The World's Finest Mystery... Page 6

  Crime Factory is a new Australian crime magazine. The first issue was published in February 2001. Predominantly concerned with crime fiction, it also includes a section devoted to true crime. The first issue has interviews with prolific Melbourne writer Kerry Greenwood, Tami Hoag, Edna Buchanan, and Edward Bunker. For further information see www.crimefactory.net.

  World Mystery Report: Canada

  Edo van Belkom

  Although most lovers of mystery and crime fiction might not consider it a work that's truly in genre, the most talked about and celebrated Canadian crime novel of 2000 is probably Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin. Atwood's tenth novel is a family drama that delves into the seedy underworld of the 1930s, replete with references to pulp fiction gin joints and the rest of the period's staples. The book won the coveted 2000 Booker Prize and is a top contender for all of the usual Canadian literary honors, such as the Governor General's Award. A more traditional crime novel that garnered plenty of attention within the genre is Deadly Decisions, the third novel by forensic anthropologist and best-selling author Kathy Reichs.

  As crime novelists, Atwood and Reichs are as dissimilar as two writers can be (one is a "literary writer" and the other is a scientist moonlighting as a mystery author), but in a somewhat roundabout way they are both in the same boat and indicative of the sort of thing that goes on in all Canadian literary genres.

  Canadians are eager to embrace someone like Atwood as a crime novelist because her inclusion validates the genre as a whole. Atwood was the subject of a similar inclusion when her novel The Handmaid's Tale was pronounced to be science fiction, a label she rejected at every opportunity. And Reichs, while only spending six months of the year working for the Quebec government— the other half is spent in North Carolina where she works in the office of the chief medical examiner and is a professor at the University of North Carolina— is still considered Canadian by her Canadian publisher, Canadian booksellers, and Canadian awards administrators.

  The truth is that there are many great crime and mystery novels published each year by Canadians living year-round in that country and publishing all of their works in the genre. The year 2000 saw the publication of new novels by John Ballem (Machineel); Gail Bowen (Burying Ariel); Laurence Gough (Funny Money); Lyn Hamilton (The Celtic Riddle); Kenneth Oppel (The Devil's Cure); Caroline Roe— a.k.a. Medora Sale (Solace For a Sinner); and Eric Wright (The Kidnapping Of Rosie Dawn). Other notable books included Hangman by Michael Slade, a pseudonym, this time for Vancouver lawyer Jay Clarke and his daughter Rebecca; and Evil Never Sleeps, written by real-life police detective K. G. E. Konkel. Also, Peter Robinson published a new Inspector Banks novel called Cold Is the Grave. Robinson, a transplanted Brit, enjoys dual literary citizenship— much like Reichs— and is Canadian while in Canada but claimed by the British whenever he lands in the U.K., which is a couple of times a year.

  A couple of short-fiction publications of note were a pair of anthologies associated with the Crime Writers of Canada. First is the Arthur Ellis Awards anthology, edited by Peter Sellers, and published by Quarry Press (P.O. Box 1061, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 4Y5). The book features a history of the CWC, the first twelve winners of the Best Mystery Short Story from 1988 to 1999, a complete list of Ellis Award nominees during that period, and a list of international award–winning works by Canadians. All royalties from the book go to the CWC to help pay for the ongoing administration of the awards. The second anthology is Over the Edge, a reprint anthology featuring works by members of the CWC, edited by Peter Sellers and Robert J. Sawyer, and published by Pottersfield Press (83 Leslie Rd. East Lawrencetown, N.S., B3Z 1P8).

  Toronto played host to the seventeenth annual Arthur Ellis Awards banquet in May with a satellite awards dinner held simultaneously on the West Coast in an RCMP officers' mess. Winners of this year's hangman's trophy were:

  Best Novel: The Feast of Stephen, Rosemary Aubert

  Best True Crime: Cowboys and Indians, Gordon Sinclair Jr.

  Best First Crime Novel: Lost Girls, Andrew Pyper

  Best Short Story: "One More Kill" (from Blue Murder Magazine), Matt Hughes

  Best Juvenile Novel: How Can a Brilliant Detective Shine in the Dark? Linda Bailey

  Best Novel (French): Louna, Lionel Noel.

