Another (e-book) Party Heard From

In the midst of all this e-book hoopla that has been appearing in articles, web sites and blogs, Barnes and Noble, world's largest bookstore chain, announced that they would be opening a "mega e-book store" on their site, bn.com.

According to the NYT article: "In an announcement on Monday, Barnes & Noble said that it would offer more than 700,000 books that could be read on a wide range of devices, including Apple's iPhone, the BlackBerry and various laptop or desktop computers. When Barnes & Noble acquired Fictionwise in March, that online retailer had about 60,000 books in its catalog."

Me personally, I'll always have this thing for paper books. Call me a sentimentalist. And I think the other reason that e-readers are not a bigger percentage of book sales is the cost. Most readers are still around $300 and above, as opposed to mass-market paperbacks which are generally all $7.99. Still a little high for a mass market book, but still readily affordable to many more people.

Now, I realize, I'm far from the first person to mention e-books, and I certainly won't be the last. But I'm curious to know, what do you all think of the whole e-book thing in general? Is it the true future of publishing? Will it make the printed book a thing of the past? How will this affect authors and the publishing industry as a whole?

Anyone who comments on this within the next week or so, will be entered in a drawing for two $25 gift cards. One for Barnes and Noble and one Visa for just about anything you'd like.

Frank McCourt Passes Away

Frank McCourt, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir Angela's Ashes, as well as New York City school teracher of almost thirty years, passed away yesterday from cancer at the age of 78.

McCourt had been treated for melanoma but then became seriously ill with meningitis. He died at a hospice in New York City, according to his brother Malachy.

McCourt considered himself to be a late bloomer in the publishing world. Angela's Ashes was published in 1996 when McCourt was 66.

Kindle Goes "Big Time"

Think of it as the large print edition for the Kindle.

This past Wednesday at Pace University, Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos introduced the new Kindle DX (that's deluxe). Designed primarily for reading book pages, this latest version of the Kindle has a screen that's two and a half times larger than the regular Kindle. Bezos stated also gave limited information about deals with partnerships whose goal it is to put Kindles into the hands of more university students and newspaper readers.

Of course, this new Kindle comes with a new hefty price tag: $489.

According to an article in the New York Times, six colleges and universities -- Pace, Arizona State, Case Western Reserve, Princeton, Reed College and the University of Virginia -- would begin testing the "large print" Kindle with students later this year.

In another agreement, three major newspapers -- The New York Times, Boston Globe, and Washington Post -- offered the KDX at a reduced price in exchange for long-term subscriptions, but only in areas where the print editions were not available.

I can understand the goal of wanting to save the environment as well as being a convenience so that we don't have to carry around numerous tomes with us everywhere we go, but I believe that Amazon, as well as other companies who are pushing a "paperless society" with their e-readers are overlooking a very : There are MANY people who can't pay the large price. In a society that has sky high rates on essentials (such as health care and education), a high homeless population, and people who have to live check by check, these pricey e-readers are not accessible to the masses, unlike a newspaper or paperback book.

You've all heard my opinions on this before, so, what do you think about this whole Amazon/e-reader thing?

Anyone who leaves a comment will get the chance at a gift card from Barnes and Noble. I'll announce the winner within the next few days (or posts) from now.

(Sorry, I'm one of the masses who can't afford the Kindle DX to offer as a prize)

Apologies in advance if i don't answer right away. I'll be on the road for most of the day.

Cheeta Tells All

Apparently, Lassie can do more than just let people know that little Timmy is stuck in a well. She also reviews a book or two every so often. Her latest is a review of Cheeta the Chimp's tell-all book Me Cheeta: My Life in Hollywood. One has to wonder what Cheeta has to reveal about Tarzan, Jane, Boy and the rest of the odd jungle characters.

Don't Misunderestimate Me

We knew that this moment was coming. It was only a matter of time. Former president George W. Bush is working on a book. However, it won't be a traditional memoir, but rather a telling of twelve difficult decisions (both political and personal) that he had to make in his life. The book, tentatively titled Decision Points, is scheduled to be published in 2010 by Crown Publishing.

Well, at least this can be said: Should the book sell well, the people at Crown will have no problem in having money to help put food on their families.

