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THE HAMMETT PRIZE:
PAST WINNERS, NOMINEES, AND JUDGES

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)

2003

WINNER: The Seduction of Water by Carol Goodman (Ballantine)

NOMINEES:

  • The Delicate Storm by Giles Blunt (Putnam Publishing Group)
  • Tropic of Night by Michael Gruber (William Morrow)
  • Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (William Morrow)
  • Every Secret Thing: A Novel by Laura Lippman (William Morrow)

JUDGES:

  • Margot Bettauer Dembo (Translator)
  • Sidney Offit (Author)
  • Richard Ouzounian (Toronto Star)

2002

WINNER: Honor's Kingdom by Owen Parry (Morrow)

NOMINEES:

  • Jolie Blon's Bounce by James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster)
  • The Eighth Day by John Case (Ballantine)
  • Flykiller by Robert Janes (McArthur/Orion)
  • Bad Boy Brawly Brown by Walter Mosley (Little, Brown)

JUDGES:

  • Robert Con Davis-Undiano (World Literature Today)
  • Dennis Drabelle (Washington Post Book World)
  • Elizabeth Hay (Author)

2001

WINNER: Kingdom of Shadows by Alan Furst (Random House)

NOMINEES:

  • Mystic River by Dennis Lehane (William Morrow)
  • Silent Joe by T. Jefferson Parker (Hyperion)
  • Right as Rain by George P. Pelecanos (Little, Brown)
  • Hollowpoint by Rob Reuland (Random House)

JUDGES:

  • Neil Baldwin (author)
  • Mike O'Connor (publisher)
  • Elisabeth Weis (critic)

2000

WINNER: The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (Doubleday/McClelland & Stewart)

NOMINEES:

  • Hot Springs by Stephen Hunter (Simon & Schuster)
  • The Bottoms by Joe R. Lansdale (Mysterious Press)
  • The Ice Harvest by Scott Phillips (Ballantine)
  • One-Eyed Jacks by Brad Smith (Doubleday Canada)

JUDGES:

  • Bill Brownstein (The Montreal Gazette)
  • Elizabeth Macklin (poet)
  • David M. Van Leer (critic)

1999

WINNER: Havana Bay by Martin Cruz Smtih (Random House)

NOMINEES:

  • Heartwood by James Lee Burke (Doubleday)
  • L.A. Requiem by Robert Crais (Doubleday)
  • In a Dry Season by Peter Robinson (Avon)
  • Personal Injuries by Scott Turow (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

JUDGES:

  • Lewis Lapham (Harper's Magazine)
  • Katha Pollitt (poet, critic, The Nation)
  • Marie Winn (author)

1998

WINNER: Tidewater Blood by William Hoffman (Algonquin)

NOMINEES:

  • Praying to a Laughing God by Kevin McColley (Simon & Schuster)
  • The Man Who Stole the Mona Lisa by Robert Noah (St. Martin's)
  • The Last Days of Il Duce by Domenic Stansberry (Permanant)
  • Tomato Red by Daniel Woodrell (Holt)

JUDGES:

  • Barbara Ehrenreich (author)
  • Nina King (Washington Post Book World)
  • Ann Porter (Key Porter Books)

1997

WINNER: Trial of Passion by William Deverell (McClelland & Stewart)

NOMINEES:

  • Cimarron Rose by James Lee Burke (Hyperion)
  • Trunk Music by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)
  • A Wasteland of Strangers by Bill Pronzini (Walker)
  • Acts of Murder by L. R. Wright (Doubleday Canada)

JUDGES:

  • Margeret Cannon (Toronto Globe & Mail)
  • Mark Danner (author)
  • Victor Navasky (The Nation)

1996

WINNER: Rose by Martin Cruz Smith (Random House)

NOMINEES:

  • The Poet by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)
  • Buzz Cut by James W. Hall (Delacorte)
  • Innocent Graves by Peter Robinson (Viking)
  • Damaged Goods by Stephen Solomita (Scribner)

JUDGES:

  • C. J. Cherryh (author)
  • John Hollander (critic)
  • Andre Schiffrin (The New Press)

1995

WINNER: Under the Beetle's Cellar by Mary Willis Walker (Doubleday)

NOMINEES:

  • Smithereens by Susan Taylor Chehak (Doubleday)
  • The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)
  • Breakheart Hill by Thomas H. Cook (Bantam)
  • True Crime by Andrew Klavan (Crown)

JUDGES:

  • Robert Fulford (Toronto Globe & Mail)
  • Shannon Ravenel (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill)
  • Jane Urquhart (author)

1994

WINNER: Dixie City Jam by James Lee Burke (Hyperion)

NOMINEES:

  • Dogs of God by Pinckney Benedict (Doubleday)
  • Shot in the Heart by Mikal Gilmore (Doubleday)
  • Third and Indiana by Steve Lopez (Viking)
  • Shinju by Laura Joh Rowland (Random House)

JUDGES:

  • Frederick Barthelme (author)
  • Alan Cheuse (All Things Considered)
  • Esther Margolis (Newmarket Press)

1993

WINNER: The Mexican Tree Druck by James Crumley (Mysterious Press)

NOMINEES:

  • The Black Ice by Michael Connelly (Little Brown)
  • By Evil Means by Sandra West Prowell (Walker)
  • Catilina's Riddle by Steven Saylor (St. Martin's Press)
  • An Occasional Hell by Randall Silvis (Permanent Press)

JUDGES:

  • Margaret Atwood (author)
  • Digby Diehl (critic)
  • David R. Godine (Publisher, Godine)

1992

WINNER: Turtle Moon by Alice Hoffman (Putnam)

SPECIAL MENTION: The Ones You Do by Daniel Woodrell (Holt)

NOMINEES:

  • Trick of the Eye by Jane Stanton Hitchcock (Dutton)
  • White Butterfly by Walter Mosley (Norton)
  • Humans by Donald E. Westlake (Mysterious Press)

JUDGES:

  • Joni Evans (Turtle Bay)
  • Herbert Gold (author)
  • Raymond Sokolov (The Wall Street Journal)

1991

WINNER: Maximum Bob by Elmore Leonard (Delacorte)

NOMINEES:

  • Elsinore by Jerome Charyn (Mysterious Press)
  • Murther & Walking Spirits by Robertson Davies (Viking)
  • Harlot's Ghost by Norman Mailer (Random House)
  • The Women of Whitechapel & Jack the Ripper by Paul West (Random House)

JUDGES:

  • Joyce Carol Oates (author)
  • Elizabeth Pochoda (Entertainment Weekly)
  • Alan D. Williams (Grove Press)