PWA News and Views

Joe Gores R.I.P.

2011-01-12T12:10:00.001-08:00

Sadly Joe Gores, author of the DKA series, a 3-Time Edgar winner and winner of the "EYE," the PWA Life Achievement award, has died. He was 80. Will post more when we have it. For now out best goes out to the family. This is a huge loss for the mystery community.

RJR

Kenn Davis, R.I.P.

2010-01-16T23:48:00.000-08:00

Anyone here ever read the Carver Bascomb books by Kenn Davis? And a novel called BOGART '48? Kenn Davis suffered a heart attack on January 12 and passed away. He was 77. He hadn't had a book published since 1990, but for many years--before and after his writing career--has been a painter. His brother, Zekial Marko--also known as John Trinian--died last year. This Spring they'll both have their ashes scattered by their family.

I just made contact with him again in May by email. Kenn and I were friends throughout the 80's, as we usually saw each other at Bouchercon. His wife emailed me this week with the sad news.

His website is

KennDavis-art.com.

RJR

Dick Stodghill, R.I.P.

2009-11-18T13:02:00.000-08:00

Dick Stodghill, R. I. P.

Dick was a long time member of PWA. He and Jackie were very helpful to me during PWA's formative years, Dick acting for years as the membership chair. He also had stories in two of the early PWA anhologies.

I copied the below from a newspaper.
***************************************************************************
A former Pinkerton Detective Agency operative himself, he was a longtime fan of classic mystery writers, whose attributes he could discuss at length, and during an earlier, temporary retirement from his newspaper work, tried his hand at it with amazing results.
A fan of short stories, his soon began to appear regularly in top mystery publications, most notably Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. Even after his eventual return to newspaper work, he was a regular contributor, his stories frequently culled for hard-cover collections published by groups like Mystery Writers of America and Private Eye Writers of America.
Indeed, during last month's Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in Indianapolis, his story Panic on Portage Path was a nominee for a 2009 Shamus Award from the Private Eye Writers of America.
*******************************************************************************

I lost contact with Dick for a long time, but recently we had emailed because I thought I'd be seeing him at BCon in Indianapolis. He emailed me just before I left telling me he was too ill to attend. He was 84, and still going strong with a Shamus nomination. He's be missed.

RJR

PWA Shamus Banquet Update

2009-09-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

We're getting the same two questions from people about the PWA Shamus Banquet at the Slippery Noodle blues bar in Indianapolis, Fri. Oct. 16, 6:30 to 9:00: Are tickets still available? and Can I come if I'm not a writer?

We have managed to INCREASE our seating at the banquet, so tickets will be on sale until OCT. 1. And ANYONE can come--writers, agents, editors and FANS. Tickets are $50. Email Bob Randisi at RRandisi@aol.com for details on how to get your tickets. It is STILL a ticketed event, with no entry without one.

Bob Randisi

SHAMUS AWARDS

2009-08-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

From Ted Fitzgerald, Awards Chair:

PRIVATE EYE WRITERS OF AMERICA ANNOUNCES
2009 SHAMUS AWARDS NOMINEES

The Private Eye Writers of America (PWA) is proud to announce the nominees for the 28th annual Shamus Awards, given annually to recognize outstanding achievement in private eye fiction. The 2009 awards cover works first published in the U.S. in 2008. The awards will be presented at the PWA banquet, to be held Friday evening Oct. 16, 2009, in Indianapolis, Indiana, during the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention. For banquet details, contact Robert J. Randisi at rrandisi@aol.com.

2009 Shamus Awards Nominees

Best Hardcover
Salvation Boulevard by Larry Beinhart (Nation Books), featuring Carl Vanderveer
Empty Ever After by Reed Farrel Coleman (Bleak House Books), featuring Moe Prager
The Blue Door by David Fulmer (Harcourt), featuring Eddie Cero
The Price of Blood by Declan Hughes (Wm. Morrow), featuring Ed Loy
The Ancient Rain by Domenic Stansberry (St. Martins Minotaur) featuring Dante Mancuso

Best First PI Novel
Stalking Susan by Julie Kramer (Doubleday), featuring Riley Spartz
Swann’s Last Song by Charles Salzberg (Five Star), featuring Henry Swann
The Eye of Jade by Diane Wei Liang (Simon & Schuster), featuring Mei Wang
In the Heat by Ian Vasquez (St. Martins Minotaur), featuring Miles Young
Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson (St Martins Minotaur), featuring Crispin Guest

Best Paperback Original
Snow Blind by Lori Armstrong (Medallion) featuring Julie Collins
Shot Girl by Karen Olson (Obsidian) featuring Annie Seymour
The Stolen by Jason Pinter (MIRA) featuring Henry Parker
The Black Hand by Will Thomas (Touchstone/Simon &Schuster) featuring Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn.
The Evil That Men Do by Dave White (Crown/Three Rivers Press) featuring Jackson Donne

Best Short Story
“Family Values” by Mitch Alderman (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, June 2008), featuring Bubba Simms
“Last Island South” by John C. Boland. (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Sep/Oct 2008), featuring Meggie Trevor
“The Blonde Tigress” by Max Allan Collins (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, June 2008), featuring Nate Heller
“Discovery” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Nov 2008), featuring Pita Cárdenas
“Panic on Portage Path” by Dick Stodghill (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Jan/Feb 2008), featuring Jack Eddy and Bram Geary.

-30-

PWA was founded in 1981 by Robert J. Randisi to recognize the private eye genre and its writers. Previous Shamus winners include Lawrence Block, Ken Bruen, Harlan Coben, Max Allan Collins, Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, O’Neil deNoux, Brendan DuBois, Loren D. Estleman, Carolina Garcia-Aguilera, Sue Grafton, James W. Hall, Steve Hamilton, Jeremiah Healy, Dennis Lehane, Laura Lippman, John Lutz, Bill Pronzini, S.J. Rozan, Sandra Scoppettone and Don Winslow. P.I. Guy logo by Terry Beatty.

William Tapply

2009-08-01T13:26:00.001-07:00

Borrowed, with permission, from Ed Gorman's blog, but posted by PWA member Brendan DuBois.

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Hi Ed ---

Not sure if you got the news or not, but I've heard that Bill Tapply, author of the Brady Coyne mysteries and a host of other books, died last night of cancer.

Damn.

He was active in the New England chapter of MWA, for a while we shared agents, and he was overall just the best... and he will be missed.

Well, thought you'd like to know.

And I visit your site at least twice a day; it's one of my favorites...

You take care.

All best, Brendan DuBois

PWA Banquet

2009-07-06T22:16:00.000-07:00

Those of you interested in attending the PWA Banquet in Indianapolis in Oct. please keep the night of Fri., Oct. 16th open, from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm. Invitations will go out to PWA members in August. After the membership is given the opportunity to respond, the event will be open to the public. Watch this blog for further info. Also, go to the Bouchercon Website http://www.bouchercon2009.com/.

