JUDGES:
Mae Woods (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)
Meta Carstarphen (Editor at Communication Booknotes Quarterly)
Jennifer Fremlin (writer and professor, Huntingdon College, Alabama)

2020

2020 WINNER: When These Mountains Burn, by David Joy (G.P. Putnam's)

NOMINEES:
Three Hours in Paris, by Cara Black (Soho)
The Mountains Wild, by Sarah Stewart Taylor (Minotaur)
Winter Counts, by David Heska Wanbli Weiden (Ecco)
Murder in Old Bombay, by Nev March (Minotaur)

JUDGES:
Todd Dickinson (Aaron's Books of Lititz, Pennsylvania)
Mary Norris (Author and Copy Editor at The New Yorker)
Molly Fisk (Poet Laureate of Nevada County, California)

2019

2019 WINNER: Bluff, by Jane Stanton Hitchcock(Poisoned Pen Press)

NOMINEES:
The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols, by Nicholas Meyer
(Minotaur Books)
Blood Relations, by Jonathan Moore (Mariner Books)
The Murals, by William Bayer (Severn House)
Norco '80: The True Story of the Most Spectacular Bank Robbery in American History, by Peter Houlahan (Counterpoint)

JUDGES:
Marina Endicott (Author)
Rob Vollmar (Book Editor, World Literature Today)
Deborah Dundas (Book Reviewer, Toronto Star)

2018

2018 WINNER: November Road, by Lou Berney (William Morrow)

NOMINEES:
Paris in the Dark, by Robert Olen Butler
(Mysterious Press)
The Lonely Witness, by William Boyle (Pegasus)
Cut You Down, by Sam Wiebe (Random House Canada)
Under My Skin, by Lisa Unger (Park Row)

JUDGES:
Gary Giddins (Jazz Critic, Author)
Steven Beattie (Editor, Quill and Quire)
Kristin Bates (Book Seller)

2017

2017 WINNER: August Snow, by Stephen Mack Jones (Soho Crime)

NOMINEES:
The Marsh King's Daughter: A Novel, by Karen Dionne
(G. P. Putnam’s Sons)
The Tragedy of Brady Sims: A Novel, by Ernest J. Gaines (Vintage)
Two Days Gone: A Novel, by Randall Silvis (Sourcebooks Landmark)

JUDGES:
Vera Marowitz (Bookstore Manager)
Robert Sutherland-Cohen (Author)
John Timpane (Media & Fine Arts Editor, Philadelphia Inquirer)

2016

2016 WINNER: The White Devil, by Domenic Stansberry
(Molotov Editions)

NOMINEES:
The Second Life of Nick Mason, by Steve Hamilton
(G.P. Putnam's Sons)
The Drifter, by Nicholas Petrie (G.P. Putnam's Sons)
Revolver, by Duane Swierczynski (Mulholland Books)
The Big Nothing, by Bob Truluck (Murmur House Press)

JUDGES:
Margot Bettauer Dembo (Translator)
Ron Koltnow (Former PSales Rep/Critic)
David Nasaw (Author)

2015

WINNER: The Do-Right, by Lisa Sandlin (Cinco Puntos Press)


NOMINEES:

The Stranger, by Harlan Coben (Dutton)
Sorrow Lake: A March and Walker Crime Novel,
by Michael J. McCann (Plaid Raccoon Press)
The Whites: A Novel, by Richard Price,
writing as Harry Brandt (Henry Holt)
The Organ Broker: A Novel, by Stu Strumwasser (Arcade)


JUDGES

Peter Eckersall (Author/Critic)
Gina Pollock (Bookseller)
Luanne Rice (Author)

2014

WINNER: Mr. Mercedes: A Novel, by Stephen King (Scribner)

NOMINEES:

Wayfaring Stranger: A Novel, by James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster)
Smoke River, by Krista Foss (McClelland & Stewart)
Gangsterland: A Novel, by Tod Goldberg (Counterpoint)
Goodhouse: A Novel, by Peyton Marshall (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

JUDGES

Morris Dickstein (Author/Critic)
Daniel Simon (Editor-in-Chief, World Literature Today)
Frank Wilson (Former Books Editor, Philadelphia Inquirer, Blogger@#booksinq)

2013

WINNER: Angel Baby: A Novel, by Richard Lange (Mulholland)

NOMINEES:

Cataract City: A Novel, by Craig Davidson (Doubleday Canada)
Green Light for Murder, by Heywood Gould (Tyrus Books)
Caught, by Lisa Moore (House of Anansi Press)
The Double, by George P. Pelecanos (Little, Brown)

JUDGES

Steven Kruger (Author/Critic)
Ben McNally (Bookseller)
Karen Solie (Poet)

2012

WINNER: Oregon Hill, by Howard Owen (Permanent)

NOMINEES:

