The Crime Writers of Canada

Arthur Ellis Award
Winners and Nominees
in the Private Eye Genre

The Arthur Ellis Awards , established in 1983 and commonly called the Arthurs, are awarded annually by The Crime Writers of Canada. They honour the best works, regardless of setting or place of publication, published in the preceding year by a writer, regardless of nationality, resident in Canada, or a Canadian writer resident abroad.They're named for the pseudonym of Canada's offical hangman. The statuette, crafted by Canadian artisan Barry Lambec, consists of a wooden gallows with a puppet suspended from it. If you pull the cord attached to the puppet it "dances" on the rope. Always tasteful, us Canadians...

Unfortunately, writers of the hardboiled private detective novel don't seem to present in any great numbers in The Great White North lately. I guess this is one of those cases where if you want something done, you'll just have to do it yourself.

The Arthurs are awarded each year for Best Novel, Best First Novel, Best True Crime, Best Genre Criticism, Best Short Story, Best Juvenile, Best Play and The Derrick Murdoch Award (named in honour of Canada's premier crime fiction reviewer, who was the driving force behind the creation of the Crime Writers of Canada) for contribution to the genre.

For more information about the Arthurs, or the Crime Writers of Canada, visit The Crime Writers of Canada web site.

Note: Winners are in Red, Bold Face. P.I. related titles will feature a link to the P.I.

This list is woefully incomplete, so please advise me of any mistakes or omissions. Don't be shy, let me know!

| 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
| 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |


1984 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS

BEST NOVEL AWARD

  • The Night the Gods Smiled by Eric Wright

THE CHAIRMAN'S AWARD*

  • Derrick Murdoch
    *This award was later renamed to honour its first recipient.

1985 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS

BEST NOVEL AWARD

THE DERRICK MURDOCH AWARD

  • Tony Aspler

1986 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS

BEST NOVEL

  • Death in the Old Country by Eric Wright

THE DERRICK MURDOCH AWARD

  • Margaret Millar

1987 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS

BEST NOVEL

  • Buried on Sunday by Edward O. Phillips

THE DERRICK MURDOCH AWARD

  • The CBC Drama Department

1988 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS

BEST NOVEL

  • Swann: A Mystery by Carol Shields

THE DERRICK MURDOCH AWARD

  • J.D. Singh and Jim Reicker

1989 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS

BEST NOVEL

  • Jack by Chris Scott

1990 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS

BEST NOVEL

  • Hot Shots by Laurence Gough

THE DERRICK MURDOCH AWARD

  • Eric Wilson

1991 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS

BEST NOVEL

  • A Chill Rain in January by L.R. Wright

1992 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • Flesh Wound by Paul Grescoe (Dan Rudnicki)

THE DERRICK MURDOCH AWARD

  • William Bankier, James Powell and Peter Sellers

1993 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS

BEST NOVEL

  • Lizardskin by Carsten Stroud

1994 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS

BEST NOVEL

  • Gypsy Sins by John Lawrence Reynolds

1995 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS

BEST NOVEL

  • A Colder Kind Of Death by Gail Bowen

THE DERRICK MURDOCH AWARD

  • Jim and Margaret McBride

1996 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS

BEST NOVEL

  • Mother Love by L. R. Wright

1997 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS

BEST NOVEL

  • Innocent Graves by Peter Robinson

1998 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS

BEST NOVEL

  • Trial of Passion by William Deverell
  • Free Reign by Rosemary Aubert
  • Death at Sandringham House by C.C. Bennison
  • Ghirlando's Daughter by John Spencer Hill
  • Dead Right by Peter Robinson
  • Illegal Alien by Sawyer Robert

BEST SHORT STORY

  • "Rigged to Blow" by John Ballem
  • "The Rug" by Edo van Belakn
  • "Widow's Weeds" by Sue Pike
  • "Two Ladies of Rose Cottage" by Peter Robinson
  • "The Hand Your'e Dealt" by Rob Sawyer

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs
  • Shanghai Alley by Jim Christy (featuring Vancouver P.I. Gene Castle)
  • Xibalba Murders by Lyn Hamilton
  • Except The Dying by Maureen Jennings
  • Blood Libel by Allan Levine
  • Undercut by Simpson

BEST TRUE CRIME/NON-FICTION

  • When She Was Bad; Violent Women & the Myth of Innocence by Patricia Pearson
  • Cheats, Charlatans, and Chicanery: More Outrageous Tales of Skulduggery by Andreas Schroeder
  • Churchill and Secret Service by David Stafford

BEST JUVENILE

  • What's A Daring Detective Like Me Doing in The Doghouse? by Linda Bailey
  • Terror in Florida by Roy McGregor
  • The Body in the Basement by Norah McClintock
  • Vanishing Act by Cora Taylor
  • Maxim Gunn: The Demon Plan by Nicholas Boving

THE DERRICK MURDOCH AWARD

  • Howard Engel and Eric Wright

1999 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS

The Crime Writers of Canada presented The 16th annual awards, for works published in 1998, at the CWC Annual Dinner, held Wednesday, May 26th in Toronto.

