Ellis Peters Historical Award: Wartime tale wins

Overnight (NZT), the winner of the 2011 Ellis Peters Historical Award was announced. Here is the official press release from the Crime Writers' Association:

Wartime tale wins historical crime fiction award

A dark tale of wartime intrigue has been named by The Crime Writers’ Association as the winner of this year’s prestigious Ellis Peters Historical Award.

Andrew Martin’s novel THE SOMME STATIONS, published by Faber and Faber, was selected for the £3,000 first prize.

The award is sponsored by the Estate of Ellis Peters, Headline Book Publishing Company and Little, Brown Book Group. It is given to the best historical crime novel (set in any period up to 35 years prior to the year in which the award will be made) by an author of any nationality, and commemorates the life and work of Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter) (1913-1995), a prolific author perhaps best known as the creator of Brother Cadfael.

The judging panel said of THE SOMME STATIONS: “Martin’s novels featuring railway detective Jim Stringer reveal their treasures in subtle fashion with a winning synthesis of period atmosphere, intriguing plotting and a passion for steam railways.”

THE SOMME STATIONS plunges into the horrors of World War One trench combat. Stringer and his unit must undertake dangerous nocturnal assignments: driving the trains taking munitions to the front. Death is everywhere, as the trains travel through blasted surrealistic landscapes, and a single-minded military policeman continues to investigate a killing that occurred before the departure for France.

CWA chair Peter James said: “Yet again, our judging panel had a tough task but after much deliberation came up with a truly worthy winner. Historical crime fiction is certainly in a healthy position with so many talented writers at work.”

The winner was announced at the Athenaeum in London.

The shortlist was:

• Rory Clements PRINCE
• Sam Eastland THE RED COFFIN
• Gordon Ferris THE HANGING SHED
• RN Morris THE CLEANSING FLAMES
• Imogen Robertson ISLAND OF BONES

JUDGING PANEL

• Eileen Roberts (Chair) - Originator and organiser of St Hilda’s annual crime symposium in Oxford, mystery and crime enthusiast
• Geoffrey Bailey - Bookseller specialising in crime
• Barry Forshaw - Edits Crime Time and is a talking head for the ITV Crime Thriller author profiles and BBC TV documentaries. A prolific writer, he has been Vice Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association.
• Sir Bernard Ingham - Press Secretary to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and crime fiction fan
• Jake Kerridge - the crime fiction critic of the Daily Telegraph

The CWA has also announced some changes to the award, effective from 2012. The Ellis Peters award will once again become a CWA Dagger and submission dates will gradually move to correspond with the other CWA awards. The changes are in line with the CWA's commitment to increase the profile of their non-TV Dagger awards. It's planned that the Ellis Peters and the other Dagger awards will be presented as part of a new awards ceremony in summer 2012. Publishers are asked to contact the CWA or visit the Daggers sub-site for the new rules in full..

For press enquiries or more information on the CWA, please visit the website, www.thecwa.co.uk, or contact media.enquiries@thecwa.co.uk

CWA announces the shortlist for the Ellis Peters Historical Award

The Crime Writers’ Association has announced the shortlist for this year’s prestigious Ellis Peters Historical Award. The award is sponsored by the Estate of Ellis Peters, Headline Book Publishing Company and Little, Brown Book Group. It is given to the best historical crime novel (set in any period up to 35 years prior to the year in which the award will be made) by an author of any nationality, and commemorates the life and work of Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter) (1913-1995), a prolific author perhaps best known as the creator of Brother Cadfael.

CWA chair Peter James said: “Historical fiction remains as popular as ever and has seen the creation of some of crime writing’s most enduring characters. This year’s books continue that fine tradition.“

The winner will be announced on November 30 at the Athenaeum in London. The shortlist is:

• Rory Clements, PRINCE: Rory Clements won the Ellis Peters award last year for Revenger, the second instalment in his John Shakespeare series. Prince is the third book to feature this Elizabethan intelligencer, and finds Shakespeare caught up in the infighting between the Queen's rival favourites, Robert Cecil and Lord Essex, as he investigates a series of bombings targeting Dutch immigrants in London. There are some clever references to twenty-first-century concerns, as well as the wit and breakneck pace we have come to expect from Clements.
• Sam Eastland, THE RED COFFIN: Sam Eastland's second novel sees the return of the brilliant special investigator Inspector Pekkala, once the trusted advisor of Tsar Nicholas II, now forced to work for Stalin. It is 1939 and rogue Russian soldiers are trying to precipitate war with Germany before Stalin's secret weapon is ready-- a super tank known as the "red coffin". This manages to be a superbly entertaining thriller while fully conveying the horrors of life under Stalin.
• Gordon Ferris, THE HANGING SHED: The Hanging Shed was a massive success even before its print incarnation hit the bookshops, when it became one of the most downloaded books in Britain after being released on the Amazon Kindle. The setting is Glasgow in 1946, and the author's delineation of the immediate post-war years has a bristling immediacy. Ferris’s protagonist Brodie is an ex-policeman, forced to save a childhood friend from hanging via a daunting odyssey through the dangerous backstreets of the Gorbals, obstructed by both bent coppers and murderous razor gangs.
• Andrew Martin, THE SOMME STATIONS: Martin's novels featuring railway detective Jim Stringer reveal their treasures in subtle fashion with a winning synthesis of period atmosphere, intriguing plotting and a passion for steam railways. The Somme Station plunges into the horrors of WW1 trench combat. Stringer and his unit must undertake dangerous nocturnal assignments: driving the trains taking munitions to the front. Death is everywhere, as the trains travel through blasted surrealistic landscapes, and a single-minded military policeman continues to investigate a killing that occurred before the departure for France.
• RN Morris, THE CLEANSING FLAMES: Reading this splendid fourth entry in the RN Morris sequence of riffs on the detective Porfiry from Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment is a bittersweet experience, as Morris is about to put the character on hold. In the new book, St Petersburg is in flames, and the fires are harbingers of the revolution that will tear the country apart. After a post-winter thaw, a body surfaces in a canal, and Porfiry is in business again. As before, character building, locale, and historical detail are all beautifully balanced.
• Imogen Robertson, ISLAND OF BONES: This is Imogen Robertson's third novel to feature her wilful heroine Mrs Harriet Westerman and gives us some background to her sleuthing sidekick, the eccentric and reclusive amateur anatomist Gabriel Crowther, as the duo head to the Lake District to investigate when one corpse too many is found in the ancestral tomb at Gabriel's family seat. Robertson expertly juggles family politics, murder mystery and kidnap thriller, while giving a fascinating picture of country life in the late 18th century.

