The Mystery Writers of America has announced the recipients of its special awards, which will be presented at the 75th Annual Edgar Awards Ceremony, scheduled to be held April 29.
The board chose Laurie R. King as the 2022 Grand Master, an award that acknowledges important contributions to the genre as well as for a body of work that is both significant and of consistent high quality. The recipient of the 2022 Raven Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing, is Lesa Holstine. And Juliet Grames will receive the Ellery Queen Award, which honors outstanding writing teams and outstanding people in the mystery-publishing industry.
MWA President Alafair Burke said about the Grand Master winner: "For more than a quarter century, King has entertained readers around the world with her writings, which range from historical fiction to contemporary police procedurals to gripping standalones and scores of anthology contributions. She is also a generous supporter of readers and fellow writers and a leader within the literary community. She exemplifies the excellence that defines the Grand Master Award, and we are delighted to recognize her achievements."
About Raven winner Lesa Holstine, a librarian, blogger, and book reviewer, MWA wrote: "Holstine has worked in public libraries since she was 16. For almost 50 years, she's shared her love of books, especially mysteries, with library patrons, and is presently the collections manager at the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library in Evansville, Ind. She is in the 18th year of writing her award-winning blog, Lesa's Book Critiques, has been the blogger for Poisoned Pen Bookstore for over four years, and reviews mysteries for Mystery Readers' Journal and Library Journal, where she was named Reviewer of the Year in 2018. She has received the 2011 Arizona Library Association Outstanding Library Service Award and the David S. Thompson Special Service Memorial Award. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and serves on the Left Coast Crime Standing Committee."
Ellery Queen winner Juliet Grames is senior v-p, associate publisher at Soho Press, where she has curated the award-winning Soho Crime imprint since 2011. Her debut novel, The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna, was published by Ecco/HarperCollins and has been translated into 10 languages.