Defending Jacob: A Novel, by William Landay (Delacorte)
Truth Like the Sun: A Novel, by Jim Lynch (Knopf)
Patient Number 7, by Kurt Palka (McClelland & Stewart)
Alif the Unseen, by G. Willow Wilson (Emblem/Canada; Grove/US)

JUDGES

Rob Dougherty (Bookseller)
Janet Groth (Author)
Edward D. Miller (Author/Critic)

2011

WINNER: The Killer is Dying: A Novel, by James Sallis
(Walker & Company)


NOMINEES:

Feast Day of Fools: A Novel, by James Lee Burke
(Simon & Schuster)
Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead, by Sara Gran
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
The Cat's Table, by Michael Ondaatje
(McClelland & Stewart)
The Informant, by Thomas Perry
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/An Otto Penzler Book)

JUDGES

Kevin Connolly (Poet/Editor)
Eileen Hutton (Brilliance Audio)
Paula J. Massood (Author/Critic)

2010

WINNER: The Nearest Exit, by Olen Steinhauer (St. Martin's/Minotaur)

NOMINEES:

Get Capone: The Secret Plot That Captured
America's Most Wanted Gangster,
by Jonathan Eig (Simon & Schuster)
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter: A Novel,
by Tom Franklin (William Morrow
Iron River, by T. Jefferson Parker (Dutton)

JUDGES

David Savran (Author)
Bonnie Scherr (Ivy Book Store, Baltimore)
Robin Whitten (AudioFile)

2009

WINNER: The Manual of Detection: A Novel, by Jedediah Berry (Penguin Press)

NOMINEES:

Bury Me Deep: A Novel, by Megan E. Abbott (Simon & Schuster)
Devil's Garden, by Ace Atkins (Putnam)
The Long Fall, by Walter Mosley (Riverhead)
The Way Home, by George Pelecanos (Little, Brown)

JUDGES

Stephanie Anderson (WORD Book Store)
Glenn Burger (Author)
Tamar Lewin (National Reporter, New York Times)

2008

WINNER: The Turnaround, by George Pelecanos (Little, Brown)

NOMINEES:

• Leading Lady, by Heywood Gould (Five Star)
• The Finder: A Novel, by Colin Harrison Sarah Crichton Books/Farrar,Straus & Giroux)
• City of the Sun: A Novel, by David Levien (Doubleday)
• South by South Bronx, by Abraham Rodriguez (Akashic)

JUDGES:

• Harvey Finkel (Clinton Book Shop)
• John Matteson (Author)
• Carolyn Wakeman (Author/Critic)

2007

WINNER: The Outlander, by Gil Adamson (House of Anansi Press)

NOMINEES:

• The Yiddish Policemen's Union: A Novel, by Michael Chabon
  (HarperCollins)
• End Games: An Aurelio Zen Mystery, by Michael Dibdin [1947-
  2007] (Pantheon)
• Dahlia's Gone: A Novel, by Katie Estill (St. Martin’s)
• Stalin's Ghost: An Arkady Renko Novel, by Martin Cruz Smith 
  (Simon & Schuster)

JUDGES:

• Gary Giddins (Author, Critic)
• Michael Posner (Arts Features writer, Globe and Mail)
• Luanne Rice (Novelist)

2006

WINNER: The Prisoner of Guantánamo, by Dan Fesperman (Knopf)

NOMINEES:

• Ghost Dancer, by John Case (Ballantine)
• Dark Companion, by Jim Nisbet (Dennis MacMillan)
• The Crimes of Jordan Wise, by Bill Pronzini (Walker)
• Four Kinds of Rain, by Robert Ward (St. Martin's)

JUDGES:

• Joe Drabyak (Bookseller, President, New Atlantic Booksellers Association)
• Jill Lepore (Author, Critic)
• Eric Ormsby (Poet, Essayist)

2005

WINNER: Alibi: A Novel, by Joseph Kanon (Henry Holt)

NOMINEES:

• Islandbridge, by John Brady (McArthur & Co.)
• The Door to Bitterness, by Martin Límon (Soho Crime)
• No Country for Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy (Knopf)
• The Power of the Dog, by Don Winslow (Knopf)

JUDGES:

• André Aciman (Author)
• Karen Rothmyer (Editor, The Nation)
• Lynn Slotkin (Theatre reviewer, CBC-Radio/The Slotkin Letter)

2004

WINNER: Prince of Thieves: A Novel by Chuck Hogan (Scribner)

NOMINEES:

• The Havana Room by Colin Harrison (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
• The Madman's Tale: A Novel by John Katzenbach 
  (Ballantine)
• California Girl: A Novel by T. Jefferson Parker (William
  Morrow)
• Playing with Fire: A Novel of Suspense by Peter Robinson 
  (William Morrow)

JUDGES:

• Joe Cahill (Editor, Crain’s Chicago Business)
• Mary Ann Caws (Critic, Translator)
• Benjamin Cheever (Author)