RJR

Awards Update

2009-05-31T15:04:00.000-07:00

DEADLINE APPROACHING FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR 2009 SHAMUS AWARDS OF THE PRIVATE EYE WRITERS OF AMERICA

For Works First Published in the U.S. in 2008

Following are the categories for the Private Eye Writers of America 2009 Shamus Awards for private eye novels and short stories first published in the United States in 2008. The awards will be presented in the fall of 2009.

DEADLINE for submissions is June 19, 2009. No extensions will be given.

Eligible works must feature as a main character a person paid for investigative work but not employed for that work by a unit of government. These include traditionally licensed private investigators; lawyers and reporters who do their own investigations; and others who function as hired private agents. These do not include law enforcement officers, other government employees or amateur, uncompensated sleuths. Not eligible for consideration are self-published works, e-books or works for which the author is not paid. All submissions must be in hard copy.

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BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL: A book-length work of P.I. fiction in its first hardcover publication that is not the author’s first published P.I. novel.

BEST FIRST NOVEL: A book-length work of fiction, in hardcover or paperback featuring a private investigator as a main character that is the author’s first published novel.

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL: A book-length work of P.I. fiction in paperback original form that is not the author’s first P.I. novel. Paperback reprints of novels previously published in hardcover are not eligible.

BEST SHORT STORY: A work of P.I. fiction of 20,000 words or less. Stories first published in an earlier year and reprinted in a magazine, anthology or collection in 2008 are not eligible.

For the full submission guidelines and list of committees, e-mail Shamus Awards Chair Ted Fitzgerald at tedfitz[at]msn.com

From Awards Chair Ted Fitzgerald

2009-05-09T22:08:00.000-07:00

PRIVATE EYE WRITERS OF AMERICA ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR 2009 SHAMUS AWARDS

For Works First Published in the U.S. in 2008

Following are the categories for the Private Eye Writers of America 2009 Shamus Awards for private eye novels and short stories first published in the United States in 2008. The awards will be presented in the fall of 2009.

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL: A book-length work of P.I. fiction in its first hardcover publication that is not the author’s first published P.I. novel.

BEST FIRST NOVEL: A book-length work of fiction, in hardcover or paperback that is the author’s first published novel featuring a private investigator as a main character.

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL: A book-length work of P.I. fiction in paperback original form that is not the author’s first P.I. novel. Paperback reprints of novels previously published in hardcover are not eligible.

BEST SHORT STORY: A work of P.I. fiction of 20,000 words or less. Stories first published in an earlier year and reprinted in a magazine, anthology or collection in 2008 are not eligible.

DEADLINE for submissions is June 19, 2009. No extensions will be given.

Eligible works must feature as a main character a person paid for investigative work but not employed for that work by a unit of government. These include traditionally licensed private investigators; lawyers and reporters who do their own investigations; and others who function as hired private agents. These do not include law enforcement officers, other government employees or amateur, uncompensated sleuths. Not eligible for consideration are self-published works, e-books or works for which the author is not paid.

For the full submission guidelines and list of committees, e-mail Shamus Awards Chair Ted Fitzgerald at tedfitz[at]msn.com

Robert Terrall, R.I.P.

2009-04-18T12:27:00.000-07:00

THIS COMES FROM CRITIC JOHN FRAZIER, CRIBBED FROM ED GORMAN'S BLOG, WITH HIS PERMISSION. Terrall wrote the Ben Gates biooks as "Robert Kyle." He was 93.

"He is convincingly embedded in Manhattan, with believable professional contacts and associates—a middle-aged part-time secretary who fears the typewriter, a Jewish confrere, Davison, who looks like a quarterback and catches cold easily, a gossip-columnist who he can draw on for information, a friendly-adversarial police-lieutenant. And you believe that he is well enough known to make tabloid headlines when he fouls up during a case.

"Moreover, he appears to be Ivy League, or at least to have gone to a decent prep school. He is comfortable around the rich when a case takes him that way, as is (fictionally at least) Kyle himself. There are thoroughly convincing round-heeled debs, dissolute preppies, money-hungry upper-East-Side divorcees, and other more or less obnoxious types in the novels. Kyle knows how they speak and how their minds work.

"He is also excellent at devising central situations that permit of interesting complications—threats of libel action against a scandal mag that sounds very like Confidential; theft and murder at a posh country-estate wedding where Gates is guarding the presents; an Albany hotel full of lobbyists pro and con a bill to legalize off-track gambling; a take-over attempt against a Manhattan corporation.

"The books are essence-of-late-Fifties, early Sixties, when formal structures and taboos were still strong but anarchic pressures were starting to build up inside them."

A perfect description except for the line about Terrall having to suffer the "taboos" of the time. Ben Gates is Hot opens with an anonymous letter detailing what will happen to the fourteen-year-old daughter of Gates' client if the client doesn't do what a mobster wants him to. This line appears in the letter: "(Your daughter) may not come back to you the same kid. Some of these bums are cunt crazy or should I draw you a picture."

Martin Meyers news

2009-04-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

I have news for the blog:

Martin Meyers's new short story, "Nate Devlin's Money," appears in the Black Mask section of this month's (June) issue of ELLERY QUEEN'S MYSTERY MAGAZINE.

It's not like the old days where you could get EQMM or ALFRED HITCHCOCK from a news stand. But Barnes and Noble carries them. I assume other book stores do, too.

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CONGRATS, MARTY. I'D LOVE TO GET INTO THAT BLACK MASK SECTION, MYSELF.

RJR

Annette Meyers profile

2009-02-16T11:35:00.000-08:00

Annette Meyers sent this link for the blog. Don't know if this will come through as a link, but if not you can type it in. You'll have to scroll down to find the thumbnail photo of Annette, and then click.

Here's a link to profile and video package:

http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/11/starting-second-career-leadership_0211_jobs_land.html

Just click on my name.

Annette

Donald E. Westlake

2009-01-02T00:44:00.000-08:00

I've known Don Westlake for many years. I can't say we were close friends, more like acquaintances, for we would simply see each other every few years at one event or another. I also used him in at least one of my anthologies. He is the author of two of my favorite series, Parker, and the Mitch Tobin books, which he wrote as Tucker Coe. That series is in my top five, easily, of favorite P.I. series. I also enjoyed the one shot P.I. novel KILLING TIME.

75 is much too young for a talent like his to be taken from us. He had many, many more books in him, I'm sure. Now we'll never see them, and that's a sin. My prayers go out to Abby and his family.

More about him later, as I form my thoughts. This is a shock to all of us.

