The Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, formerly known as the Arthur Ellis Awards, are a group of Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the Crime Writers of Canada for the best Canadian crime and mystery writing published in the previous year. The award is presented during May in the year following publication.
Originally, the awards were named for Arthur Ellis, the pseudonym of several of Canada's official hangmen, the first and most famous being Arthur B. English. The award statuette was designed by actor and theatre designer Peter Blais.[1]
In 2021 the Crime Writers of Canada announced that they were retiring Arthur Ellis's name from the awards, renaming them to their current name.[2]
See main article: Crime Writers of Canada Award for Best Novel.
1984 | [3] | |||
1985 | Murder Sees the Light | [4] | ||
1986 | Death in the Old Country | [5] | ||
1987 | Buried on Sunday | [6] | ||
1988 | Swann | [7] | ||
1989 | Jack | [8] | ||
1990 | Hot Shots | [9] | ||
1991 | [10] | |||
1992 | Past Reason Hated | [11] | ||
1993 | Lizardskin | [12] | ||
1994 | Gypsy Sins | [13] | ||
1995 | [14] | |||
1996 | Mother Love | [15] | ||
1997 | Innocent Graves | [16] | ||
1998 | Trial of Passion | [17] | ||
1999 | Old Wounds | [18] | ||
2000 | [19] | |||
2001 | Cold is the Grave | [20] | ||
2002 | In the Midnight Hour | [21] | ||
2003 | Blood of Others | [22] | ||
2004 | [23] | |||
2005 | Fifth Son | [24] | ||
2006 | April Fool | [25] | ||
2007 | Honour Among Men | [26] | ||
2008 | Trumpets Sound No More | [27] | ||
2009 | Too Close to Home | [28] | ||
2010 | High Chicago | [29] | ||
2011 | Bury Your Dead | [30] | ||
2012 | Before the Poison | [31] | ||
2013 | Until the Night | [32] | ||
2014 | [33] | |||
2015 | Plague: Murder Has a New Friend | [34] | ||
2016 | Open Season | [35] | ||
2017 | [36] | |||
2018 | Sleeping in the Ground | [37] | ||
2019 | Though the Heavens Fall | [38] | ||
2020 | Greenwood | [39] | ||
2021 | ||||
2022 | Under an Outlaw Moon | [40] |
1987 | Murder on the Run | |||
1988 | ||||
1989 | ||||
1990 | ||||
1991 | Sniper's Moon | |||
1992 | Flesh Wound | |||
1993 | Passion Play | |||
1994 | Memory Trace | [41] | ||
1995 | What's A Girl Gotta Do? | |||
1996 | ||||
Moonlit Days and Nights | ||||
1997 | Death At Buckingham Palace | [42] | ||
1998 | Déja Dead | |||
1999 | Sudden Blow | |||
2000 | Lost Girls | |||
2001 | Hands Like Clouds | |||
2002 | ||||
2003 | Midnight Cab | |||
2004 | Just Murder | |||
2005 | Dark Places | |||
2006 | Still Life | |||
2007 | Sign of the Cross | |||
2008 | Garcia's Heart | |||
2009 | Buffalo Jump | |||
2010 | ||||
2011 | ||||
2012 | Water Rat of Wanchai | |||
2013 | ||||
2014 | Bait | |||
2015 | ||||
2016 | Unquiet Dead | |||
2017 | Strange Things Done | |||
2018 | Full Curl | |||
2019 | Cobra Clutch | |||
2020 | Nobody Move | |||
2021 | ||||
2022 |
2013 | Contingency Plan | |||
2014 | ||||
2015 | ||||
2016 | Black Canyon | |||
2017 | Rundown | |||
2018 | How Lon Pruitt Was Found Murdered in an Open Field with No Footprints Around | |||
2019 | Murder Among the Pines | |||
2020 | ||||
2021 | Never Going Back | |||
2022 | Letters from Johnny |
2000 | Louna | |||
2001 | Le roman policier en Amérique française | |||
2002 | Fleur invitait au troisième | |||
2003 | Le rouge ideal | |||
2004 | On finit toujours par payer | |||
2005 | Les douze pierres | |||
2006 | Motel Riviera | |||
2007 | No award presented | |||
2008 | Tsiganes | |||
2009 | Le Chemin des brumes | |||
2010 | Le mort du chemin des Arsene | |||
2011 | Dans le quartier des agités | |||
2012 | La chorale du diable | |||
2013 | La Nuit des albinos: Sur les traces de Max O'Brien | |||
2014 | L’enfant promis | |||
2015 | Bondrée | |||
2016 | L'Affaire Myosotis | |||
2017 | Red Light: Adieu, Mignonne | |||
2018 | Les Tricoteuses | |||
2019 | Adolphus - Une enquête de Joseph Laflamme | |||
2020 | Tempêtes | |||
2021 | La mariée de corail | |||
2022 | Flots |
1994 | Abalone Summer | |||
1995 | Torn Away | |||
1996 | Mistaken Identity | |||
1997 | How Can a Frozen Detective Stay Hot on the Trail? | |||
1998 | ||||
1999 | Sins of the Father | |||
2000 | How Can a Brilliant Detective Shine in the Dark? | |||
2001 | ||||
2002 | Scared to Death | |||
2003 | Break and Enter | |||
2004 | Acceleration | |||
2005 | ||||
2006 | Quid Pro Quo | |||
2007 | Hamish X and the Cheese Pirates | |||
2008 | Eye of the Crow | |||
2009 | War Brothers | |||
2010 | Haunted | |||
2011 | ||||
2012 | Blink & Caution | |||
2013 | Becoming Holmes | |||
2014 | Bones Never Lie | |||
