A New Westminster author has been shortlisted for the 2021 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence.
Winona Kent is one of four Canadian authors to make the shortlist for Best Crime Novella. She’s up for her novella Salty Dog Blues, which was published in an anthology called Crime Wave, by Sisters in Crime – Canada West in October 2020.
Kent’s novella is up against C.C. Benison’s The Unpleasantness at the Battle of Thornford, Vicki Delany’s Coral Reef Views and Sam Wiebe’s Never Going Back.
“I'm totally honoured to be in such good company,” Kent said in an email to the Record. “It's like the Oscars - it's a thrill just to be nominated.”
The novella features the character of jazz musician-turned-sleuth Jason Davey, the detective at the heart of Kent's series of mystery novels. Her latest book in that series, Lost Time, was released in August 2020. She’s currently working on the next novel in that series and says she’s hoping to have it ready to go by the end of the year.
The Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, formerly known as the Arthur Ellis Awards, were started in 1984. The annual awards recognize the best in mystery, crime and suspense fiction and crime nonfiction by Canadian authors.
This year’s winners will be announced on May 27.
Follow Julie MacLellan on Twitter @juliemaclellan.
Email Julie, [email protected].