ROBERT J. RANDISI

PWA Shamus Winners

2008-10-18T00:40:00.000-07:00

The Shamus Winners were announced Oct. 10th at the Shamus Banquet in Baltimore,MD. The winners are in BOLD FACE and CAPS.

2008 Shamus Awards Nominees

Best Hardcover
Head Games by Thomas B. Cavanagh (St. Martins Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books), featuring Mike Garrity.
SOUL PATCH by Reed Farrel Coleman (Bleak House Books), featuring Moe Prager.
The Color of Blood by Declan Hughes (William Morrow), featuring Ed Loy.
A Welcome Grave by Michael Koryta (St. Martins Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books), featuring Lincoln Perry.
A Killer’s Kiss by William Lashner (William Morrow), featuring Victor Carl.

Best Paperback Original
SONGS OF INNOCENCE by Richard Aleas (Hard Case) featuring John Blake.
Exit Strategy by Kelley Armstrong (Bantam) featuring Nadia Stafford.
Stone Rain by Linwood Barclay (Bantam) featuring Zack Walker.
Deadly Beloved by Max Allan Collins (Hard Case) featuring Ms. Michael Tree.
Blood of Paradise by David Corbett (Mortalis/Ballantine) featuring Jude McManus.

Best First Novel
The Cleaner by Brett Battles (Delacorte), featuring Jonathan Quinn.
Keep It Real by Bill Bryan (Bleak House Books), featuring Ted Collins.
BIG CITY, BAD BLOOD by Sean Chercover (William Morrow), featuring Ray Dudgeon.
When One Man Dies by Dave White (Three Rivers Press), featuring Jackson Donne.
The Last Striptease by Michael Wiley (St. Martins/Thomas Dunne Books), featuring Joe Kozmarski.

Best Short Story
"Kill the Cat" by Loren D. Estleman, DETROIT NOIR (Akashic), featuring Amos Walker.
"Trust Me" by Loren D. Estleman, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, June 2007, featuring Amos Walker.
"Open Mike" by James Nolan, NEW ORLEANS NOIR (Akashic), featuring Vincent Panarello.
“HUNGRY ENOUGH" by Cornelia Read, A HELL OF A WOMAN (Busted Flush Press), featuring Philip.
"Room for Improvement" by Marilyn Todd, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Dec. 2007, featuring Lois Hepburn.

The Life Achievement winner was JOE GORES.

The Hammer Award, which goes to a character, not an author, went to NAMELESS, Bill Pronzini's iconic private eye.

Paul Newman

2008-09-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

This is personal . . .

HARPER is the film that made me a P.I. writer, made me decide at 15 to write for a living. So I owe my career to Paul Newman as much as I do to Ross Macdonald. But when someone dies at 83 after a long and productive life, why is that a bad thing? Let's celebrate his life, watch all the films he's left us--not to mention popcorn and pasta sauce--instead of bemoaning the fact that he's gone. Let's give a big thank you that he was ever here.

Bob Randisi

PWA BANQUET

2008-09-19T12:26:00.001-07:00

I understand people think the PWA banquet in Baltimore is sold out. Not true! We're going to have a great event and we still have tickets available. Email me at RRandisi@aol.com for more details, or for an invitation to be sent to you.

Robert J. Randisi, PWA

PWA Shamua Award Banquet open to the public

2008-08-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

PWA SHAMUS AWARDS BANQUET will be held on Oct. 10th. 6:30 pm cocktails, 7 pm dinner, 8:15 awards ceremony. Tickets are $60 each. No entry without ticket, no tickets sold at the door. Location: Westminster Hall in Baltimore, MD--final resting place of Edgar Allan Poe, who we will try to raise from the dead for a reading. There will be a complimentary tour of the catacombs beneath the church as well as the burying ground for those interested.

For tickets and more info email RRandisi@aol.com.

Christine Matthews
Membership Chair
Event Coordinator

PWA Shamus Awards

2008-08-03T12:48:00.000-07:00

2008 Shamus nominees

Here are the Shamus nominee for work published during the year 2008. The awards will be presented Oct. 10 at the PWA Awards Banquet in Baltimore. Watch this space for instructions on how to buy tickets for that event.

PRIVATE EYE WRITERS OF AMERICA ANNOUNCES 2008 SHAMUS AWARDS NOMINEES

The Private Eye Writers of America (PWA) is proud to announce the nominees for the 27th annual Shamus Awards, given annually to recognize outstanding achievement in private eye fiction. The 2008 awards cover works published in the U.S. in 2007. The awards will be presented on Oct. 10, 2008, at the PWA banquet in Baltimore, Maryland, during the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention.

2008 Shamus Awards Nominees

Best Hardcover

Head Games by Thomas B. Cavanagh (St. Martins Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books), featuring Mike Garrity.

Soul Patch by Reed Farrel Coleman (Bleak House Books), featuring Moe Prager.

The Color of Blood by Declan Hughes (William Morrow), featuring Ed Loy.

A Welcome Grave by Michael Koryta (St. Martins Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books), featuring Lincoln Perry.

A Killer’s Kiss by William Lashner (William Morrow), featuring Victor Carl.

Best Paperback Original

Songs of Innocence by Richard Aleas (Hard Case) featuring John Blake.

Exit Strategy by Kelley Armstrong (Bantam) featuring Nadia Stafford.

Stone Rain by Linwood Barclay (Bantam) featuring Zack Walker.

Deadly Beloved by Max Allan Collins (Hard Case) featuring Ms. Michael Tree.

Blood of Paradise by David Corbett (Mortalis/Ballantine) featuring Jude McManus.

Best First Novel

The Cleaner by Brett Battles (Delacorte), featuring Jonathan Quinn.

Keep It Real by Bill Bryan (Bleak House Books), featuring Ted Collins.

Big City, Bad Blood by Sean Chercover (William Morrow), featuring Ray Dudgeon.

When One Man Dies by Dave White (Three Rivers Press), featuring Jackson Donne.

The Last Striptease by Michael Wiley (St. Martins/Thomas Dunne Books), featuring Joe Kozmarski.

Best Short Story

"Kill the Cat" by Loren D. Estleman, DETROIT NOIR (Akashic), featuring Amos Walker.

"Trust Me" by Loren D. Estleman, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, June 2007, featuring Amos Walker.

"Open Mike" by James Nolan, NEW ORLEANS NOIR (Akashic), featuring Vincent Panarello.

“Hungry Enough" by Cornelia Read, A Hell of a Woman (Busted Flush Press), featuring Philip.

"Room for Improvement" by Marilyn Todd, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Dec. 2007, featuring Lois Hepburn.

-30-

PWA was founded in 1981 by Robert J. Randisi to recognize the private eye genre and its writers. Previous Shamus winners include Lawrence Block, Ken Bruen, Harlan Coben, Max Allan Collins, Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, O’Neil deNoux, Brendan DuBois, Loren D. Estleman, Carolina Garcia-Aguilera, Sue Grafton, James W. Hall, Steve Hamilton, Jeremiah Healy, Dennis Lehane, Laura Lippman, John Lutz, Bill Pronzini, S.J.

