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The Dashiell Hammett Prize
Past Winners, Nominees, and Judges
2022
Winner: Pay Dirt Road by Samantha Jayne Allen (Minotaur)
Nominees:
Copperhead Road by Brad Smith (At Bay Press)
Don't Know Tough by Eli Cranor (Soho Crime)
What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline (G.P. Putnam)
Gangland by Chuck Hogan
Judges:
Kenneth Turan (Film critic)
Nancy Kilpatrick (Horror writer and editor)
Ann Goldstein (Translator)
2021
Winner: Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron Books)
Nominees:
Stung by William Deverell (ECW)
Five Decembers by James Kestrel (Hard Case)
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday)
The Sacrifice of Lester Yates by Robin Yocum (Arcade CrimeWise)
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
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 Sara Stewart Taylor (Minotaur)
Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden (Ecco)
Murder in Old Bombay by Nev March (Minotaur)
Judges:
Todd Dickinson (Aaron's Book of Lititz, Pennsylvania)
Mary Norris (Author and Copy Editor of The New Yorker)
Molly Fisk (Poet Laureate of Nevada County, California)
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 Ansansi 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 (Harper Collins)
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, Glob & Mail
Luanne Rice (Novelist)
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