Finalists unveiled for the Arthur Ellis Awards honouring Canadian crime writing

TORONTO – Linwood Barclay is once again in contention for best novel honours at the Arthur Ellis Awards which recognize excellence in Canadian crime writing.

Barclay won in 2009 for “Too Close to Home.” He is a nominee for best novel this year for “Trust Your Eyes,” along with fellow contenders Giles Blunt for “Until the Night”; Sean Chercover for “The Trinity Game”; Stephen Miller for “The Messenger”; and Carsten Stroud for “Niceville.”

Nominees for best first novel are: Peggy Blair for “The Beggar’s Opera”; Deryn Collier for “Confined Space”; Peter Kirby for “The Dead of Winter”; Chris Laing for “A Private Man”; Simone St. James for “The Haunting of Maddy Clare.”

Nominees for best novella are: Lou Allin, “Contingency Plan”; Vicki Delany, “A Winter Kill”; Barbara Fradkin, “Evil Behind that Door”; and Christopher Moore, “Reunion,” featured in “Phnom Penh Noir.”

Nominees for best short story are: Melodie Campbell, “Life without George”; Sandy Conrad, “Sins of the Fathers”; Scott MacKay, “Cruel Coast”; Jas R. Petrin for “Mad Dog”; and Yasuko Thanh, “Spring-blade Knife.”

Nominees for best non-fiction include: Anita Arvast, “Bloody Justice: The Truth behind the Bandidos Massacre at Shedden”; Guy Lawson, “Octopus: Sam Israel, the Secret Market, and Wall Street’s Wildest Con”; Steve Lillebuen for “The Devil’s Cinema: The Untold Story behind Mark Twitchell’s Kill Room”; and Bruce Livesey for “Thieves of Bay Street: How Banks, Brokerages and the Wealthy Steal Billions from Canadians.”

In the best juvenile/young adult category, the nominees are: Lisa Harrington, “Live to Tell”; Y.S. Lee for “The Agency: The Traitor in the Tunnel”; Sylvia McNicoll for “Crush Candy Corpse”; Shane Peacock, “Becoming Holmes”; and Elizabeth Stewart for “The Lynching of Louie Sam.”

Nominees for best crime writing in French: Mario Bolduc for “La Nuit des albinos: Sur les traces de Max O’Brien”; Andre Jacques, “De pierres et de sang (Druide)”; Jean Lemieux for “L’homme du jeudi (La courte echelle)”; Martin Michaud, “Je me souviens”; and Richard Ste Marie, “L’inaveu.”

The Crime Writers of Canada also awards the Unhanged Arthur to contenders for the best unpublished first crime novel. Nominees in the category include: William Hall for “Cold Black Tide”; Ilonka Halsband, “The Raffle Baby”; and Coleen Steele for “Sins Revisited.”

Winners of the Arthur Ellis Awards will be announced at a gala dinner on May 30 in Toronto.

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