PWA Shamus Awards

2008-04-15T12:54:00.000-07:00

Private Eye Writers of America

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 2008 CONTACT: Ted Fitzgerald, tedfitz[at]msn.com

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PRIVATE EYE WRITERS OF AMERICA ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR 2008 SHAMUS AWARDS

For Works First Published in the U.S. in 2007

Following are the categories for the Private Eye Writers of America 2008 Shamus Awards for private eye novels and short stories first published in the United States in 2007. The awards will be presented in the fall of 2008.

DEADLINE for submissions is June 6, 2008. No extensions will be given.

Eligible works must feature as a main character a person PAID for investigative work but NOT employed for that work by a unit of government. These include traditionally licensed private investigators; lawyers and reporters who do their own investigations; and others who function as hired private agents. These do NOT include law enforcement officers, other government employees or amateur, uncompensated sleuths.

Please send one copy of each eligible work to ALL members of the appropriate committee, not just to its Chair. Please copy General Awards Chair Ted Fitzgerald, 63 Old Post Road, East Walpole, MA 02032 with submissions. Do NOT submit a book to more than one committee. For a list of committee members and addresses, (and for any other questions) e-mail tedfitz[at]msn.com.

NOT eligible for consideration are self-published works, e-books or works for which the author is not paid. All submissions must be in hard copy.

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BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL: A book-length work of fiction that is NOT the author’s first published novel.

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL: A book-length work of fiction in paperback original form that is NOT the author’s first novel. Paperback reprints of novels previously published in hardcover are NOT eligible.

BEST FIRST NOVEL: A book-length work of fiction that is ALSO the author’s first published novel. The intent of this category is to reward a true “rookie of the year” rather than a writer who has previously published a novel in another genre or under a pseudonym. A true first novel – whether published in hardcover or paperback – must be submitted in this category rather than either of the two above.

BEST SHORT STORY: A work of fiction of 20,000 words or fewer. Stories first published in an earlier year and reprinted in a magazine, anthology or collection in 2007 are NOT eligible.

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The Private Eye Writers of America was founded in 1981 by Robert J. Randisi to recognize the private eye genre. The Shamus Awards, to honor excellence in private eye fiction, were first presented in 1982.

Stephen Marlowe, R.I.P

2008-02-26T13:03:00.001-08:00

Larry Block sent this on to us. My thanks.

Stephen Marlowe, 79, Detective Novelist, Dies
By MARGALIT FOX
Published: February 26, 2008
Stephen Marlowe, a prolific writer of popular fiction best known for his crime novels featuring the globe-trotting private eye Chester Drum, died on Friday in Williamsburg, Va. He was 79 and lived in Williamsburg.

The cause was myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone-marrow disorder, his wife, Ann, said.

Mr. Marlowe wrote more than 50 novels in a range of genres, from crime to science fiction to historical fiction. The Chester Drum books combined elements of the hard-boiled detective story and the international espionage thriller.

Drum made his first appearance in 1955 in “The Second Longest Night.” Known familiarly as Chet, he was a tough unmarried ex-cop who kept a bottle in his office and a .357 Magnum at his side. Based in Washington, he took on cases involving international intrigue that in nearly two dozen novels took him to exotic locales around the globe.

Other titles in the series, all published by Fawcett, include “Mecca for Murder” (1956), “Murder Is My Dish” (1957), “Killers Are My Meat” (1957), “Drum Beat — Berlin” (1964) and “Drum Beat — Marianne” (1968).

With Richard S. Prather, Mr. Marlowe wrote “Double in Trouble” (Fawcett, 1959), in which Drum joins forces with Mr. Prather’s series sleuth, Shell Scott.

Mr. Marlowe was born Milton Lesser in Brooklyn on Aug. 7, 1928. He received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the College of William and Mary in 1949. Under his original name, he began his career in the early 1950s writing science fiction.

In the late ’50s, Mr. Lesser legally changed his name to Stephen Marlowe, one of several pen names he regularly used. (Among the others were Andrew Frazer, Darius John Granger, C. H. Thames, Stephen Wilder, Jason Ridgway and Adam Chase. In his 1961 novel “Dead Man’s Tale,” Mr. Lesser joined the cavalcade of ghostwriters who published under the name Ellery Queen.)

For much of his career, Mr. Marlowe lived abroad, primarily in France, Spain and Switzerland. In recent years, he turned to serious historical novels, most on European subjects. These included “The Memoirs of Christopher Columbus” (Scribner, 1987); “The Death and Life of Miguel de Cervantes” (Bloomsbury, 1991); and “The Lighthouse at the End of the World” (Dutton, 1995), about Edgar Allan Poe.

Mr. Marlowe’s first marriage, to Leigh Lang, ended in divorce. He is survived by his second wife, the former Ann Humbert, whom he married in 1964; a sister, Carolyn Frucht of Santa Fe, N.M.; two daughters from his first marriage, Deirdre Marlowe of Baltimore and Robin Marlowe of Boston; and two grandchildren.

Among his awards are the Prix Gutenberg du Livre, a French literary prize, in 1988; and a life achievement award from the Private Eye Writers of America in 1997.

From Bob MacKowiak, former publisher of P.I. Magazine

2008-02-26T12:57:00.000-08:00

From 1988 through 2002 I produced a publication called P.I.
Magazine. Although I eventually grew it into the national trade journal for
professional private investigators and sold it several years ago, I was
privileged to meet (and publish) some talented mystery writers, and even
moderated a panel discussion at the 1992 Bouchercon in Toronto.

It is mystery writers to whom I am turning for donations for a fundraising
online auction for the Northwest Ohio Chapter of the Alzheimer s
Association.

We are gathering various items, but will have a very distinctive section of
signed first edition books. (I was the first person to publish anything by
S.J. Rozan, and she is helping me acquire some items for this auction,
including donations from Walter Mosley and Lee Child.) However, I could use
a lot more. So I thought I would be so bold as to see if the Private Eye Writers
of America could help put out the word that the Northwest Ohio Chapter of
the Alzheimer's Association is seeking autographed first editions of mystery
books for our spring fundraiser, an online auction. We need the items no
later than the end of April.

We don t have many celebrities in Toledo, Findlay, Lima and Mansfield, Ohio,
and our small little non-profit organization needs all the help we can get.

The Alzheimer s Association, Northwest Ohio Chapter serves 24 counties in
Northwest Ohio, where more than 32,000 people have Alzheimer s disease.
Most of our services - - such as educational programs, a 24-hour toll-free
helpline, newsletter, monthly support group meetings and a lending library -
- are provided at no cost, which is why fundraising activities are so
important.