2015 | Dead Man's Switch | |||
2016 | Trouble Is a Friend of Mine | |||
2017 | Masterminds | |||
2018 | Chase: Get Ready to Run | |||
2019 | Escape | |||
2020 | Keep This to Yourself | |||
2021 | Red Fox Road | |||
2022 | ||||
2023 | Jo Treggiari | Heartbreak Homes | [43] | |
2024 | Cherie Dimaline | Funeral Songs for Dying Girls | [44] |
1985 | ||||
1986 | ||||
1987 | Hunting Humans | |||
1988 | Stung | |||
1989 | Conspiracy of Brothers | |||
1990 | Conspiracy of Silence | |||
1991 | ||||
1992 | Arms and the Man | |||
1993 | Redrum the Innocent | |||
1994 | With Malice Aforethought | |||
1995 | ||||
1996 | ||||
1997 | [45] | |||
1998 | When She Was Bad | |||
1999 | No Claim to Mercy | |||
2000 | Cowboys and Indians | |||
2001 | ||||
2002 | and Harvey Cashore | |||
2002 | Saboteurs | |||
2003 | Covert Entry | |||
2004 | and William Marsden | |||
2005 | ||||
2006 | Under the Bridge | |||
2007 | High | |||
2008 | One Child at a Time | |||
2009 | and Craig Silverman | Mafiaboy | ||
2010 | Murder Without Borders | |||
2011 | On the Farm | |||
2012 | Hot Art | |||
2013 | ||||
2014 | No award presented | |||
2015 | ||||
2016 | Empire of Deception: The Incredible Story of a Master Swindler Who Seduced a City and Captivated the Nation | |||
2017 | ||||
2018 | ||||
2019 | ||||
2020 | Murdered Midas: A Millionaire, His Gold Mine, and a Strange Death on an Island Paradise | |||
2021 | Missing from the Village | |||
2022 |
1988 | Looking for an Honest Man | Cold Blood: Murder in Canada | |||
1989 | Killer in the House | Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, December 1988 | |||
1990 | Humbug | ||||
1991 | Innocence | Cold Blood III | |||
1992 | Two in the Bush | Christmas Stalkings | |||
1993 | Mantrap | Murder, Mayhem, and the Macabre | |||
1994 | Just Like Old Times | On Spec, Summer 1993 | |||
1995 | The Midnight Boat to Palermo | Cold Blood IV | |||
1996 | Cotton Armour | Ladies Killing Circle | |||
1997 | Dead Run | Story Teller, Winter 1996-97 | |||
1998 | Widow's Weeds | Cottage Country Killers | |||
1999 | Last Inning | Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, February 1998 | |||
2000 | One More Kill | Blue Murder Magazine, December 1999 | |||
2001 | Murder in Utopia | Crime Through Time III | |||
2002 | Sign of the Times | Fit to Die | |||
2003 | Bottom Walker | Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, May 2002 | |||
2004 | Dead Wood | Hard Boiled Love | |||
2005 | Crocodile Tears | Revenge: A Noir Anthology | |||
2006 | Lightning Rider | Murder in Vegas | |||
2007 | Fuzzy Wuzzy | Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, August 2006 | |||
2008 | Turners | Kingston Whig-Standard, July 7, 2007 | |||
2009 | Filmsong | Toronto Noir | |||
2010 | Prisoner in Paradise | Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine | |||
2011 | So Much in Common | Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine | |||
2012 | What Kelly Did | ||||
2013 | Spring-blade Knife | Floating Like The Dead | |||
2014 | Footprints in Water | ||||
2015 | Stone Mattress | ||||
2016 | Black Canyon | ||||
2017 | A Death at the Parsonage | ||||
2018 | The Outlier | ||||
2019 | Terminal City | ||||
2020 | Closing Doors | ||||
2021 | Cold Wave, Sisters in Crime | ||||
2022 | Number 10 Marlborough Place |
First awarded in 2007 as part of the CWC mandate to recognize and promote the careers of promising new crime writers.
2007 | Margarita Nights | |||
2008 | ||||
2009 | Louder | |||
2010 | ||||
2011 | Better Off Dead | |||
2012 | Last of the Independents | |||
2013 | Sins Revisited | |||
2014 | Cold Girl | |||
2015 | Strange Things Done | |||
2016 | When the Flood Falls | |||
2017 | ||||
2018 | Destruction in Paradise | |||
2019 | ||||
2020 | ||||
2021 | ||||
2022 | Elmington |
2007 | Stay Where I Can See You | |||
2008 | Beneath Her Skin |
This is a special achievement award for contributions to the genre of crime and mystery writing, awarded at the discretion of the president of the Crime Writers of Canada. When first presented in 1984, it was known as the Chairman's Award; it was later renamed in honour of its first recipient, Derrick Murdoch. Since 2013, it has only been presented in years when the new biennial Grand Master Award, listed below, is not presented.
The Grand Master Award is presented every two years as a lifetime achievement award, to a crime writer with a distinguished and successful national and international career.
The award for Best Genre Criticism or Reference has only been presented twice.
The award for Best Play has only been presented once.