John Jeneroux wins Crime Writers of Canada's Unhanged Arthur Award

John Jeneroux accepting Arthur Ellis Award for Best Unpublished First Novel
June 2, 2011, at the Grand Pacific Hotel, Victoria, B.C.

Congratulations to John Jeneroux! He's won the prestigious Unhanged Arthur Award for his unpublished novel, Better Off Dead. The Unhanged Arthur is one of several Arthur Ellis awards given by the Crime Writers of Canada association for outstanding crime writing.

The judges describe Better Off Dead as a: "strong first novel with snappy dialogue combined with poignant writing that is, by turns, insightful, gritty, harrowing, and humorous. Jeneroux’s characters are likeable. Better of Dead is elevated from the stereotype with a sharp sense of timing, smooth writing, and a page-turning plot."

In addition to winning a cash prize, John's novel is now under consideration for publication by McArthur & Company.

Other winners:
Louise Penny won the Best Crime Novel award for Bury Your Dead, published by Little, Brown UK
Avner Mandleman won Best First Crime novel for The Debba, published by Other Press.
Jacques Côté won Best French Crime Book award for Dans le quartier des agités, published by Alire Press
Alice Kuipers won Best Juvenile/Young Adult Crime Book for The Worst Thing She Ever Did, published by HarperCollins
Stevie Cameron won Best Crime Nonfiction for On the Farm, published by Knopf Canada
Mary Jane Maffini won Best Crime Short Story for “So Much in Common,” published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (submission info here).
And Louise Allin and N.A.T. Grant won Derrick Murdoch special achievement awards for contributions to the crime genre.

For information about submitting to the Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Unpublished Novel, see here.
 
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