Any Private Eye Writers of America member who can help can send a book
(autographed first edition, please) to the Chapter's Toledo office:
Alzheimer's Association, Northwest Ohio Chapter
2500 N. Reynolds Road
Toledo, Ohio 43615
More information about the auction can be found from the Chapter's website,
www.alz.org/nwohio.

Thank you so very much. Anyone can contact me at 419-537-1999, or
bob.mackowiak@alz.org.

Bob Mackowiak
Development Director
Alzheimer's Association, Northwest Ohio Chapter
2500 N. Reynolds Road
Toledo, Ohio 43615
419-537-1999

Death of a Library

2008-02-05T21:32:00.001-08:00

Last week the home of married authors--and long time PWA members--James Reasoner and Livia Washburn burned to the ground. They lost everything. They were insured, they have family and friends who are helping them. They and their daughters are fine and they are confident that they will rebuild.

But it takes longer to rebuild a library than it does a house. They not only lost all their own books and work, but the books and pulps that they had collected over the course of many years. For this reason I'm putting out a call both here and in the next PWA newsletter for book donations.

WWA and their President Johnny Boggs recently published a letter calling for donations, and I am borrowing from that letter here:

Since James and Livia also lost their sizable library, donations are also being sought to help restock their bookcases whenever they have a new home. Kim Lionetti, Livia's agent at BookEnds, has generously agreed to accept any BOOK donations and keep them until the Reasoners have a place to put them. Books should be sent to:

Kim Lionetti
BookEnds Inc.
136 Long Hill Road
Gillette, NJ 07933

I'm sending some vintage paperbacks I have doubles of, and whatever copies of James' books are on my shelves. Send one, ten, or a carton. They will appreciate it all.

Robert J. Randisi
Executive Director, Founder
The Private Eye Writers of America

Ben Schutz, RIP

2008-01-20T10:27:00.000-08:00

On the heels of the news of Ed Hoch's death comes this shocking news from Ben Schutz's agent, Lynn Myers.

From: Lynn Myers
To: RRandisi@aol.com
Sent: Sun, 20 Jan 2008 12:05 pm
Subject: Benjamin Schutz, two-time Shamus winner

Dear Bob:

It is with great sadness that I must report the death of Benjamin M. Schutz. He has a massive heart attack while playing racquetball on Thursday evening. He won two Shamus awards and one Shamus win also was selected for an Edgar.

Best,

Lynn Myers

More Ed Hoch

2008-01-19T13:25:00.000-08:00

This from Bill Chambers, who knew Ed even longer than I did . . .

In the fall of 1968 I attended a short story writing course that was taught by former MWA President Herbert Brean. Shortly after joining this class I was invited to the monthly cocktail party which was then held in the Hell’s Kitchen West 48th Street headquarters. Ed Hoch was one of the first people to greet me as I walked through the door. Even back then he was a legend, having had several hundred short stories published. I was taken back a bit in meeting someone of his prominence but he made me feel at home. I joked that I never believed Ed Hoch the man even existed—how could one person write such quality stories yet be so prolific--and I said I thought his name was the pseudonym for a team of writers. Ed greeted that remark with a hearty laugh and introduced me to his wife Pat. We went on to become close friends and served together on MWA’s National Board during the 70’s. Ed was as conscientious as he was kind and even through the roughest winter months traveled from Rochester to downtown Manhattan to attend every board meeting. Over the years we socialized at MWA functions and he and Pat attended parties that Marie and I threw in our home in Greenpoint Brooklyn. Ed was always willing to bestow helpful advice on novices eager to break into the mystery field. He was a remarkable human being and will be sorely missed by his friends and fans. I feel privileged to have known him.

Bill Chambers

Ed Hoch, RIP

2008-01-17T12:55:00.001-08:00

I'm sure the accolades will begin to flow as the word of Edward D. Hoch's passing gets around. I'm posting mine here:

I met Hoch in 1973, at my first Bouchercon in Boston. He was kind and generous then, taking the time to talk to a fledgling writer. When I joined MWA in 1975 I started to see Ed twice a month, at the MWA cocktail party and the MWA dinner. Both he and Pat made me feel welcome, as if I were not only part of the writing fraternity, but part of the family, as well. It's a shock to me to realize that I knew the man for nearly 35 years, and read many of his stories before that. Even when I left New York it was always a pleasure to run into Ed and Pat at Bouchercons. They were always a special couple.

I've used Ed in several my my anthologie, and he even agreed, at one point, to be President of PWA. Although a long time MWA stalwart he was always supportive of PWA, becoming one of our charter members.

In business, and in social settings, Ed was a gentleman. He will me missed on every level a man can possibly be missed.

Robert J. Randisi

The Hammer

2007-12-22T22:11:00.001-08:00

It took a while but here is a photo of our new award, The Hammer, presented to the character, not the author.

New Anthology

2007-11-20T21:49:00.000-08:00

This from Annette Meyers and since the anthology contains stories by several PWA members I decided that it fits here.

You are invited to THE book signing event of the 2007 holiday season...

Editor Megan Abbott and 13 NYC crime novelists will celebrate the release of the year's best crime anthology, A Hell of a Woman (edited by Megan Abbott; Busted Flush Press; hardback, $26; paperback, $18), at Partners & Crime (44 Greenwich Ave., www.crimepays.com ), Thursday, December 6, 7:00 p.m.

This original female noir collection features 24 dark tales (and 36 appreciations of female noir characters & pioneers of film & fiction) by some of today's top crime & mystery writers, edited by the 2006 Edgar Award-nominated author of Die a Little.

"A Hell of a Woman is a brilliant and riveting new take on noir—a 21st century Female noir. Tales of resilient women faced with life's cards, shuffling and dealing the deck their own way. The tensions notch, the plots twist in a stranglehold, and it's one hell of an anthology."
—Cara Black, best-selling author of Murder on the Ile-Saint Louis

"Beautiful, bold and bloody—the dames in this collection rock, and when they do, heads roll. This anthology of compelling stories about members of the 'fairer sex' with a proclivity for deadly schemes is a must-read for all lovers of noir. Each story is a gem."
—Carolyn Haines, author of Penumbra and Fever Moon

Authors scheduled to attend the Partners & Crime launch event include:
Megan Abbott, Charles Ardai, Charlotte Carter, Reed Farrel Coleman, Alison Gaylin, Annette Meyers, Rebecca Pawel, Lisa Respers France, SJ Rozan, Jonathan Santlofer, Sandra Scoppettone, Wallace Stroby, Sarah Weinman, and Stephen Whitty (film critic for The Star-Ledger & current chairman of the New York Film Critics Circle).

Where: Partners & Crime (44 Greenwich Ave.)
When: Thursday, December 6, 7:00 p.m.

