First bestowed in 1992, the Hammett Award is given out by the North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers to reward a work of literary excellence (fiction or non-fiction) in the field of crime writing, by a US or Canadian author.

The winning title is selected by a reading committee of IACW/NA, based on recommendations from other members and the publishing community, and the winner is chosen by three distinguished outside judges. The award is a bronze trophy, designed by West Coast sculptor, Peter Boiger, whose falcon-headed thin man symbolizes Dashielll Hammett's literary spirit.

By the way, despite its name, and the body of work by the author it honours, the winner does not have to be hardboiled or a detective novel, by the way. However, our genre has certainly made its prescence felt, both in nominations and actual awards. PI novels are marked, therefore, by an asterisk.

NOTE: I am NOT affiliated with the Hammett Awards. Stop writing me asking for how to submit your sorry-ass self-published novel. For further information, please go to their web site.

1991 DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD

• Maximum Bob by Elmore Leonard
• Elsinore by Jerome Charyn
• Murther & Walking Spirits by Robertson Davies
• Harlot's Ghost by Norman Mailer
• The Women of Whitechapel & Jack the Ripper by Paul West (Random House)

1992 DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD

• Turtle Moon by Alice Hoffman
• The Ones You Do by Daniel Woodrell (Special Mention)
• Trick of the Eye by Jane Stanton Hitchcock
• White Butterfly by Walter Mosley*
• Humans by Donald E. Westlake

1993 DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD

• The Mexican Tree Duck by James Crumley (C.W. Sughrue)*
• The Black Ice by Michael Connelly
• By Evil Means by Sandra West Prowell (Phoebe Siegel)*
• Catilina's Riddle by Steven Saylor (Gordianus the Finder)*
• An Occasional Hell by Randall Silvis (Ernest DeWalt)*

1994 DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD

• Dixie City Jam by James Lee Burke (Dave Robicheaux)*
• Dogs of God by Pinckney Benedict
• Shot in the Heart by Mikal Gilmore
• Third and Indiana by Steve Lopez
• Shinju by Laura Joh Rowland

1995 DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD

• Under the Beetle's Cellar by Mary Willis Walker
• Smithereens by Susan Taylor Chehak
• The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly
• Breakheart Hill by Thomas H. Cook
• True Crime by Andrew Klavan

1996 DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD

• Rose by Martin Cruz Smith
• The Poet by Michael Connelly
• Buzz Cut by James W. Hall (Thorn)*
• Innocent Graves by Peter Robinson
• Damaged Goods by Stephen Solomita

1997 DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD

• Trial of Passion by William Deverell
• Cimarron Rose by James Lee Burke (Billy Bob Holland)*
• Trunk Music by Michael Connelly
• A Wasteland of Strangers by Bill Pronzini
• Acts of Murder by L. R. Wright

1998 DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD
The organization announced the Hammett Prize winner in Milwaukee in early October, during Bouchercon.

• Tidewater Blood by William Hoffman
• Praying To A Laughing God by Kevin McColley
• The Man Who Stole the Mona Lisa by Robert Noah
• The Last Days of Il Duce by Domenic Stansberry
• Tomato Red by Daniel Woodrell

1999 DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD
The International Association of Crime Writers announced the winner at the 2000 Bouchercon, held September 7th -10th in Denver:.

• Havana Bay by Martin Cruz Smith
• Heartwood by James Lee Burke (Billy Bob Holland)*
• L. A. Requiem by Robert Crais (Elvis Cole)*
• In a Dry Season by Peter Robinson
• Personal Injuries by Scott Turow

2000 DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD
The 2001 Hammett Prize (for novels published in 2000) was presented at Bloody Words in Toronto on June 9 at the Saturday night banquet.

• The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
• Hot Springs by Stephen Hunter
• The Bottoms by Joe R. Lansdale
• The Ice Harvest by Scott Phillips
• One-Eyed Jacks by Brad Smith

2001 DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD
The 2002 Hammett Prize (for novels published in 2001) was presented at the Mid Atlantic Mystery conference in Philadelphia, PA, September 27-29, 2002.

• Kingdom of Shadows by Alan Furst
• Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
• Silent Joe by T. Jefferson Parker
• Right as Rain by George Pelecanos (Derek Strange and Terry Quinn)*
• Hollowpoint by Rob Ruland

2002 DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD
The 2002 Hammett Prize (for novels published in 2002) was presented in Ottawa, Canada, on June 14, during the Bloody Words Conference.

• Honor's Kingdom by Owen Parry
• Jolie Blon's Bounce by James Lee Burke (Dave Robicheaux)*
• The Eighth Day by John Case (Danny Cray)*
• Flykiller by J. Robert Janes
• Bad Bad Brawly Brown by Walter Mosley (Easy Rawlins)*

2003 DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD
Presented in October at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in Toronto.

• The Seduction of Water by Carol Goodman
• The Delicate Storm by Giles Blunt
• Tropic of Night by Michael Gruber
• Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
• Every Secret Thing by Laura Lippman

2004 DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD
Presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in Chicago.

• Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan
• The Havana Room by Colin Harrison
• The Madman's Tale by John Katzenbach
• California Girl by T. Jefferson Parker
• Playing With Fire by Peter Robinson

2005 DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD

• Alibi by Joseph Kanon
• Islandbridge by John Brady
• The Door to Bitterness by Martin Límon
• No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
• The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow

2006 DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD

• The Prisoner of Guantánamo by Dan Fesperman
• Ghost Dancer by John Case
• Dark Companion by Jim Nisbet
• The Crimes of Jordan Wise by Bill Pronzini
• Four Kinds of Rain by Robert Ward

2007 DASHIELL HAMMETT AWARD NOMINEES

• The Outlander by Gil Adamson
• The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
• End Games by Michael Dibdin
• Dahlia's Gone by Katie Estill
• Stalin's Ghost: An Arkady Renko Novel by Martin Cruz Smith

Thanks forever to Carole Epstein for her help with this one. She's taken the party to a whole other level, but she'll be missed down here.