Story Not Included

Before I get to this, I just need to do bit of housekeeping. I just remembered that I never picked a winner for the chap book for Nox Dormienda, that I was giving away to a commenter from my post Hodie Ego sum Centum (Today I am 100). So, without further ado, the winner of the chap book is Stephen D. Rogers. Congratulations Stephen. Could you please e-mail me at rj@rjmangahas.com with your snail mail so I can get your prize off to you? Now, that that's taken care of, on with the post.
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There are certainly a lot of changes going on in the publishing industry, not just with the reorganizing, but also with the technology involved. Today there are e-readers, such as the Kindle from Amazon and print on demand services where anybody with a credit card can pay some money and call themselves published. But there is another thing that has changed in the publishing industy and that's HOW people write. In olden times, it was carvings on a cave wall. In Shakespeare's day it was a feather quill and parchement. Later, pencils and pens, then typewriters and finally word processors. But that too has evolved.

There are now a variety of programs used to assist in writing: From Final Draft for screenplays and stage plays to New Novelist for, well, novels. Many of these programs have features such as automatic formating, character databases, virtual index cards complete with corkboard and push pins and outline modes. Yes, sir. These are loaded with all sorts of neat things. Plus according to the ads, they will help the user write the next big blockbuster or Great American Novel. But you know what? Despite all the bells and whistles these programs have, there's one thing that none of them can do: and that's write the actual story. Listen, it doesn't matter how fancy these wriitng programs are. The story has to come from you. As I said, long before all this fancy technology, books and screenplays were being written. People just used real index cards and corkboards.

As for myself, I do a majority of my writing on a laptop. But when it comes to certain scenes and editing (on hard copy mind you) I rely on the Faber Castell 9000 3B Drawing pencil.

So, how about you all? What do you prefer to write with? Whether you're a writer or not, I'm interested to know.

Sign of the Times?

Much like other businesses during these tough economic times, the publishing industry is also suffering. But has it truly reached the point that major NY publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt actually told their editors to "temporarily" stop acquiring manuscripts? (Additional NYT article here)

Bouchercon: A look back

I arrived home yesterday from my very first Bouchercon. My head is still doing a bit of spinning. It was a rather large conference of about 1400 people. I could go on about the panels, of which there were quite some good ones, including one on Edgar Allan Poe (this year's con was held in Baltimore), and one on TV and it's place in the crime fiction world. Instead, much like author Louise Ure did today over at Murderati, I would like to talk about the moments that meant more to me (as an unpublished writer among some of the published). Let me just say that, I really felt so welcome among the crowds of readers and writers. Many have told me that there is such a sense of family among the crime writing community. That is certainly true.

Here are just some of the things that made my first Bouchercon such a wonderful experience.

* Meeting Ken Bruen on Wednesday night as I showed up for registration. I also got to meet his lovely fiancee Lisa. You could really see the spark in Ken's eyes when he was with her. And if you haven't read any of Ken Bruen's books yet, you're REALLY missing out on superb writing.

* Getting to hang out with Kelli Stanley. Kelli is the author of the book Nox Dormienda a brilliantly written crime novel written in what she calls "roman noir." It's basically done in the hard boiled noir style but just happens to be set around the time of Rome's conquest of Britain. Better than that though, she is probably one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet.

* Being invited to the Murderati get-together at the bar on Saturday and meeting the authors of the blog as well as two of the other regulars Will Bereswill and B.G. Ritts. I felt very welcomed among this group. Sadly, there were members who were not there: J.T. Ellison, Toni McGee Causey, Allison Brennan and Tess Gerritsen.

* Having a couple of drinks with J.A. Konrath. He may be loud and obnoxious (hey, he's told me this himself), but he is very generous with advice. Just check out his blog and you'll see.

* Going along with editors Gary Phillips and Chris Chambers as well as some of the authors of The Darker Mask anthology (a great book from what I've heard) to their signing at Red Emma's coffee shop and bookstore.

* Chatting with author Zoe Sharp and getting some good advice about some of my writing techniques (thanks so much Zoe). I also had the pleasure of getting to know her husband Andy. I even got to have dinner with them along with other U.K. writers Stuart MacBride, Sophie Hannah and Meg Chittenden.

* Meeting Karen Syed, president and publisher of Echelon Press.

* Discussing things supernatural with Alexandra Sokoloff, whose book The Price is a great read. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of meeting Alex in person, you can feel a certain energy when you talk with her.