Can't make it to the signing? Order signed copies from Partners & Crime, (212) 243-0440.

www.ahellofawoman.com

Hollywood and Crime signing

2007-10-28T22:34:00.000-07:00

My anthology Hollywood and Crime features PWA members, so this post is appropriate here. From Bob Levinson:

Saturday, November 10 at 1:00 p.m. .. HOLLYWOOD AND CRIME, edited by Robert J. Randisi
6 authors signing - Lee Goldberg, Gar Anthony Haywood, Ken Kuhlken, Robert S. Levinson, Dick Lochte, Gary Phillip
Fourteen top crime writers including Michael Connelly, Gar Anthony Haywood, Dick Lochte, Lee Goldberg, Robert S.
Levinson and Gary Phillips contributed original stories set in Hollywood at the famous intersection of Hollywood and
Vine from the 1930s to current day.

*Please note: Michael Connelly will not be here but has graciously signed Hollywood and Crime, which includes his
Harry Bosch short story.

EQMM meets Black Mask

2007-10-16T23:04:00.000-07:00

This from Ted Fitzgerald, who spoke with EQMM Editor Janet Hutchings at Bouchercon in Alaska. It's self explanatory.

RJR

EQMM revives Black Mask, looking for stories

Those of us of a certain age fondly remember the days when Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine published stories under the imprint of the equally legendary Black Mask Magazine. Now, after too long an absence, EQMM is teaming with Black Mask conservator Keith Alan Deutsch to revive the imprint on a bimonthly basis. And they’re looking for stories.

Every other issue of EQMM will feature a classic reprint and a new story, starting with the pairing of Dashiell Hammett’s Continental Op story, “Bodies Piled Up,” with “Two Thousand Volts,” a new story by Hammett Award winner Chuck Hogan (Prince of Thieves). According to EQMM editor Janet Hutchings, the magazine has commissioned stories specifically for the Black Mask section but is open to “ and seeking“ submissions. She notes that it would be helpful if stories submitted for the section are marked as such.

And what sort of stories is EQMM looking for?

“We will consider the full range of the current field to be our domain, with emphasis (when we can find them) on fast-paced stories full of action,” said Hutchings. “Just as the original Black Mask Magazine was hard-hitting, readers of our new series should expect the tales contained under this banner to be edgy, and sometimes more violent and harsher in language than other EQMM stories.”

Hutchings hopes the Black Mask revival will expand EQMM’s reader base, attract younger readers, highlight the breadth of the magazine’s fiction (a bit courageous in this age of niche marketing) and correct the erroneous assumption that EQMM is a “cozy” magazine.

How edgy, violent and harsh in language will the stories go?

There’s one way to find out . . . submit. I know I will. Manuscripts should be sent to:
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
475 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016

-- Ted Fitzgerald

Shamus Awards

2007-10-01T22:16:00.001-07:00

The Shamus Awards were presented Sept. 28th in Anchorage, Alaska at a ceremony hosted by PWA member Ted Fitzgerald and former PWA President S.J. Rozan, in the absence of PWA Founder Robert J. Randisi, who missed the event for the first time. Also absent for the first time was the event's coordinator, and PWA's membership Chair, Christine Matthews.

But the ceremony went off without a hitch and the winners were as follows:

Best Novel: THE DRAMATIST by Ken Bruen
Best First Novel: THE WRONG KIND OF BLOOD by Declan Hughes
Best Paperback Novel: AN UNQUIET GRAVE by P.J. Parish
Best Short Story: "The Heart Has Reasons" by O'Neil DeNoux
The "EYE," the Life Achievement Award: Stuart Kaminsky
The "Hammer," (which goes not to the author but to the fictional P.I.) Shell Scott

What follows is the thank you statement sent by Stuart Kaminsky, who was unable to attend:

I've been writing PI novels for 33 years and, to paraphrase Randolph Scott in COMMANCHE STATION, “I full intend to keep doing it.” This award is especially gratifying because I know so many of you personally and read your work so eagerly. As a kid, I listened to private eye series religiously on the radio -- Johnny Dollar, Richard Diamond, Sam Spade, Sherlock Holmes. I went to movies to meet with Mike Shayne, The Lone Wolf, The Saint, Phillip Marlowe and The Falcon. But the desire to become a private eye writer began for me when I was 14 and sitting in the back seat of the car of my friend whose father was driving us to school. There was a paperback on the floor. I picked it up. My friend's father saw me in the rearview mirror and asked if I wanted it. I said I did and he warned, "Don't tell your mother and father where you got it." I read the book, I, THE JURY by Mickey Spillane. I read all the Mike Hammers and I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I told this to Mickey many years later and he said, "Thanks, kid. You're not the first writer who accused me of that crime."
This award is more than welcome. I'm proud to be one of you and
Toby Peters, Jim Rockford, Lew Fonesca and I thank all of you for this
honor.

Stuart M. Kaminsky

A press release has been sent out. For more information email Bob Randisi at RRandisi@aol.com.

RJR

Joe Hensley Obit

2007-08-31T20:27:00.000-07:00

The obituary I posted on Aug. 29 came from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Publishing News. I did not know the source at the time. Mea Culpa.

RJR

Judge Joe

2007-08-31T11:33:00.000-07:00

This on Joe Hensley from Ed Gorman's blog. My thanks to Ed for allowing us to repost it here.

*********************************************************************
Ed here: I first met Joe Hensley in 1961 when Roger Ebert, Vic Ryan and I bummed a ride from Wilson Bob Tucker to the Midwestcon in Cincinatti. It was a small group of maybe a hundred or so with lots of pros and even an editor or two. A heady moment for a Cedar Rapids kid.

One of the pros I talked longest with was Joe Hensley. I'd read his science fiction stories in Planet and other magazines of the time and I was a big fan of pieces in the fanzine Yandro. Plus his Ace novel The Color of Hate was one of my favorite books of the time. (And it holds up damned well today.) I was amazed that he treated me not like a dumb fan but an actual human worth talking to.

I always remembered that and in the late 70s, when I wrote to tell him how much I enjoyed his latest crime novel Rivertown Risk, we started writing back and forth and talking about when I was going to try something a bit more difficult than short stories for downmarket men's magazines.

When Bob Randisi and I started Mystery Scene in 84 I made sure that we covered all of Joe's books and that he had a forum whenever he chose to use it. Even though few seemed to realize it, Joe was one of the best crime writers of his generation. This journalist-turned lawyer-turned judge knew what he was talking about, especially when it came to the kind of governmenalt corruption so prevelant today.

If you read through a shelf of his Roback novels you'll find a sense of the Midwest that evokes Sherwood Anderson, all the sad little secrets and sorrows of flyover country rendered in pitch perfect writing. These novels need to be read.

