Awards Archive - Check It Out

Check It Out

Winners from ThrillerFest

The 2012 Thriller Awards were announced this week, and each winner is action-packed and adrenaline-fueled!

Best First Novel: Spiral by Robert McEuen

Best Hardcover Novel: 11/22/63 by Stephen King

Best Paperback Original Novel: The Last Minute by Jeff Abbott

2012 ThrillerMaster: Jack Higgins

True Thriller Award: Ann Rule

Silver Bullet Award: Richard North Patterson

Honors were bestowed on the final day of the seventh annual ThrillerFest, the annual conference of the International Thriller Writers, who also publish a monthly webzine The Big Thrill.

By Readers' Advisor on July 18, 2012 Categories: Awards, Books, Mysteries/Thrillers/Suspense

Once Reinvented, Eight Times Rewarded

Remakes seem to be the norm of late, rather than the exception. To be successful, they need to bring something new to the story, and that is certainly the case with the Broadway production of Once: A New Musical. Staying true to the original, but playing with instrumentals and a cappella performances, the 2012 Tony Award winner for Best Musical (and in seven other categories, too!), enchants with beautiful stringwork and Steve Kazee’s especially soulful performance as The Guy. Since the actors also serve as the band, the collaborative effort rings with authenticity, and the international influences are enhanced. Fall slowly in love all over again with the original Broadway cast recording of Once: A New Musical.

By Readers' Advisor on July 9, 2012 Categories: Awards, Music

Locus Awards Honor Readers’ Favorites

The people have spoken! The 2012 Locus Awards, honoring winners of Locus: The Magazine of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Field’s annual readers’ poll, have been announced. Why not choose your summer reading from books selected by fans themselves? Click to see a complete list of winners and other finalists.

Fantasy Novel: A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin

Science Fiction Novel: Embassytown by China Miéville

First Novel: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Young Adult Book: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

Novella: “Silently and Very Fast” by Catherynne M. Valente

Novelette: “White Lines on a Green Field” by Catherynne M. Valente

Short Story: “The Case of Death and Honey” by Neil Gaiman

Anthology: The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Eighth Annual Collection, edited by Gardner Dozois

By Readers' Advisor on June 20, 2012 Categories: Awards, Books, Fantasy & Sci-Fi

Celebrate June is Audiobook Month

Just in time to highlight great listens for summer reading, the winners of the 2012 Audie Awards have been announced! Honoring the year’s best recordings in a rich mix of categories, these awards are a perfect source of listening suggestions while traveling on vacation, basking in the sun, or making everyday routines more exciting. Try one of the most recent winners below or sample past Audiobooks of the Year. Need more incentive? Don’t forget that listening to an audiobook counts as reading in our Summer Reading Program!

Audiobook of the Year: Bossypants by Tina Fey

Solo Narration (Male): Simon Vance, narrator of The King’s Speech

Biography/Memoir: Bossypants by Tina Fey

Fantasy: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Humor: Shatner Rules by William Shatner with Chris Regan

Literary Fiction: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Multi-Voiced Performance: A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

Mystery: Feast Day of Fools by James Lee Burke

Narration by the Author: Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Personal Development: Prime Time by Jane Fonda

Romance: New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb

Thriller/Suspense: The Nightmare Thief by Meg Gardiner

By Readers' Advisor on June 11, 2012 Categories: Audiobooks, Awards, Fantasy & Sci-Fi, Humor, Literary, Mysteries/Thrillers/Suspense, Nonfiction, Romance

New Stars in the Nebula

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America announced the winners of the 2012 Nebula Awards this weekend. Expand your universe with one of these stellar honorees:

Best Novel: Among Others by Jo Walton

Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy: The Freedom Maze by Delia Sherman. [Bonus: read an original interview with author Delia Sherman and MPPL!]

Best Novella: The Man Who Bridged the Mist by Kij Johnson (Asimov’s Science Fiction, October/November 2011 – available to read online)

Best Short Story: “The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March/April 2011 – available to read online)

By Readers' Advisor on May 23, 2012 Categories: Awards, Books, Fantasy & Sci-Fi

Edgar Award Winning Mysteries

Follow the clues to discover the best mystery writing of the year. The Mystery Writers of America recently named the winners of the 2012 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, and it would be a crime for you to leave these cases unsolved:

Best Novel: Gone by Mo Hayder

Best First Novel: Bent Road by Lori Roy

Best Fact Crime: Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard

Best Critical Biographical: On Conan Doyle: Or, The Whole Art of Storytelling by Michael Dirda

Best Young Adult: The Silence of Murder by Dandi Daley Mackall

Best Juvenile: Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby

By Readers' Advisor on May 9, 2012 Categories: Awards, Books, Mysteries/Thrillers/Suspense

LISTS: Orange Prize for Fiction

As Women’s History Month draws to a close, be sure to check out the best in women’s contemporary writing. The Orange Prize for Fiction was created in 1996 to celebrate excellence, originality, and accessibility in women’s writing throughout the world. Honorees include Bel Canto by Ann Patchett and On Beauty by Zadie Smith.

Click here to see a complete list of the winners of the Orange Prize for Fiction.

By Readers' Advisor on March 30, 2012 Categories: Awards, Books, Lists

A Book for Every Taste

We understand that not everyone is interested in books that win important literary prizes. Sometimes you just want to find a thrilling new story in your favorite category. If you can relate, be sure to check out the recent winners and nominees of the The Reading List, which honors the best in genre fiction. These must-reads are selected by librarians who know which titles not only have the best buzz but also live up to the hype. See below for the winners and click here for readalikes and the runners-up.

Adrenaline: Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
Fantasy: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Historical Fiction: Doc by Mary Doria Russell
Horror: The Ridge by Michael Koryta
Mystery: The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino
Romance: Silk is for Seduction by Loretta Chase
Science Fiction: Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
Women’s Fiction: The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

By Readers' Advisor on February 13, 2012 Categories: Awards, Books, Fantasy & Sci-Fi, Historical Fiction, Horror, Mysteries/Thrillers/Suspense, Romance

National Book Award Winners

“You owe it to yourself to read this book,” wrote Library Journal, and the judges emphatically agree. Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn West is the newly announced winner of the National Book Award for Fiction. In this powerful story, a pregnant 14-year-old living in dire poverty tells of her family’s struggle to prepare their rural Mississippi property for a hurricane that happens to be called Katrina. Stephen Greenblatt took top Nonfiction honors for The Swerve: How the World Became Modern, and Thanhha Lai’s Inside Out & Back Again won in the Young People’s Literature category. Click here for a complete list of finalists and interviews with the authors.

By MPPL on November 19, 2011 Categories: Awards, Books, Literary, Nonfiction

Out-of-This-World Entertainment

The 2011 Hugo Awards, the leading honor in the field of science fiction and fantasy, were announced this weekend in a culmination of record voter turnout. The big winner? The one-two punch of Blackout and All Clear, from the always excellent Connie Willis, in which time-traveling historians discover that World War II is spiraling out of control.

Best Novel - Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis

Best Novelette - “The Emperor of Mars” by Allen M. Steele (included in The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Eighth Annual Collection)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form - Inception, written and directed by Christopher Nolan

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form - Doctor Who, “The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang”, written by Steven Moffat, directed by Toby Haynes

Best Professional Artist - Shaun Tan

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer - Lev Grossman

By MPPL on August 24, 2011 Categories: Awards, Books, Fantasy & Sci-Fi, Movies and Television