  In addition the CWC honored four volunteers who had served the organization over the past sixteen years with the Derrick Murdoch Award: Eddie Barber, Rick Blechta, John North, and David Skene-Melvin.

  Finally, no year-end roundup would be complete without a mention of Bloody Words. In its second year, Bloody Words (www.bloodywords.com) is Canada's only annual mystery conference, taking place in Toronto each June. This year's guest of honor was L. R. Wright, while special guests were Howard Engel and Caroline Roe (Medora Sale) and McClelland and Stewart editor Dinah Forbes.

  World Mystery Report: Germany

  Thomas Woertche

  The year 2000 saw a radical change concerning the German mystery market that affected most German authors of the genre. The German crime-fiction/suspense market is strongly dominated by foreign authors, especially Americans. But that is true for all of Europe; even the British complain about "U.S. steamrolling." Compared to Britain, however, Germany has always suffered an enormous contradiction (due to the nearly complete lack of crime-fiction tradition) between quantity and quality, i.e., the large number of crime writers and their books and the tiny number of those among them who have international reputations.

  What happened last year, thanks to the general and international "concentration on the book market," is that most of the big publishing companies closed down their traditional and established crime lines. Classics like rororo Thriller (Rowohlt Publishers' famous "black line") vanished as well as the not-less-famous Gelbe Reihe ("yellow line") of Ullstein Publishers, the Goldmann Krimis, the Heyne Krimis (of, respectively, Goldmann, a division of Bertelsmann, and Heyne Publishers). That means that a lot of authors of solidly woven "pret-a-porter" novels lost their publishing grounds. They had to seek asylum with either print-on-demand alternatives— and that kind of publisher, like Verlag der Criminale, popped up almost immediately— or with small publishing houses. Some of the latter, like Grafit Verlag in Dortmund or the rather recently founded Militzke Verlag in Leipzig, did have some reputation before, mostly as a forum for regional to national literature. For them it was, of course, also a chance to broaden their programs. Edition Trèves in Trier got more sophisticated, and Emons Verlag in Cologne even includes fashionable period pieces now, from medieval times to eighteenth-century backgrounds.

  With big companies closing down crime-fiction lines, the readers and aficionados of crime fiction of course do not vanish. And the big publishers do indeed take care of them by displaying global blockbusters such as Tom Clancy, Patricia Cornwell, Mary Higgins Clark, Elizabeth George et al. Again, this is true for Europe as a whole, but there are differences. Swedish best-seller Henning Mankell for example is top-selling in Germany too, whereas American Donna Leon, with her Venice-based novels, is a German top-seller only.

  The most interesting side effect stemming from the big companies genre-list shutdown has been mostly ignored in public debate. Mystery novels, suspense, crime fiction, these subgenres of fiction, are no longer labeled as such in the big companies' catalogs. It's "integrated," and that means "lost," in their mainstream lines. The label now is simply "novel." The result: the term "genre" is back where it used to be until two decades ago— equal to bad, low stuff.

  However, there are promising counterwaves. The small Distel-Verlag in Heilbronn, for instance, recently started a completely new line, specializing in classic and new French writers, cooperating with the famous "Serie noir" of Paris publisher Gallimard. Unionsverlag in Zürich, Switzerland, started its "UT metro" line in spring 2000, presenting suspense fiction not from the usual sources— Anglo-Saxon fields like the U.S. or the U.K.— but from literally all over the world: Asia, Africa, Latin America, Australia, and Europe (including Turkey).
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br />   The consequences of these changes are enormous for most of the German-writing and German-speaking authors. Last decade's "scene kings and queens" —made not primarily by broad audiences but by opinion leaders of the very scene itself— like Ingrid Noll, Doris Gercke, Sabine Deitmer, Peter Zeindler (Swiss), Jürgen Alberts, Regula Venske, et al. are remarkably silent. It seems as though the readers (and buyers) are tired of all the middle-class cozies and "diaper mysteries."