The Judging Panel for the Ellis Peters Historical Award consists of:

• Eileen Roberts (Chair) - Originator and organiser of St Hilda’s annual crime symposium in Oxford, mystery and crime enthusiast
• Geoffrey Bailey - Bookseller specialising in crime
• Barry Forshaw - Edits Crime Time and is a talking head for the ITV Crime Thriller author profiles and BBC TV documentaries. A prolific writer, he has been Vice Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association.
• Sir Bernard Ingham - Press Secretary to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and crime fiction fan
• Jake Kerridge - the crime fiction critic of the Daily Telegraph

For press enquiries or more information on the CWA, please visit the website, www.thecwa.co.uk, or contact media.enquiries@thecwa.co.uk.

Tough choice for judges as historical crime fiction award is announced

The Crime Writers’ Association tonight (UK time - November 4) announced the winner for this year’s prestigious Ellis Peters Historical Award.

Established for the best historical crime novel (set in any period up to 35 years prior to the year in which the award will be made) by an author of any nationality, the award commemorates the life and work of Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter) (1913-1995), a prolific author perhaps best known as the creator of Brother Cadfael.

CWA chair Tom Harper said: “The Ellis Peters Award has seen the judges given a really tough choice. The strength of the field confirms the robust health of historical fiction.”
The judging panel was Sir Bernard Ingham, Barry Forshaw, Jake Kerridge, Eileen Roberts and Geoffrey Bailey. They said: “Two books were very close, which was unusual, and overall the standard was incredibly high.”

The winners were announced during an event at Little, Brown Book Group, 100 Victoria Embankment, London.

Results
The Ellis Peters Historical Award Prize £3,000
Sponsors: The Estate of Ellis Peters, Headline Book Publishing Company and Little, Brown Book Group

Winner
REVENGER by Rory Clements

1592. England and Spain are at war, yet there is peril at home, too. The death of her trusted spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham has left Queen Elizabeth vulnerable. Conspiracies multiply. The quiet life of John Shakespeare is shattered by a summons from Robert Cecil, the cold but deadly young statesman who dominated the last years of the Queen’s long reign, insisting Shakespeare re-enter government service. His mission: to find vital papers, now in the possession of the Earl of Essex. When John Shakespeare infiltrates this dissolute world he discovers not only that the Queen herself is in danger – but that he and his family are also a target.

Judges’ comments: “Revenger is an exuberant piece of writing, which is beautifully constructed and shows authoritative knowledge of the period. It was felt to be a sharp piece of writing told with panache and a vivid sense of place.”

Runner up
HEARTSTONE by CJ Sansom
Summer, 1545. England is at war. Henry VIII's invasion of France has gone badly wrong, and a massive French fleet is preparing to sail across the Channel. As the English fleet gathers at Portsmouth, the country raises the largest militia army it has ever seen. The King has debased the currency to pay for the war, and England is in the grip of soaring inflation and economic crisis. Meanwhile, Matthew Shardlake is given an intriguing legal case by an old servant of Queen Catherine Parr. Asked to investigate claims of 'monstrous wrongs' committed against a young ward of the court, which have already involved one mysterious death, Shardlake and his assistant Barak journey to Portsmouth. Events converge on board one of the King's great warships, primed for battle in Portsmouth harbour, the Mary Rose.

Judges’ comments: “The two mysteries in Heartstone are well-entwined as it covers one of the most important historical times of turbulence and change, which echo current affairs with ill-advised forays into foreign territory. Unputdownable with a marvellous depth of character.”

Also on the shortlist were:
Washington Shadow – Aly Monroe
Judges’ comments: “A very real story and politically aware.”

Heresy – S J Parris
Judges’ comments: “In this masterly tale set mainly in Oxford, Sir Francis Walsingham appears amidst historical and religious turmoil.”

To Kill A Tsar – Andrew Williams
Judges’ comments: “An energetic book set in Nineteenth Century St Petersburg, which deals with Russian terrorists and echoes those of a more modern IRA.”

The Anatomy of Ghosts – Andrew Taylor.
Judges’ comments: “An intriguing concept told with aplomb.”

Having highly commended the other four books on the shortlist, the judges also mentioned several that just missed out.

The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag – Alan Bradley

Let The Dead Lie – Malla Nunn

Assassin’s Prayer – Ariana Franklin

A Razor in Wrapped Silk – R N Morris.

For press enquiries or more information on the CWA, please visit the website, www.thecwa.co.uk, or contact media.enquiries@thecwa.co.uk