* Being mentioned in some other Bouchercon blog posts. It's truly an honor to named in some of the blogs that I read and comment on on a regular basis.

* Once again seeing writer and fellow TV nut Lee Lofland. For those of you who don't know, Lee is a great source of information on all things law enforcement. His book Police Procedure and Investigation should be a standard in every crime writer's reference library.

* Though not part of the actual conference, I got to see Edgar Allan Poe's grave. There was however a great panel about Poe as part of B'Con.

These are only some of the things that will really make me remember this Bouchercon. I also got to meet a whole host of other writers including Jason Pinter, Eric Stone, Bill Cameron. Marcus Sakey, Michelle Gagnon, Jason Starr, Christa Faust and Troy Cook as well as agent Janet Reid.

If I have not mentioned someone that I've met (and I know I'm missing plenty) please forgive me. Just know that I enjoyed meeting you.

And finally, there are two sets of very special thanks that need to go out. The first is to Ruth and Jon Jordan and Judy Bobalik for organizing this wonderful event.

The second goes out to the staff of The Sheraton that hosted Bouchercon. Despite your troubles with Labor dispute, you all provided such wonderful and friendly service and for that you deserve much thanks. Know that your efforts were appreciated

Well kids, that's it. I had a great time and I'm looking forward to next year's Bouchercon in Indianapolis.

Perhaps one of the best (and biggest) Book on All Things Publishing

With all the books on writing and publishing, how do you decide which one to pick? There so many factors to consider here: Cost, Who Wrote it, What aspects are covered. Well, to help you navigate though it, let me throw in this suggestion. J.A. Konrath, author of the Jack Daniel's Mystery Series, has recently released Newbie's Guide to Publishing. It may be the name of his blog, but now it's in book form. Covering everything from writing, to querying, to self-promotion (I can't think of another author who does so much in the way of self promotion), it's your one-stop shopping guide to questions you may have about publishing. And the best part? This book is ABSOLUTELY, 100% FREE. Just hop on over to J.A.'s website and download it for free.

I am Amazon, hear me roar!

Apparently, small presses are also now feeling the strong arm tactics by Amazon.com. This started with Amazon saying that any POD book that is sold on Amazon.com must be printed by BookSurge. Those who don't comply, will have the buy button on their page "turned off."

For those of you who may not be up to speed or want a quick refresher course of what exactly is going on, you can find out at the Writer's Weekly website.

May I have the envelope please?

The Mystery Writers of America has announced 2008's winners of the Edgar Awards.

Best Novel

• Christine Falls by Benjamin Black (Henry Holt and Company)

• Priest by Ken Bruen (St. Martin's Minotaur)
  
  
• The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins)
  
  
• Soul Patch by Reed Farrel Coleman (Bleak House Books)
  
  
• Down River by John Hart (St. Martin's Minotaur)

Best First Novel by an American Author

• Missing Witness by Gordon Campbell (HarperCollins - William Morrow)

• In the Woods by Tana French (Penguin Group - Viking)
  
  
• Snitch Jacket by Christopher Goffard (The Rookery Press)
  
  
• Head Games by Craig McDonald (Bleak House Books)
  
  
• Pyres by Derek Nikitas (St. Martin's Minotaur)

Best Paperback Original

• Queenpin by Megan Abbott (Simon & Schuster)

• Blood of Paradise by David Corbett (Random House - Mortalis)
  
  
• Cruel Poetry by Vicki Hendricks (Serpent's Tail)
  
  
• Robbie's Wife by Russell Hill (Hard Case Crime)
  
  
• Who is Conrad Hirst? by Kevin Wignall (Simon & Schuster)

Best Critical/Biographical

• The Triumph of the Thriller: How Cops, Crooks and Cannibals Captured Popular Fiction by Patrick Anderson (Random House)

• A Counter-History of Crime Fiction: Supernatural, Gothic, Sensational by Maurizio Ascari (Palgrave Macmillan)
  
  
• Deviance in Contemporary Crime Fiction by Christiana Gregoriou (Palgrave Macmillan)
  
  
• Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters by Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower and Charles Foley (The Penguin Press)
  
  
• Chester Gould: A Daughter's Biography of the Creator of Dick Tracy by Jean Gould O'Connell (McFarland & Company)

