Malice Domestic 29 - Summing it up...and who won the Agatha Awards?

Welcome to my last post about my trip to Malice Domestic 29!  Today, we will talk about the Agatha's Banquet, tell who won awards for their books and work, and sum up my experience.  I've enjoyed telling about my trip and hope that if you have any questions, you'll feel free to ask in the comments.  First, the banquet:

Lori Rader-Day (R in black/white) - host of my banquet table

Each Malice attendee who also decided to take part in the Agatha Award Banquet received an email giving them the authors who had chosen to 'Host' a table.  We were instructed to select our top 3 and then were notified of the table where we would be seated.  I selected Lori Rader-Day as my #1 choice.  I had met Lori in the coffee shop at Left Coast Crime and had a nice and funny visit with her.  Plus, I had recently read her latest book - The Day I Died - and enjoyed it very much.  The attendees at Lori's table were friendly and nice to talk with.  Lori told us she was a bit tired.  She had been to the Edgar Awards and also had been touring for her new book.  However, she's the kind of person that has a dry sense of humor and I loved listening to her.

Special Malice Domestic dessert

The banquet itself was pretty good - I had chicken, by the way.  The dessert is apparently always something special.  I couldn't believe the Malice 'logo' was part of it.  Chocolate mousse, sponge cake, whipped cream - yum!

Charlaine Harris - Lifetime Achievement Award

Charlaine Harris, author of so many books, many of which have been turned into TV adaptations, was the recipient of the 'Lifetime Achievement Award'.  She is the creator of Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood TV series), Aurora Teagarden (Hallmark Movie Channel), Lily Bard (my favorite character of hers), and the Midnight, Texas series, which is to be on NBC this July.  Whew!  I have read the Lily Bard books and a few of the Aurora series.

Elaine Viets - Guest of Honor

Elaine Viets was the 'Guest of Honor' this year.  Elaine has written several series as well - The Dead End Job series (Helen Hawthorne, main character) and the Mystery Shopper series (Josie Marcus, main character),  I've not read any of Elaine's books, but have certainly heard of them.

Martin Edwards - Poirot Award

Martin Edwards was presented the 'Poirot Award', which is given to those who have made 'outstanding contributions to the Malice Domestic genre'.  Edwards writes a blog called 'Do You Write Under Your Own Name?'.  He currently writes a series set in the Lake District of England - retired Oxford historian Daniel Kind and DCI Hannah Scarlett, Cold Case Squad are the main characters.  I've read a couple of those.  He also wrote The Golden Age of Murder: The Mystery of the Writers Who Invented the Modern Detective Story, which won several awards.  As an expert on the Golden Age of crime fiction, Martin is the series consultant to the British Library's Crime Classics, which are being printed in the US by The Poisoned Pen Press.  I know many mystery readers have enjoyed those books.

Below, I've listed the nominees and the winners for the various categories of Agatha Awards.  I did not do all the links - sorry.  However, you can find these books very easily.

THE AGATHA AWARD NOMINEES AND WINNERS FOR 2017 

Best Contemporary Novel
  * A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny
  ° Body on the Bayou by Ellen Byron
  ° Quiet Neighbors by Catriona McPherson
  ° Fogged Inn by Barbara Ross
  ° Say No More by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Best Historical Novel
  * The Reek of Red Herrings by Catriona McPherson
  ° Whispers Beyond the Veil by Jessica Estevao
  ° Get Me to the Grave on Time by D.E. Ireland
  ° Delivering the Truth by Edith Maxwell
  ° Murder in Morningside Heights by Victoria Thompson

Best First Novel
  * The Semester of Our Discontent by Cynthia Kuhn
  ° Terror in Taffeta by Marla Cooper
  ° Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon
  ° Decanting a Murder by Nadine Nettmann
  ° Design for Dying by Renee Patrick

Best Short Story
  * “Parallel Play” by Art Taylor
  Chesapeake Crimes: Storm Warning
  ° “Double Jinx: A Bellissimo Casino Crime Caper Short Story” by Gretchen Archer
  ° “The Best-Laid Plans” by Barb Goffman
  Malice Domestic 11: Murder Most Conventional
  ° “The Mayor and the Midwife” by Edith Maxwell
  Blood on the Bayou: Bouchercon Anthology 2016
  ° “The Last Blue Glass” by B.K. Stevens
  Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

Best Non-fiction
  * Mastering Suspense, Structure, and Plot: How to Write Gripping Stories that Keep Readers on the Edge of Their Seats by Jane K. Cleland
  ° A Good Man with a Dog: A Game Warden’s 25 Years in the Maine Woods by Roger Guay with Kate Clark Flora
  ° Sara Paretsky: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction by Margaret Kinsman

Best Children’s/Young Adult
  * The Code Busters Club, Case #6: The Secret of the Puzzle Box by Penny Warner
  ° Trapped: A Mei-hua Adventure by P.A. DeVoe
  ° Spy Ski School by Stuart Gibbs
  ° Tag, You’re Dead by J C Lane
  ° The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos

------------------------------------------------------------------

I think that's all I have to tell.  Know it's been a lot, but I hope that you guys have enjoyed hearing about my adventures.  Will I attend this convention again?  Who knows?  Perhaps.  Here's the link for next year's Malice Domestic 30.  I would like to attend Bouchercon, 2017 is in Toronto, 2018 is in St. Petersburg, FL, and, wait for it - 2019 is in DALLAS, TX - can you guess which one I'll most likely sign up for?  It's called Denim, Diamonds and Death, which fits Dallas pretty well.  Ha!  Left Coast Crime will be in Reno, NV in 2018 and Vancouver, Canada in 2019.  If this has sounded like a good time, you should think about signing up for one of these conventions.