Bragging

The Crimefest international convention of crime writing is coming up next month in Bristol, England.  Though I will not be there in person, I will in spirit.  It pains me to be miss the charming company of my blogmates past and present.

As at most of such gatherings, awards will be given in many categories.  This year, at Crimefest, two MIE bloggers, one current, one emerita, are shortlisted for a prestigious prize.  Here is the text from the announcement:

“PETRONA AWARD

The Petrona Award is presented independently from the CRIMEFEST Awards at the convention’s Gala Awards Dinner. The award is for best Scandinavian crime novel of the year. It was established in memory of Maxine Clarke who – using the pen name Petrona – was one of the first online crime fiction reviewers and bloggers. Passionate about translated crime fiction, she particularly loved novels from Scandinavian countries. The winner receives a commemorative award and a Full Weekend Pass for CRIMEFEST 2016 where he or she is invited to appear on a panel.

Nominees:

- Jørn Lier Horst for Closed For Winter, translated by Anne Bruce (Sandstone Press)

- Arnaldur Indriðason for Strange Shores, translated by Victoria Cribb (Harvill Secker)

- Håkan Nesser for The Weeping Girl, translated by Laurie Thompson (Mantle)

- Leif G W Persson for Linda, As In The Linda Murder, translated by Neil Smith (Doubleday)

- Yrsa Sigurðardóttir for Someone To Watch Over Me, translated by Philip Roughton (Hodder & Stoughton)

- Jan Costin Wagner for Light In A Dark House, translated by Anthea Bell (Harvill Secker)”

KUDOS TO YRSA AND JØRN!!  We are all so proud of you both.  I only wish I could be there to cheer you on.

MIE rules say we shouldn’t engage in shameless self-promotion except when we have a new book launching.  But nothing prevents me from bragging about the sterling company I have the privilege of keeping.  So for those who have not read the books in question, here they are:

The second William Wisting mystery to be translated into English, after the successful Dregs. Ove Bakkerud, newly separated and extremely disillusioned, is looking forward to a final quiet weekend at his summer home before closing for winter but, when the tourists leave, less welcome visitors arrive. Bakkerud's cottage is ransacked by burglars. Next door he discovers the body of a man who has been beaten to death. Police Inspector William Wisting has witnessed grotesque murders before, but the desperation he sees in this latest murder is something new. Against his wishes his daughter Line decides to stay in one of the summer cottages at the mouth of the fjord.

A creepy, compelling thriller, SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME is the fifth Thora Gudmundsdottir novel from Yrsa, 'Iceland's answer to Stieg Larsson' (Daily Telegraph). A young man with Down's Syndrome has been convicted of burning down his care home and killing five people, but a fellow inmate at his secure psychiatric unit has hired Thora to prove Jakob is innocent. If he didn't do it, who did? And how is the multiple murder connected to the death of Magga, killed in a hit and run on her way to babysit? A creepy, compelling thriller, SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME is the fifth Thora Gudmundsdottir novel.

HUZZAH!

Annamaria - Monday