Best Fact Crime

• The Birthday Party by Stanley Alpert (Penguin Group - G.P. Putnam's Sons)

• Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Vincent Bugliosi (W.W. Norton and Company)
  
  
• Chasing Justice: My Story of Freeing Myself After Two Decades on Death Row for a Crime I Didn't Commit by Kerry Max Cook (HarperCollins - William Morrow)
  
  
• Relentless Pursuit: A True Story of Family, Murder, and the Prosecutor Who Wouldn't Quit by Kevin Flynn (Penguin Group - G.P. Putnam's Sons)
  
  
• Sacco & Vanzetti: The Men, The Murders and the Judgment of Mankind by Bruce Watson (Penguin Group - Viking)

Best Short Story

• "The Catch" - Still Waters by Mark Ammons (Level Best Books)

• "Blue Note" - Chicago Blues by Stuart M. Kaminsky (Bleak House Books)
  
  
• "Hardly Knew Her" - Dead Man's Hand by Laura Lippman (Harcourt Trade Publishers)
  
  
• "The Golden Gopher" - Los Angeles Noir by Susan Straight (Akashic Books)
  
  
• "Uncle" - A Hell of a Woman by Daniel Woodrell (Busted Flush Press)
  

Best Young Adult

• Rat Life by Tedd Arnold (Penguin - Dial Books for Young Readers)

• Diamonds in the Shadow by Caroline B. Cooney (Random House Children's Books - Delacorte Press)
  
  
• Touching Snow by M. Sindy Felin (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing - Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
  
  
• Blood Brothers by S.A. Harazin (Random House Children's Books - Delacorte Press)
  
  
• Fragments by Jeffry W. Johnston (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing - Simon Pulse)

Best Juvenile

• The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

• Shadows on Society Hill by Evelyn Coleman (American Girl Publications)
  
  
• Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn (Clarion Books)
  
  
• The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh (Hyperion Books for Young Readers)
  
  
• Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things by Wendelin Van Draanen (Random House Children's Books - Alfred A. Knopf)

Best Play

• If/Then by David Foley (International Mystery Writers' Festival)

• Panic by Joseph Goodrich (International Mystery Writers' Festival)
  
  
• Books by Stuart M. Kaminsky (International Mystery Writers' Festival)

Best Television Episode Teleplay

• "It's Alive" - Dexter, Teleplay by Daniel Cerone (Showtime)

• "Yahrzeit" - Waking the Dead, Teleplay by Declan Croghan & Barbara Machin (BBC America)
  
  
• "Pie-Lette" - Pushing Daisies, Teleplay by Bryan Fuller (ABC/Warner Bros Television
  
  
• "Senseless" - Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Teleplay by Julie Martin & Siobhan Byrne O'Connor (Wolf Films/NBC Universal)
  
  
• "Pilot" - Burn Notice, Teleplay by Matt Nix (USA Network/Fox Television Studios)

Best Motion Picture Screen Play

• Eastern Promises, Screenplay by Steven Knight (Focus Features)

• The Lookout, Screenplay by Scott Frank (Miramax)
  
  
• Michael Clayton, Screenplay by Tony Gilroy (Warner Bros. Pictures)
  
  
• No Country for Old Men, Screenplay by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, based on the book by Cormac McCarthy (Miramax)
  
  
• Zodiac, Screenplay by James Vanderbilt, based on the book by Robert Graysmith (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Robert L. Fish Memorial Award

• "The Catch" - Still Waters by Mark Ammons (Level Best Books)

Mary Higgins Clark Award

• In Cold Pursuit by Sarah Andrews (St. Martin's Minotaur)

• Wild Indigo by Sandi Ault (Penguin Group - Berkley Prime Crime)
  
  
• Inferno by Karen Harper (Harlequin - MIRA Books)
  
  
• The First Stone by Judith Kelman (Penguin Group - Berkley Prime Crime)
  
  
• Deadman's Switch by Barbara Seranella (St. Martin's Minotaur)

Congratulations to all the winners as well as the nominees!

Cozy No More

When one thinks of British mysteries, images of quaint little villages, older ladies and gentleman as the amateur sleuth and bloodless crimes usually come to mind right away. But according to Publisher's Weekly, the traditional British mystery is getting a makeover. As mentioned in the article "the noir traditions set down by Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett made their way across the Atlantic, seeping into the consciousness of a new generation of U.K. crime writers."