We usually spoke three or four times a year, long, looping coversations about the old days when science fiction had meant something to us, and the new days when crime fiction fixed our attention. Some of our last conversations concerned some of the people of our old Yandro days who'd passed on. And then Joe's wife died. Several times he talked about her final years and what he'd done for her and what she'd meant to him.

I'm not being merely sentimental when I say it's dfficult to imagine a more decent, honest, honorable man than Joe Hensley. He was a big man in all respects, gentle and wise and true.

Joel L. Hensley

2007-08-29T13:16:00.000-07:00

This from Michael Bracken on the passing of another long time members:

Joseph L. Hensley (1926-2007)
***************************************************
Joseph Louis "Joe" Hensley, died Monday, August 27, 2007 of complications from Leukemia. A long time resident of Madison, Indiana, he passed away at King's Daughters' Hospital in that community. He was 81.
A retired lawyer, prosecuting attorney, Indiana General Assembly Member, and former Circuit Court Judge, he wrote science fiction and crime fiction as Joe L. Hensley and Louis J. A. Adams. His first published novel was The Color of Hate, published by Ace in 1960. He went on to publish 20 more novels and collections, over half of them in the Donald Robak series, plus approximately 100 short stories.

His final novel, Snowbird's Blood is scheduled for release by St. Martin's Press in early 2008.

Joe was a First Fandom Dinosaur (which meant he was active in science fiction fandom prior to July 4, 1939) and he received the First Fandom Hall of Fame Award in 2006. He was also a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).

Funeral services will be conducted Friday, August 31, 2007 at 11 AM at the Morgan & Nay Funeral Centre, 325 Demaree Drive, Madison, Indiana. Private Interment will be in the St. Patrick Catholic Cemetery in Madison, Indiana, with military honors conducted by Jefferson Post 9, of the American Legion. Friends may call Thursday from 5 - 8 PM and Friday from 10 AM until time of the service.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Salvation Army; Friends of Shawe & Pope John or the Yunker Foundation.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Bob here:

I knew Joe for many years, but that is to say I saw him every so often at a convention or signing, so I can't claim we were close friends. He was a kind, gentle man,though, and a fine writer. We're dominished by his passing as an organization and as a society. He was one of the good ones.

Good-bye, Judge Joe.

RJR

Les Roberts news

2007-08-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

Les Roberts was the first winner of the PWA/St. Martin's Press contest in 1986, and went on to eventually become President of PWA. He's the athor of the Saxon and Milo Jacovich series. I stole this piece from The Sons of Sam Spade blog. We're allowed to that out here in the blogosphere, right? I'm new to this.

Anyway,
Les had to say:
First of all, Milan Jacovich WILL be back early next year in "King of the Holly Hop," published by Gray and Company. I'm currently writing a screenplay based on one of Milan's past adventures, "The Irish Sports Pages," which will be flmed mostly in Cleveland next year and will probably be released in early 2009.

I haven't written about Milan "for some time" because I was deeply involved with writing other things. After my first 13 Milan books and my six Saxon books, I wanted to tackle something that was NOT a "private eye" novel.

While co-writing the screenplay I'm also working hard on a novel NOT about Jacovich, set in 1985 in Youngstown, Ohio during a period when the mob absolutely ruled the area and made Youngstown into "An Open City." KIt's called "The Youngstown Tune-Up" (at the moment), and I hope to finish it before the first of the year (2008).

I say welcome back, Les.

RJR

More on Dan Sproul

2007-08-11T11:24:00.000-07:00

Author/Anthologist Michael Bracken is the Vice-President of PWA and one of its busiest members. He has this to say about the passing of Dan Sproul:

I was sorry to learn of Dan's passing, and dismayed to discover that even in this age of instant communication, someone I've worked with on several projects can be gone for two years before I realize it.

Dan contributed three stories to the FEDORA series, "Reunion" in FEDORA, "Hauser Rules" in FEDORA II, and "Costa Rica? No Thanks" in the yet-to-be-published FEDORA IV. He wrote great stories, was easy to work with, and I had looked forward to working with him on future projects if the opportunity ever presented itself.

Alas, that is no longer an option.

Thanks Michael

RJR

Dan A. Sproul

2007-08-10T12:54:00.000-07:00

Dan Sproul was a member of PWA for everal years. Some of you might remember him from the Joe Standard short stories he wrote for Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. He wrote one for me for Mystery Street. In 2004 he sent me a novel he published through Publish America called HANDICAPPER. Most of his work had a horse racing background but Dan told me in a letter that this was his attempt to write a definitive racing novel along the lines of William Murray. To my shame I never started the book until early this week, and I'm enjoying the hell out of it. I tried to email Dan but it came back undeliverable. We used to email back and forth during the Triple Crown season, or the Breeder's Cup, and exchange our picks for the races. I called his phone number today and spoke to his wife, Ann. Dan died two years ago from complications after a long illness. I feel like I've lost a friend I never knew. Except for the story I bought, and some emails each year, and the book he sent me, we had no contact. I wish now I'd picked up his book, and the phone, a lot sooner.

Does anyone else out there remember his stories? Or have anything they want to say? Please send it to me.

2 cents

2007-08-10T11:31:00.000-07:00

This from Marty Meyers, who I have known for over 32 years. He is the author of the Patrick Hardy series, and--with his wife Annette--a series of historical mysteries written as "Maan Meyers."

Here's his 2 cents:

THE BLOG! What a great name for a movie!

I would like to add my 2 cents. A PWA BLOG is a swell idea.

Suggestion: Since Maan Meyers has a new book coming out in 2008 we'd like to se a section called PLUG POSTS. Being blog-challanged I don't know if blogs break down into sections or are just general post \-and rant-centers. My lack of knowledge notwithstanding, It's a great idea. Now if I can only figure out how to post.

Marty Meyers

Of course Annette agrees with everything I've said.

And, of course, she disagrees with the immediate above.

M

Bob again: posting is easy. Just send what yu want to me and I will post it. Unlike most blogs this one is NOT open to the public. Sorry. Anyone can read it, only members can post to it.

RJR

P.S. Nobody is more blog challenged than I.

