Entries are now open for the 2017 Ngaio Marsh Awards

Three-time Ngaio winner Paul Cleave with
publisher Kevin Chapman (cr: Upstart Press)

Last August at WORD Christchurch, Paul Cleave walked away with his record third Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel, for the outstanding psychological thriller TRUST NO ONE, while Ray Berard took out Best First Novel for the terrific debut INSIDE THE BLACK HORSE (which was also a finalist for Best Crime Novel).

You can read my feature in the Sunday Star-Times about the winners here, or an in-depth interview with Ray Berard in The Spinoff here.

This week we've begun the process to discover who'll follow Cleave and Berard as Ngaio Marsh Award winners. Entries are now open for the 2017 Ngaio Marsh Awards.

You can follow the progress of the awards, and get updates about events and various things, on Facebook here and on Twitter here. If you have any questions, leave a comment below, or email ngaiomarshaward[at]gmail[dot]com.

It looks like it will be a very interesting year for the judges, with Kiwi Noir (#yeahnoir) continuing to grow. Last year there were a record 29 books entered in the awards. This year there are 50 potential entries - and that's without any of the past winners in the running. Lots and lots of new blood.

I'm very grateful to everyone who supports the Ngaio Marsh Awards, in various ways. From our terrific judges spread all over the world, to bloggers and reviewers and publicists and those in the media. It's great to highlight the crime writing talent we have in our little country at the bottom of the world. New Zealand has always been a frontier place, a wild and young country out on the edge of the Empire, and we've definitely got authors stretching the boundaries of the crime genre in various ways. As well as just writing some of the best straight crime and thriller tales you'll find anywhere on the globe.

I'm looking forward to reading more of our recent Kiwi crime throughout the Ngaio Marsh Awards process, and will be highlighting some of the entries here on Crime Watch. I'm also very curious to see what will happen with the judging this year. Exciting times.

If you're a keen crime reader, perhaps look to pick up some #yeahnoir next time you're in a bookshop, library, or surfing your favorite online bookstore. I'm happy to provide some recommendations (past winners, finalists, and longlisted books from the Ngaios is a great place to start).