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| Sam Wiebe in the Vancouver Sun |
The Unhanged Arthur is a part of
the annual Arthur Ellis
Awards presented by the Crime Writers of Canada.
The Unhanged
Arthur has been awarded for almost 10 years:
The first Unhanged Arthur was
awarded by the Crime Writers of Canada in 2007 as part of the CWC mandate to
recognize and promote the careers of promising new crime writers.
Eligible for
the Unhanged Arthur are:
The competition is open to (1) Canadian
citizens, no matter where they are living, and to writers, regardless of
nationality, who have Permanent Resident status in Canada, and (2) who have
never had a novel of any kind published commercially.
Contestants need a completed manuscript of 50,000 to 110,000
words.
I have not personally tried to define crime fiction.
The Unhanged Arthur uses the following:
“Crime novel” includes capers, detective, espionage, mystery, police
procedural, suspense, thrillers and other crime-related sub-genres, and can be
set in any time period.
The prize is significant:
The winner
will receive the Unhanged Arthur statue along with a cash prize from Dundurn.
In addition, the winner's completed manuscript will be read and critiqued by a
Dundurn editor, who will have the right of first refusal to publish the novel.
The winner is required to allow Dundurn three (3) months to make an offer if
they so choose, before the winning manuscript may be submitted elsewhere
The above quotes are drawn from the CWC website on
particulars of the Award.
The winners of the Award
have been:
2007 - Phyllis Smallman, Margarita
Nights
2008 - D.J. McIntosh, The Witch of
Babylon
2009 - Douglas A. Moles, Louder
2010 - Gloria Ferris, The Corpse
Flower
2011 - John Jeneroux, Better Off Dead
2012 - Sam Wiebe, Last of the
Independents
2013 – Coleen Steele, Sins
Revisited
2014 – Rachel Greenaway, Cold Girl
With regard to Last of the Independents the Awards
Committee stated:
A thoroughly satisfying read. An
opening that grabs you, fast-moving and at times very funny with snappy
dialogue, nice writing and intriguing plot. Very professional, and almost ready
for publication. Last of the Independents was our unanimous choice as winner of
the Unhanged Arthur Award
Dundurn took up their right
to make an offer and are the publishers of Last
of the Independents.
I think the Unhanged Arthur
is a great award and look forward to seeing who wins in 2015. The shortlists
for this year’s Arthur Ellis Awards will be announced in late April.
Bill - Thanks for explaining what The Unhanged Arthur is. I really like that title. And from your review of this novel, it's a fine contender. I look forward to seeing those shortlists at the end of next month.
ReplyDeleteMargot: Thanks for the comment. I agree that the title for the Award is clever and memorable. Just as a point of clarification, Last of the Independents won the Award in 2012.
DeleteThanks, Bill, I had not heard of the Unhanged Arthur award. Very interesting information on other winners her also.
ReplyDeleteTracyK: Thanks for the comment. I wish more Awards had a comparable category.
ReplyDelete