularly her grief, in a journal. 


For more information about the awards, go to the Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Awards