BEST NOVEL

  • Old Wounds by Nora Kelly
  • Verdict In Blood by Gail Bowen
  • Cold Comfort by Scott MacKay
  • Remedy for Treason by Caroline Roe
  • Next Week Will Be Better by Jean Ruryk
  • Standing In The Shadows by Michelle Spring (Laura Principal)

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • Sudden Blow by Liz Brady
  • Lethal Practice by Peter Clement
  • Hoot To Kill by Karen Dudley
  • Down In The Dumps by Mel Malton
  • The Electrical Field by Kerri Sakamoto

BEST SHORT STORY

  • "Last Inning" by Scott MacKay (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
  • "Do You Take This Man?" by Barry Baldwin (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
  • "The Hunter If The Guileless" by J.S.Lyster (Storyteller)
  • "Strangers On A Sleigh" by James Powell (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
  • "Getting Ahead" by Wayne Yetman (Storyteller)

BEST TRUE CRIME

  • No Claim To Mercy by Derek Finkle
  • Blue Trust by Stevie Cameron
  • Getting Away With Murder by David M Paciocco
  • A Hand In The Water by Bill Schiller
  • A Friend Of The Family by Alison Shaw
  • A Stolen Life by Rudy Wiebe and Yvonne Johnson

BEST JUVENILE

  • Sins Of The Father by Norah McClintock
  • Surfers Of Snow by Kim Askew
  • Trial By Fire by Sheila Dalton
  • Secret Of Devils Lake by Robert Sutherland
  • The Intrepid Polly McDoodle by Mary Woodbury

THE DERRICK MURDOCH AWARD

  • Ted Wood
    For his outstanding contribution to the genre of crime writing in Canada. The author of over a dozen novels and five collections of short stories, Ted Wood also served as president of the Crime Writers of Canada from 1987 to 1988.

2000 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS
The winners was announced at the Arthur Ellis Awards Dinner held in Toronto and simultaneously at the RCMP Officers Mess in Vancouver on May 24, 2000. The MC for the dinner was Sparkle Hayter.

BEST NOVEL

  • The Feast of Stephen by Rosemary Aubert
  • The Dead of Winter by Lisa Appignanesi
  • Slander by William Deverell
  • City of Ice by John Farrow
  • In a Dry Season by Peter Robinson

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • Lost Girls by Andrew Pyper
  • Crimes of War by Peter Hogg
  • Pluto Rising by Karen Irving
  • Speak Ill of the Dead by Mary Jane Maffini
  • Guilty Addictions by Garrett Wilson

BEST TRUE CRIME/NONFICTION

  • Cowboys and Indians by Gordon Sinclair Jr.
  • Hell's Angels at War by Yves Lavigne
  • The Big Red Fox by Peter McSherry
  • Money for Nothing by Jeremy Mercer
  • A Mother's Story by Joyce Millgaard/Peter Edwards

BEST JUVENILE

  • How Can a Brilliant Detective Shine in the Dark by Linda Bailey
  • That Kind of Money by Vicki Cameron
  • The Ghost of Captain Briggs by May Labatt
  • Grave Secrets by Sylvia McNicholl
  • The Mystery of Ireland's Eye by Shane Peacock

BEST SHORT STORIES

  • "One More Kill" by Matt Hughes (Blue Murder Magazine)
  • "Fair Lady" by Therese Greenwood (General Store)
  • "Kicking the Habit" by Mary Jane Maffini (General Store)
  • "Jerrold's Meat" by James Powel (Ellery Queen)
  • "Murdoch's Wife" by Peter Sellers (Mosaic Press)

THE BEST CRIME WRITING IN FRENCH
A new award for 2000 (and I think it's about time!)

  • Louna by Lionel Noel
  • Les fiancees de l'enfer by Chystine Brouillet
  • Blockhaus by Arthur Ghost
  • Therapie mortelle by Giles Ouimet/Anne-Marie Pona
  • Le temps s'enfuit by Stanley Pean

2001 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS

BEST NOVEL

  • Cold Is the Grave by Peter Robinson

BEST NON-FICTION

  • The Spinster and the Prophet by A.B. McKillop

THE DERRICK MURDOCH AWARD

  • L.R. Wright

2002 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS

BEST NOVEL

BEST NON-FICTION

  • The Last Amigo by Stevie Cameron & Harvey Cashore

THE DERRICK MURDOCH AWARD

  • James Dubro
    .
  • Caro Soles

2003 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS

The Crime Writers of Canada is pleased to announce the winners of the 2003 Arthur Ellis Awards for the best Canadian crime writing published in 2002.

BEST NOVEL

  • Blood of Others by Rick Mofina (Tom Reed)

BEST FIRST NOVEL

BEST SHORT STORY

  • "Bottom Walker" by James Powell (May 2002, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine)

BEST NON-FICTION

  • Covert Entry by Andrew Mitrovica

BEST JUVENILE

  • Break and Enter by Norah McClintock

THE BEST CRIME WRITING IN FRENCH

  • Le rouge ideal by Jacques Côté

THE DERRICK MURDOCH AWARD

  • Margaret Cannon
    With thanks for many years of reviewing and highlighting Canadian crime writing.

To find a complete list of Arthur Ellis winners, visit The Gumshoe Site or The Crime Writers of Canada.

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