Based on a TRUE story

Remember James Frey? He's the author of the memoir "A Million Little Pieces," that became a bestseller as well a selection in Oprah's Book Club. In it Frey tells about his life of addiction and recovery and how he was wanted in three different states. Great story, right? The only problem here is that this memoir was fabricated. Later, Frey went back on Oprah to defend himself in the controversy about his book.

Following in that tradition, this week The Associated Press revealed two more memoirs that turned out to made up.

The first book was Misha Defonseca's “Misha: A Mémoire of the Holocaust Years.” It is a recounting of how, as a young a girl, she lived with a pack of wolves to escape The Nazis, killed a German soldier in self-defense, and traveled 1900 miles across Europe to find her deported parents. It now turns out that Defonseca, now 71, made the events up.

The second fabricated memoir exposed was "Love and Consequences: A Memoir of Hope and Survival," by Margaret B. Jones. Jones shares with the reader her experience of growing as a half-white, half Native American with a black foster mother in a rough Los Angeles neighborhood. Jones also said that she sold drugs for a gang. The truth came out when Jones's sister saw an article on the up-coming memoir in The New York Times. In reality, Margaret B. Jones, a pseudonym for Margaret Seltzer, is white and grew up in a very well off neighborhood in The San Fernando Valley in California. She lived with her biological family and never sold drugs for a gang. She also admitted that the recollections in the book were based on the experiences of people she had met while working at an anti-gang outreach program in Los Angeles. So why did Jones claim the experiences as hers? "For whatever reason, I was really torn, and I thought it was my opportunity to put a voice to people who people don't listen to." That's all good and well, but telling someone else's story as your own is not helping them find a voice.

It is a fact that among readers non-fiction still sells more than fiction and one of the most popular kinds of non-fiction is the memoir. In today's market some of the memoirs that are selling extremely well are written by celebrities, because let's face it: it's a highly voyeuristic society when it comes to the lives of people in the public eye.

The other type of memoir that sells very well are those of people who have interesting stories to tell, particularly if it involves a hardship and the triumph over it, which is the case of Frey, Defonseca, and Jones. The problem with those three though is that their memoirs turned out to be fiction. And their fabrications go beyond the old "I caught a fish at least seven feet long" stories. These stories talked about true hardships and survival in life. In a lot of people's eyes, there is an unwritten understanding between them and the author of the memoir that the events are true and accurate as possible. Now, I concede that it's not easy to remember things exactly as they happened, but it's another thing all together to make up a story and pass it off as fact.

So, I would like to hear from all of you out there. What's your feeling on this whole fake memoir thing? No big deal or something that can be construed as a betrayal of trust between reader and author?

And the Edgar goes to...

That's right, it's that time of year again. The Mystery Writers of America have officially announced the nominees for this year's Edgar Awards. The nominations were actually announced yesterday, but I thought it would be fitting that I list them on Edgar Allan Poe's birthday. Below is the complete list of nominees. Read more about the Edgar Award (the MWA's equivalent to the Oscar) here.

Best Novel

• Christine Falls by Benjamin Black (Henry Holt and Company)
• Priest by Ken Bruen (St. Martin's Minotaur)
• The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins)
• Soul Patch by Reed Farrel Coleman (Bleak House Books)
• Down River by John Hart (St. Martin's Minotaur)

Best First Novel by an American Author

• Missing Witness by Gordon Campbell (HarperCollins - William Morrow)
• In the Woods by Tana French (Penguin Group - Viking)
• Snitch Jacket by Christopher Goffard (The Rookery Press)
• Head Games by Craig McDonald (Bleak House Books)
• Pyres by Derek Nikitas (St. Martin's Minotaur)

Best Paperback Original

• Queenpin by Megan Abbott (Simon & Schuster)
• Blood of Paradise by David Corbett (Random House - Mortalis)
• Cruel Poetry by Vicki Hendricks (Serpent's Tail)
• Robbie's Wife by Russell Hill (Hard Case Crime)
• Who is Conrad Hirst? by Kevin Wignall (Simon & Schuster)

