Volume V- Issue 11,
December 2006
Published by
Llumina Press
CRIME WRITERS OF CANADA
Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) is calling for submissions for the 2007 Arthur Ellis Awards, this country's premier award for excellence in the crime genre. The 2007 awards are for books and short stories published in 2006.
We are proud to announce that we have instituted a new award category this year – the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Unpublished Crime Novel. This award is designed to recognize and promote the careers of promising new crime writers. Because this award is for an unpublished crime novel manuscript, the submission should be made by the author. However, if you, as a publisher, have had a crime novel submitted to you that impressed you but was not the kind of book you would publish, we would appreciate your suggesting to the author that s/he contact the CWC for the submission rules for this award.
The Arthur Ellis Awards, established in 1984 and named after the nom de travail of Canada's official hangman, are awarded annually by the CWC in the following categories:
· Best Crime Novel (by a previously published author)
· Best Crime Nonfiction (formerly Best True Crime)
· Best First Crime Novel (by an author who never had a novel of any kind published – (1) in print, electronically, or self-published, (2) in any genre, (3) under the author’s given name or a pseudonym, (4) published alone or jointly with another author – although the author may have been published in other formats, e.g., short stories, nonfiction)
· Best Crime Short Story
· Best Juvenile Crime Book (fiction or nonfiction)
· Best Crime Publication in French (fiction, nonfiction, or related subjects)
To qualify, a work must be in one of the above categories and fall under the following criteria:
· First publication, regardless of language, in the preceding year (2006) by a writer, regardless of nationality, who is resident in Canada, or by a Canadian writer resident abroad. The year of publication is determined by the copyright date of the book or the short story.
· "Crime" is defined as: crime, detective, espionage, mystery, suspense, or thriller, and includes fictional or factual accounts of criminal doings and literary works with a criminous theme.
We would like to emphasize that this award is for CRIME WRITING, not just mystery writing. Crime-writing encompasses far more than the traditional whodunit. Please read carefully our above definition of “crime.”
Please note that the following books and short stories are not eligible:
· Translations from English to French or from French to English that have been previously published in the other official language.
· New editions or revisions that are substantially the same (60% or greater) as the previously published version.
No entry fee is charged, and those on the short list and the winners will be notified by mail, fax, or e-mail, depending on the circumstances.
Five (5) copies of any work submitted for an Arthur Ellis Award must be received by the CWC no later than the close of the business day on January 12, 2007. Please include a covering letter telling us the category the book is for and the name of the publisher's imprint.
For short stories, please include a photocopy of the original published version or of the table of contents of the magazine or book the story appeared in. If a number of eligible short stories appear in an anthology, publishers may find it convenient to submit the anthology. Up to but no more than three (3) short stories per author may be submitted.
The shortlists will be announced at the end of April 2007; the winners at the Arthur Ellis Awards dinner being held in Toronto on Thursday, June 7, 2007. More details on the dinner in April.
Please send all submissions and correspondence to:
Crime Writers of Canada – 2007 Arthur Ellis Awards
3007 Kingston Rd., Box 113
Toronto, ON M1M 1P1
For more information, you can contact me at info@crimewriterscanada.com or by phone at 416 597-9938.
Best wishes,
Cheryl Freedman
Executive Director
Crime Writers of Canada