  The situation is well reflected in the 2000 awards for crime fiction. The Glauser, an annual award of German-language crime-writers club Syndikat was given to Uta-Maria Heim for her novel Engelchens Ende. Syndikat represents a large number of authors, but actually very few of even national importance. Uta-Maria Heim is a good writer and not part of that network, and so it's a little sensation that someone from "outside" got last year's Glauser.

  Even more significant for the change is the German Mystery Award (Deutscher Krimipreis) for 2000. While the Glauser comes with DM 10,000 (about $4,500), the Deutscher Krimipreis does not include money. But it is the award with the highest prestige— it cannot be manipulated. It has a national (meaning German-language) and an international category. The national winner for 2000 was Ulrich Ritzel's Schwemmholz (published by a tiny Swiss publisher, Libelle Verlag). In second place was Ann Chaplet's Nichts als die Wahrheit (by Verlag Antje Kunstmann, Munich, an independent mainstream publisher), and coming in third was Sam Jaun's Fliegender Sommer (by another tiny Swiss publisher, Cosmos Verlag).

  Ritzel's novel is his second. He used to be a courtroom and police reporter in a small southern German town. Sam Jaun is Swiss, living partly in Berlin, who comes up with a new Swiss-countryside mystery about every seven years.

  Many other authors who have been acclaimed and accepted by the readers during the last year are either complete outsiders or newcomers, like Horst Eckert, Jürg Juretzka, or Heinrich Steinfeld and Wolf Haas (both of Vienna, Austria). Munich writer Friedrich Ani's fine novel German Angst had a likewise fine success and Tobias O. Meissner published the season's most interesting novel, Todestag (by Eichborn Verlag), about a fatal assault on Chancellor Schröder. Todestag, unlike most of the present German-language fiction in general, is serious and even thrilling literature.

  In short, the borderline between "genre" and "mainstream" seems to be blurred not only by the big companies' politics but also by the fact that it looks as if authors and their representatives are submitting to this trend. That could be a positive signal— but I doubt that optimism makes sense here. German mainstream literature— i.e., "high" literature— is famous (and notorious) for its general refusal to narrate reality. But that's exactly crime fiction's finest tradition— and Germany's reality offers material galore for writers to return to the pure, raw storytelling of the genre. Some of them have never lost that strain and likewise never renounced literary quality. Pieke Biermann, for instance, who brought acknowledgment of crime fiction to the literary pages with her series of novels about a Berlin homicide squad, is now working on a street-cop novel. For, in the slightly modified words of the wonderful Bob Truluck, "All in all, street level is where crime fiction belongs."

  The 2000 Short Story Edgar Awards

  Camille Minichino

  Chair, Edgar Short Story Committee, 2000

  Here's an image I can't shake: a nervous ex-con thrusts a five-inch blade into the pulsating throat of a cow, slitting it from ear to ear, and retches as blood pours out like shiny red glass, the stench of manure in the background. Clark Howard's "The Killing Floor" puts you in a slaughterhouse and keeps you there long after you've finished the story. A standout in a year of more than 500 short stories.

  At first my new assignment was exciting— day after day, padded envelopes from UPS, priority U.S. mail cartons, chunky FedEx packages, all filled with FREE books and magazines, delivered to my door!

  The Edgar Short Story submissions.

  Then I realized I had to read them all— every issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Futures, Blue Murder, and assorted e-zines. Anthologies like Deadly Dozen, Crime Through Time III, Malice Domestic, Unholy Orders. Not only that, I had to handle them. Create a database, log in authors, from Abbott, Jeff in Magnolias and Mayhem, to Zackel, Frederick in Carvezine.

  Some people think there are already enough Edgars; that the Awards Banquet goes on far too long. Not me. In fact, since not every story has everything the reader is looking for, I'd add a few categories. Best Female Character, for one. For this I'd pick the overweight Patricia— sweating and straining against the pedals of a stationary bike, planning revenge on her condescending aerobics instructor ("Spinning," by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, EQMM, July).