More Ross Macdonald

2007-08-09T22:02:00.000-07:00

Michael A. Black is a Chicago writer, author of the Ron Shade series, which includes FINAL JUDGMENT and A KILLING FROST. This is in response to Ed Gorman's piece on Ross Macdonald:

Reflections on Ross MacDonald

I enjoyed Ed Gorman’s reminiscence of the late, great Ross MacDonald. I believe he stopped using John Ross after John D. MacDonald’s mother bought a dozen copies of a Lew Archer novel thinking it was her son’s book. Ross MacDonald had a great style that brought much deserved attention to the mystery genre. When Eudora Whelty reviewed The Underground Man for the New York Times Book Section it legitimized the genre and gave mystery the much deserved attention it needed. Like Ed, I discovered Ross MacDonald as a teenager and became immediately fascinated with his smooth style and stunning imagery. It’s a shame that Alzheimer’s claimed his memory before he could write the rest of the novels he’d planned. I wrote an essay for the PWA newsletter last year about Ross MacDonald’s novels being translated to film as the Paul Newman movies, Harper and The Drowning Pool. (Newman insisted the character’s name being changed from Archer to Harper to fit with his affinity for the letter H, and in Hud and The Hustler.) I’d like to add one of Paul’s more recent films, Twilight, to this list. Although it’s not officially part of the Harper series, and wasn’t taken from a MacDonald novel, its plot is almost an homage to Ross MacDonald’s consistent theme of a crime in the past coming back to haunt the present. And I’d also second Ed’s endorsement of the new Ross MacDonald collection of short stories. Each is like a mini-novel. My personal favorite is “The Bearded Lady.”

The Underbelly

2007-08-09T10:19:00.001-07:00

Gary Phillips is a past Vice-President of PWA, long time member, active in many different presentations of our genre, including comic book writing. Author of the Ivan Monk novels, he presently has a serialized murder mystery on a site called Four Story, which is devoted to Southern California housing issues. The protagonist is a semi-homeless Vietnam Vet. Part 3 is now up, but you can access Parts 1 & 2. It's called "The Underbelly." Here's the site:www.fourstory.org.

According to Gary it's received kind mention on the Jeff Pierce's Rap Sheet --
http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2007/07/down-and-out-and-delightful_10.html
and the L.A. Times--
http://www.calendarlive.com/printedition/calendar/suncal/cl-ca-jacketcopy22jul22,0,685636.story?coll=cl-suncal

Thanks for posting, Gary.

It's going to take the membershgip some time to become aware of this new site and start taking advantage of it, so stay tuned.

RJR

Ross Macdonald

2007-08-03T23:04:00.000-07:00

This is from Ed Gorman, appeared on his own blog and he was kind enough to send it to me for our new blog. Ed's been a valuable member of PWA for many years. Here's his take on the new Ross Mac book:

The first Ross Macdonald novel I ever read was The Way Some People Die. He was John Ross Macdonald then, still going back and forth I suppose with John D. MacDonald about the use of names so similar.I was fifteen, steeped in Gold Medals and Lions and Ace Doubles. By then I'd read a good deal of Hammett and Chandler as well. None of it prepared me for Ross Macdonald. I was too ignorant to pick up on stylistic differences. What I noticed were the characters. Few of them were new to me as types, most of them in fact were in most of the hardboiled novels I'd read, but Macdonald brought a depth and humanity to them that made me think not of other crime writers but of authors such as Fitzgerald and Hemingway and James T. Farrell and Graham Greene, my idols at the time. This was real no bullshit psychological writing. Just as superheroes never outgrow their need for milk, I've never outgrown my need for the novels and stories of Ross Macdonald. I share his view of humanity, that amalgam of fascination, disappointment, anger and sorrow that fill his work.

If you want to remind yourself of how good he was even early on, I'd recommend The Archer Files edited by Tom Nolan and published by Crippen and Landru. In addition to being a fine looking collection, it contains all the published Lew Archer short stories plus an intriguing section called "Notes." Macdonald started stories that he planned to someday finish, a way of keeping thoughts alive. Most of these sure would have made superb tales.Then there's the long introduction by Tom Nolan in which he takes the reader into the work and life of Kenneth Millar a/k/a Ross Macdonald. Nolan wrote the Edgar-nominated biography of Macdonald and this introduction is almost a synthesis of it in its information, insight and elegantly arranged presentation. Oh, yes--the stories. There are an even dozen and while some are better than others all of them demonstrate why he became so important so quickly, even though his real fame took many years to achieve. My favorite is an imperfect piece called "Wild Goose Chase." There's a sort of gothic frenzy to it that kept me flipping those pages.This is an essential acquisition for all libraries, home or public.

Thanks, Ed.

RJR

Open to Members

2007-08-03T20:53:00.000-07:00

PWA members who wish to post their news or views here can send them to me at RRandisi@sbcglobal.net and I'll post them on this blog.

RJR

2007 PWA Shamus nominees (for works published in 2006)

2007-08-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

These nominees appear in no particular order.

Best Hardcover

THE DRAMATIST by Ken Bruen (St. Martins Minotaur), featuring Jack Taylor
THE DARKEST PLACEby Daniel Judson (St. Martins Minotaur), featuring Reggie Clay
THE DO-REI-ME by Ken Kuhlken (Poisoned Pen Press), featuring Clifford Hickey
VANISHING POINT by Marcia Muller (Mysterious Press), featuring Sharon McCone
DAYS OF RAGE by Kris Nelscott (St. Martins Minotaur), featuring Smokey Dalton

Best Paperback Original

Hallowed Ground by Lori G. Armstrong (Medallion Press), featuring Julie Collins
The Prop by Pete Hautman (Simon and Schuster), featuring Peeky Kane
An Unquiet Grave by P.J. Parrish (Pinnacle), featuring Louis Kincaid
The Uncomfortable Dead by Paco Ignacio Taibo II and Subcomandante Marcos, Translated by Carlos Lopez (Akashic Books), featuring Hector Belascoaran Shayne
Crooked by Brian M. Wiprud (Dell), featuring Nicholas Palihnic

Best First Novel

LOST ANGEL by Mike Doogan (Putnam), featuring Nik Kane
A PERFECT PLACE FOR DYING by Jack Fredrickson. (St. Martin's Minotaur), featuring Dek Elstrom
HOLMES ON THE RANGE by Steve Hockensmith. (St. Martin's Minotaur), featuring Gustav “Old Red” Amlingmeyer
THE WRONG KIND OF BLOOD by Declan Hughes. (Wm. Morrow), featuring Ed Loy
18 SECOND by George D. Shuman. (Simon & Schuster), featuring Sherry Moore.

Best Short Story

“Sudden Stop” by Mitch Alderman. Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, November 2006, featuring Bubba Simms
"The Heart Has Reasons" by O'Neil De Noux. Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, September 2006, featuring Lucien Kaye
“Square One” by Loren D. Estleman. Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, November 2006, featuring Amos Walker
“Devil’s Brew” by Bill Pronzini. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. December 2006, featuring John Quincannon.
"Smoke Got In My Eyes" by Bruce Rubenstein. TWIN CITIES NOIR (Akashic), featuring Martin McDonough

PWA SHAMUS AWARDS

2007-08-03T20:12:00.000-07:00

The Shamus Awards Banquet will be held Sept. Fri., 28th in Anchorage, Alaska at the Sourdough Mining Company. Email RRandisi@aol.com for details. The event is open to the public, but seating is limited.