Best Critical/Biographical

• The Triumph of the Thriller: How Cops, Crooks and Cannibals Captured Popular Fiction by Patrick Anderson (Random House)
• A Counter-History of Crime Fiction: Supernatural, Gothic, Sensational by Maurizio Ascari (Palgrave Macmillan)
• Deviance in Contemporary Crime Fiction by Christiana Gregoriou (Palgrave Macmillan)
• Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters by Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower and Charles Foley (The Penguin Press)
• Chester Gould: A Daughter's Biography of the Creator of Dick Tracy by Jean Gould O'Connell (McFarland & Company)

Best Fact Crime

• The Birthday Party by Stanley Alpert (Penguin Group - G.P. Putnam's Sons)
• Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Vincent Bugliosi (W.W. Norton and Company)
• Chasing Justice: My Story of Freeing Myself After Two Decades on Death Row for a Crime I Didn't Commit by Kerry Max Cook (HarperCollins - William Morrow)
• Relentless Pursuit: A True Story of Family, Murder, and the Prosecutor Who Wouldn't Quit by Kevin Flynn (Penguin Group - G.P. Putnam's Sons)
• Sacco & Vanzetti: The Men, The Murders and the Judgment of Mankind by Bruce Watson (Penguin Group - Viking)

Best Short Story

• "The Catch" - Still Waters by Mark Ammons (Level Best Books)
• "Blue Note" - Chicago Blues by Stuart M. Kaminsky (Bleak House Books)
• "Hardly Knew Her" - Dead Man's Hand by Laura Lippman (Harcourt Trade Publishers)
• "The Golden Gopher" - Los Angeles Noir by Susan Straight (Akashic Books
• "Uncle" - A Hell of a Woman by Daniel Woodrell (Busted Flush Press)

Best Young Adult

• Rat Life by Tedd Arnold (Penguin - Dial Books for Young Readers)
• Diamonds in the Shadow by Caroline B. Cooney (Random House Children's Books - Delacorte Press)
• Touching Snow by M. Sindy Felin (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing - Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
• Blood Brothers by S.A. Harazin (Random House Children's Books - Delacorte Press)
• Fragments by Jeffry W. Johnston (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing - Simon Pulse)

Best Juvenile

• The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
• Shadows on Society Hill by Evelyn Coleman (American Girl Publications)
• Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn (Clarion Books)
• The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh (Hyperion Books for Young Readers)
• Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things by Wendelin Van Draanen (Random House Children's Books - Alfred A. Knopf)

Best Play

• If/Then by David Foley (International Mystery Writers' Festival)
• Panic by Joseph Goodrich (International Mystery Writers' Festival)
• Books by Stuart M. Kaminsky (International Mystery Writers' Festival)

Best Television Episode Teleplay

• "It's Alive" - Dexter, Teleplay by Daniel Cerone (Showtime)
• "Yahrzeit" - Waking the Dead, Teleplay by Declan Croghan & Barbara Machin (BBC America)
• "Pie-Lette" - Pushing Daisies, Teleplay by Bryan Fuller (ABC/Warner Bros Television
• "Senseless" - Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Teleplay by Julie Martin & Siobhan Byrne O'Connor (Wolf Films/NBC Universal)
• "Pilot" - Burn Notice, Teleplay by Matt Nix (USA Network/Fox Television Studios)

Best Motion Picture Screen Play

• Eastern Promises, Screenplay by Steven Knight (Focus Features)
• The Lookout, Screenplay by Scott Frank (Miramax)
• Michael Clayton, Screenplay by Tony Gilroy (Warner Bros. Pictures)
• No Country for Old Men, Screenplay by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, based on the book by Cormac McCarthy (Miramax)
• Zodiac, Screenplay by James Vanderbilt, based on the book by Robert Graysmith (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Robert L. Fish Memorial Award

• "The Catch" - Still Waters by Mark Ammons (Level Best Books)

Mary Higgins Clark Award

• In Cold Pursuit by Sarah Andrews (St. Martin's Minotaur)
• Wild Indigo by Sandi Ault (Penguin Group - Berkley Prime Crime)
• Inferno by Karen Harper (Harlequin - MIRA Books)
• The First Stone by Judith Kelman (Penguin Group - Berkley Prime Crime)
• Deadman's Switch by Barbara Seranella (St. Martin's Minotaur)

Congratulations to all who were nominated.

A Writer and his Agent hard at work

I thought this was really funny.