Mystery Readers International

The Macavity Awards

Mystery Readers International bills itself as "the largest mystery fan/reader organization in the world." Founded by Janet A. Rudolph in Berkeley, California, it now has members in all 50 of the United States and in 22 foreign countries. Members vote each year to nominate and select the winners of The Macavity Award, named for the "mystery cat" of T.S. Eliot (Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats). Each year the members of Mystery Readers International nominate and vote for their favorite mysteries in four categories. In many areas, there are local chapters which hold "at homes" -- intimate evenings with mystery writers, as well as classes and discussion groups.

Because MRI covers all spectrums of the mystery genre, hardboiled and P.I. novels are not always in contention for awards. In fact, far from it. Cozies and domestics often rule here. However, the genre does pop up every now and then, tucked away between critical essays on women in mystery and the latest cat mysteries.

The year listed is the year of the award, for books published in the previous year. For example, the 1998 awards (for 1997 books) would be announced in 1998.

Mystery Readers International also publishes The Mystery Readers Journal.

For more information, Mystery Readers International, check out their web site.

| 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
|1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1990 |
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| 2010 | 2011 |

Below are some of the nominees and winners that might be of interest to readers of this site. As always, winners are in red, bold text.

1987 MACAVITY AWARD

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

• 1001 Midnights by Marcia Muller & Bill Pronzini

BEST SHORT STORY

• "The Parker Shotgun" by Sue Grafton (Kinsey Millhone)

1988 MACAVITY AWARD

BEST FIRST NOVEL

• The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais (Elvis Cole)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

• Son of Gun in Cheek by Bill Pronzini

1989 MACAVITY AWARD

BEST SHORT STORY

• "Deja Vu" by Doug Allyn

1990 MACAVITY AWARD

1991 MACAVITY AWARD

1992 MACAVITY AWARD

BEST SHORT STORY

• "Deborah's Judgement" by Margaret Maron

1993 MACAVITY AWARD

1994 MACAVITY AWARD

BEST SHORT STORY

• "Checkout" by Susan Dunlap

1995 MACAVITY AWARD

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

• By a Woman's Hand by Dean James & Jean Swanson

1996 MACAVITY AWARD

BEST CRITICAL/Biographical

• Detecting Women by Willetta L. Heising

1997 MACAVITY AWARD

BEST NON-FICTION

• Detecting Women 2 by Wiletta Heising
• Mystery! A Celebration by Ron Miller
• St. James Guide to Crime & Mystery (4th Edition) edited by Jay Pederson

1998 MACAVITY AWARD
Presented at the 1998 Bouchercon

BEST NON-FICTION

• Deadly Women by Jan Grape, Dean James and Ellen Nehr

2009 MACAVITY AWARD

BEST MYSTERY NOVEL

• Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz (Izzy Spellman)
• Trigger City by Sean Chercover (Roy Dudgeon)

BEST FIRST MYSTERY

• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist)

BEST NONFICTION/CRITICAL

• African American Mystery Writers: A Historical & Thematic Study by Frankie Y. Bailey
• Hard-Boiled Sentimentality: The Secret History of American Crime Stories by Leonard Cassuto

2010 MACAVITY AWARD

BEST MYSTERY NOVEL

• The Shanghai Moon by S.J. Rozan (Bill Smith and Lydia Chin)

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