Winners, Losers, Spinetingler Awards

By now, the world knows that Norman Mailer has posthumously won the bad sex award, which is not an award title I’d think a person would want to mention casually, or even at all.

But we hope there’s no such shame with the first Spinetingler Award nominees. I must say that in the double-checking to make sure I hadn’t misspelled names and such it was a good thing I didn’t go public with the title ‘Spinetingler Awards Shitlist.’ I swear, it’s the keyboard (I’ve just changed to a smaller one) and the fact that someone conspired by putting ‘o’ and ‘I’ next to each other.

And now, the nominees…

Best Novel – Legend

Ken Bruen, Cross
Ken Bruen, Priest
James Lee Burke, Tin Roof Blowdown
Laura Lippman, What The Dead Know
Ian Rankin, The Naming of the Dead
James Reasoner, Dust Devils

Best Novel – Rising Star

Sean Doolittle, The Cleanup
Charlie Huston, The Shotgun Rule
Larry Karp, The Ragtime Kid
Rick Mofina, A Perfect Grave
PJ Parrish, A Thousand Bones
Steven Torres, Concrete Maze

Best Novel – New Voice

Megan Abbott, Queenpin
Declan Burke, The Big O
Allan Guthrie, Hard Man
Steve Mosby, The 50/50 Killer
JD Rhoades, Safe and Sound
Duane Swierczynski, The Blonde


Best Publisher

Bitter Lemon Press
Europa Editions
Hard Case Crime
Poisoned Pen Press
Text Publishing

Best Cover


Robert Terrall - Kill Now, Pay Later











Gil Brewer - The Vengeful Virgin













George Axelrod - Blackmailer












Allan Guthrie - Hard Man













Nick Stone - Mr. Clarinet












Best Editor

Charles Ardai, Hard Case Crime
Stacia Decker, Harcourt
Alison Janssen, Bleak House
Barbara Peters, Poisoned Pen Press
Dave Thompson, Busted Flush

Special Services to the Industry

Daniel Hatadi - Crimespace
Ali Karim – Shots, The Rap Sheet
Graham Powell - Crimespot
J. Kingston Pierce – The Rap Sheet
Maddy Van Hertburger – 4MA
Sarah Weinman – Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind


Best Short Story On The Web

The Leap by Charles Ardai - Hardluck Stories
Breaking in the New Guy by Stephen Blackmoore - Demolition
Amphetamine Logic by Nathan Cain - Thugit
The Switch by Lyman Feero -Thuglit
Seven Days of Rain by Chris F. Holm - Demolition
Shared Losses by Gerri Leen - Shred of Evidence
The Living Dead by Amra Pajalic - Spinetingler
Convivum by Kelli Stanley - Hardluck Stories

Just click on the link for details about how to vote in this round.

I have already made some new discoveries as a result of the nomination process. The short story category was exceptionally tough, and there were a lot of good stories up for consideration. And perhaps for reasons of a personal nature, I got special enjoyment from Gerri Leen’s Shared Losses. Truly, that category proves there are exceptional stories being published online.

Some friends came close in the special services category – and certainly the Jordans and Russel McLean are deserving as well – but I went with the math as much as possible.

So, for me, there is a bittersweet moment in finalizing the list, because other worthy contenders came close, but not everyone is going to make the shortlist… that’s just the reality.

And if you’d like further food for thought about award nominations and the process and fairness and all that jazz, check out Sarah Weinman’s post about the MWA and the Edgars.