  Why not a Best Title Award— maybe "Taking Out Mr. Garbage" (Judith Kelman, Murder Among Friends) or "Jesus Kicks Some" (Bruce F. Murphy, Blue Murder Magazine, October/November). For Best Weapon, I'd choose the leg of lamb ("Copycat," Joan Myers, Deadly Dozen). And I'd love to create a Best Pet-Free Story Award (the excellence of "Twelve of the Little Buggers" by Mat Coward in EQMM, for January notwithstanding). I'd give the Far Out Award to the ingenious story featuring quantum teleportation (it's not just for photons anymore) from Michael Burstein ("The Quantum Teleporter," Analog magazine, February), or to the talking doll in "Chatty Patty" (Taylor McCafferty, Magnolias and Mayhem). A Cliché Award might balance all the positives— this year: like a deer in the headlights (you know who you are).

  In the complaint department: too many stories fell short of true mystery, better labeled "best-kept secret stories." A sample of unsatisfying denouements: the bride was really not his grandchild; third-party confessions such as I-saw-your-mother-murder-your-father (or vice versa); and one story where I, the cop, killed my partner's daughter— all delivered in a telling fashion. And, of course, there were the too-cute endings, like "he" was really the dog (or cat), not the husband.

  For me, "Missing in Action" (Peter Robinson, EQMM, November) had it all. Imagine weaving a story about a missing child around his mother's speech impediment.

  The whole truth: it's awesome to have almost the entire body of short stories of the year 2000 in front of me, in an overflowing maroon crate.

  To all of you who wrote these stories, thanks. Really. Be sure we were honored to consider your work and to give every submission careful attention.

  Edgar Awards 2000— Short Story Honorable Mentions:

  Doug Allyn, "The Christmas Mitzvah," Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, December; Denise Barton, "The Ticket," Futures, February–March; Beverly "Booger" Brackett, Handheld Crime; Michael Burstein, "The Quantum Teleporter," Analog, September; Hal Charles, "Slave Wall," EQMM, February; Terrence Faherty, "The Third Manny," EQMM, February; John M. Floyd, "Blue Wolf," Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, February; Ed Gorman, "Anna and the Players," EQMM, November; Tony Hickie, "Decimation," AHMM, March; Edward D. Hoch, "The Fading Woman," EQMM, April; Clark Howard, "The Killing Floor," Crippen & Landru; Rob Kantner, "My Best Fred McMurray," AHMM, October; Rochelle Krich, "Widow's Peak," Unholy Orders; Taylor McCafferty, "Chatty Patty," Magnolias and Mayhem; Sharyn McCrumb, "Lark in the Morning," Crime Through Time III; Joan Myers, "Copycat," Deadly Dozen; Tom Tolnay, "The Stealing Progression," EQMM, August; Alison White, "The Bluebird," EQMM, February; William Sanders, "Smoke," Crime Through Time III; Walter Satterthwaite, "Missolongi," AHMM, October; Lisa Seidman, "Over My Shoulder," Deadly Dozen; Serita Stevens, "The Unborn," Nefarious; Steven Saylor, "The Consul's Wife," Crime Through Time III; Peter Straub, "Porkpie Hat," Magic Terror.

  The Year 2000 in Mystery Fandom

  George A. Easter

  The American public buys and reads millions of mysteries every week. Most lovers of the mystery genre are content simply with the enjoyment of reading good crime novels. But there are several thousand who are so interested in the genre that they require more. These are the mystery fans who make up mystery fandom.

  Mystery fans form and attend local mystery reading groups; they collect p
aperback and/or hardcover first editions; they go online and contribute to such sites as Dorothy L; they haunt their local mystery bookstores and attend author signings; they subscribe to mystery publications; and finally, they attend mystery conventions.

  MYSTERY CONVENTIONS 2000

  The Big Kahuna of annual mystery conventions is Bouchercon, the international mystery convention named for Anthony Boucher, noted deceased mystery critic, which was held in Denver in September, 2000. (Bouchercon 2001 will be in Washington, D.C. in November, 2001.) The guest of honor was the venerable Elmore Leonard who entertained us with his crusty sense of humor. Also honored was Jane Langton, the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award, who mesmerized us with her wit, charm and gentility.