Congratulations to the winners of the 2026 Edgar Awards. The awards were presented by the Mystery Writers of America in New York City on April 29. If you’d like to order any of the books, check the Webstore, https://store.poisonedpen.com/.
The first and only President’s Award was presented to Margery Flax, the one and only staff member for MWA.
The Mary Higgins Clark Award – All This Could Be Yours – Hank Phillippi Ryan
Sue Grafton Memorial Award – Gone in the Night – Joanna Schaffhausen
Lilian Jackson Braun Memorial Award – A Senior Citizen’s Guide to Life on the Run – Gwen Florio
Robert L. Fish Memorial Award – “How It Happened” – Billie Kay Fern, in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
Best Juvenile – Blood in the Water – Tiffany D. Jackson
Best Young Adult – Under the Same Stars – Libba Bray
Best Critical Biographical – Edgar Allan Poe: A Life – Richard Kopley
Best Fact Crime – Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers – Caroline Fraser
Best Short Story – “Julius Katz Draws a Straight Flush” by Dave Zeltserman. Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Sept-Oct., 2025
Best Paperback Original – The Backwater – Vikki Wakefield
Best First Novel by an American Author – Dead Money – Jakob Kerr
Best Mystery Novel – The Big Empty – Robert Crais
