I woke to this sad news via the CornwallUK website. I admire the Royal Family, always have, although I've poked gentle fun at them in my books over the years.

RIP Prince Philip. I can't imagine how she'll cope without you.

Photo: Getty Images

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/09/uk/prince-philip-dies-gbr-intl/index.html

From the organizers: "The shortlists have been compiled by votes from crime fiction reviewers who write for national newspapers and websites, with the exception of the Sounds of Crime Award, where the shortlists were established by listeners of Audible.
 
"All winners receive a Bristol Blue Glass commemorative award, and Audible and Specsavers once again are providing £1,000 for the winners of the categories they sponsor."

Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award
- Eva Björg Aegisdóttir for The Creak on the Stairs (Orenda Books)
- Marion Brunet for Summer of Reckoning (Bitter Lemon Press)
- Robin Morgan-Bentley for The Wreckage (Trapeze)
- Richard Osman for The Thursday Murder Club (Viking)
- Mara Timon for City of Spies (Zaffre)
- Trevor Wood for The Man on the Street (Quercus)

With thanks to our headline and award sponsor, Specsavers.
 
Audible Sounds of Crime Award
- Lee & Andrew Child for The Sentinel, reader Jeff Harding (Transworld)
- Lucy Foley for The Guest List, readers Olivia Dowd, Aoife McMahon, Chloe Massey, Sarah Ovens, Rich Keeble & Jot Davies (HarperFiction)
- Robert Galbraith for Troubled Blood, reader Robert Glenister (Little, Brown Book Group)
- Anthony Horowitz for Moonflower Murders, readers Lesley Manville & Allan Corduner (Penguin Random House Audio)
- Peter James for Find Them Dead, reader Daniel Weyman (Pan Macmillan)
- Lisa Jewell for Invisible Girl, reader Donna Banya, Rebekah Staton & Connor Swindells (Penguin Random House Audio)
- Lynda La Plante for Buried, readers Alex Hassell & Annie Aldington (Zaffre)
- T. M. Logan for The Catch, reader Philip Stevens (Zaffre)
- Richard Osman for The Thursday Murder Club, reader Lesley Manville (Viking)
- Ian Rankin for A Song for the Dark Times, reader James Macpherson (Orion)
With thanks to award sponsor, Audible.

eDunnit Award
- Gabriel Bergmoser for The Hunted (Faber)
- Sharon Bolton for The Split (Trapeze) 
- J. P. Carter for Little Boy Lost (Avon)
- Steve Cavanagh for Fifty-Fifty (Orion Fiction)
- Michael Connelly for Fair Warning (Orion Fiction)
- James Lee Burke for A Private Cathedral (Orion Fiction)
- Ian Rankin for A Song for the Dark Times (Orion Fiction)
- Holly Watt for The Dead Line (Raven Books)

H. R. F. Keating Award
- Mark Aldridge for Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Greatest Detective in the World (HarperCollins)
- Martin Edwards (editor) for Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club (Collins Crime Club)
- Colin Larkin for Cover Me: The Vintage Art of Pan Books: 1950-1965 (Telos Publishing)
- Andrew Lycett for Conan Doyle’s Wide World (Tauris Parke)
- Heather Martin for The Reacher Guy (Constable)
- Sheila Mitchell for H. R. F. Keating: A Life of Crime (Level Best Books)
- Craig Sisterson for Southern Cross Crime: The Pocket Essential Guide to the Crime Fiction, Film & TV of Australia and New Zealand (Oldcastle Books)
- Peter Temple for The Red Hand: Stories, reflections and the last appearance of Jack Irish (riverrun)
 
Last Laugh Award
- Ben Aaronovitch for False Value (Gollancz)
- Christopher Fowler for Bryant & May - Oranges and Lemons (Doubleday)
 - Elly Griffiths for The Postscript Murders (Quercus)
- Carl Hiaasen for Squeeze Me (Sphere)
- Richard Osman for The Thursday Murder Club (Viking)
- Malcolm Pryce for The Corpse in the Garden of Perfect Brightness (Bloomsbury Publishing)
- Khurrum Rahman for Ride or Die (HQ)
- Olga Wojtas for Miss Blaine's Prefect and the Vampire Menace (Contraband)

Best Crime Novel for Children (Ages 8-12)
- Sophie Deen for Agent Asha: Mission Shark Bytes (Walker Books)
- Elly Griffiths for A Girl Called Justice - The Smugglers' Secret (Quercus Children's Group)
- Anthony Horowitz for Nightshade (Walker Books)
- Jack Noel for My Headteacher is an Evil Genius (Walker Books)
- Serena Patel for Anisha, Accidental Detective (Usborne Publishing)
- Serena Patel for School's Cancelled (Usborne Publishing)
- Onjali Q. Rauf for The Night Bus Hero (Orion Children's Group)
- Dave Shelton for The Pencil Case (David Fickling Books)

Best Crime Novel for Young Adults (Ages 12-16)
- William Hussey for Hideous Beauty (Usborne Publishing)
- Lauren James for The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker (Walker Books)
- Matt Killeen for Devil Darling Spy (Usborne Publishing)
- Patrice Lawrence for Eight Pieces of Silva (Hodder Children's Group)
- Simon Lelic for Deadfall (Hodder Children's Group)
- Robert Muchamore for Hacking, Heists & Flaming Arrows (Hot Key Books)
- Patrick Ness for Burn (Walker Books)
- Nancy Springer for The Case of the Missing Marquess (Hot Key Books)

My novelette "A Murder at Morehead Mews" is on the list. This story has a history I'll tell one day. It has to do with believing in yourself and the story you need to tell.

Meanwhile, congratulations to all of the authors and their outstanding stories! Winners will be announced May 1, 2021.

The list including place of publication also appears here.

Flash
Outsourcing, James Blakey
Over Before It Started, Robert Mangeot
Memories of Fire, Joshua Pastor
War Words, Travis Richardson
Quitman County Ambush, Bobby Mathews

Short
That Which Is True, Jacqueline Freimor
River, Stacy Woodson
The Crossing, Kim Keeline
The Great Bedbug Incident and the Invitation of Doom, Eleanor Cawood Jones
The Homicidal Understudy, Elizabeth Elwood

Long
Chasing Diamonds, Joseph S. Walker
Lord, Spare the Bottom Feeders, Robert Mangeot
Mary Poppins Didn't Have Tattoos, Stacy Woodson
Etta at the End of the World, Joseph S. Walker
Hotelin', Sarah M. Chen

Novelette  
A Murder at Morehead Mews, G.M. Malliet
The Wretched Strangers, Matthew Wilson
The Question of the Befuddled Judge, Jeff Cohen
The Boy Detective & The Summer of ’74, Art Taylor
Suicide Blonde, Brian Thornton