Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention, has announced the 2013 Anthony Award Nominees.

Bouchercon XLIV will be held in Albany, New York, from September 19-22 and the winners will be chosen by the convention’s full time members.

BEST NOVEL
Dare Me – Megan Abbott
The Trinity Game – Sean Chercover
Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn
The Beautiful Mystery – Louise Penny
The Other Woman – Hank Phillippi Ryan

BEST FIRST NOVEL
Don’t Ever Get Old – Daniel Friedman
The Professionals – Owen Laukkanen
The Expats – Chris Pavone
The 500 – Matthew Quirk
Black Fridays – Michael Sears

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
Whiplash River – Lou Berney
Murder for Choir – Joelle Charbonneau
And She Was – Alison Gaylin
Blessed are the Dead – Malla Nunn
Big Maria – Johnny Shaw

BEST SHORT STORY
“Mischief in Mesopotamia” – Dana Cameron, EQMM, Nov 2012
“Kept in the Dark” – Shelia Connolly, Best New England Crime Stories: Blood Moon
“The Lord is My Shamus” – Barb Goffman, Chesapeake Crimes: This Job is Murder
“Peaches” – Todd Robinson, Grift, Spring 2012
“The Unremarkable Heart” – Karin Slaughter, MWA Presents: Vengeance,

BEST CRITICAL NONFICTION WORK
Books to Die For – John Connolly and Declan Burke, editors
Blood Relations – Joseph Goodrich, editor
More Forensics and Fiction – DP Lyle, MD
The Grand Tour – Mathew Prichard, editor
In Pursuit of Spenser – Otto Penzler, editor

BestCrimeBooks.com congratulates each and every nominee and wishes them all the very best of luck.

The Anthony Awards are given out annually at Bouchercon. The nominating ballots for the 2013 Anthony Awards have been e-mailed to most registered attendees, as of 3/2/13.  Others will receive ballots as their registration is processed.

The Anthony Awards are named after the esteemed California-based writer and critic, Anthony Boucher (1911-1969). Boucher’s real name was William Anthony Parker White. From 1942 to 1947 he reviewed popular fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle. He became a popular and respected editor,  giving many influential writers their start. He wrote five mystery novels under as Anthony Boucher – starting with teh ground-breaking The Case of the Seven of Calvary in 1937,  and another two under another pseudonym HH Holmes.