THE HAMMETT PRIZE:
PAST WINNERS, NOMINEES, AND JUDGES
2015
WINNER: TBA
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 Do-Right, by Lisa Sandlin (Cinco Puntos Press)
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)
