In 2011 we had nearly seven hundred entries from twenty six countries. Once again there was an impressive mix of the psychological, supernatural, quirky, historical and action adventure.

The overall winner was South African writer Michele Rowe with What Hidden Lies; the story of the hunt for the killer of an alleged sex offender on the spectacular Cape Town coast.

Highly Commended went to UK author Graham Brack for The Outrageous Behaviour of Left-handed Dwarves where the death of a young woman in Prague reveals a series of scandals reaching to the highest levels of Government.

The Awards were presented at the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Festival in Harrogate in July and we were pleased that some of the short-listed authors attended the event. Unfortunately a combination of visa problems and bronchitis prevented Michele from joining us, but you can find a video message from her below.

Now for the good news on some of the 2010 short-listed authors.

We’re pleased to say that Peggy Blair’s 2010 entry The Beggar’s Opera is being published by Penguin Canada in February 2012. In fact, they like it so much, it features on the cover of their 2011 autumn brochure.

In beautiful, crumbling Old Havana, Canadian detective Mike Ellis hopes the sun and sand will help save his troubled marriage. He doesn’t yet know that it’s dead in the water – much like the little Cuban boy last seen begging the Canadian couple for a few pesos. For Inspector Ricardo Ramirez, finding his prime suspect isn’t a problem – Cuban law is. He has only seventy-two hours to secure an indictment and prevent a vicious killer from leaving the island. But Ramirez also has his own troubles to worry about. He’s dying of the same dementia that killed his grandmother, an incurable disease that makes him see the ghosts of victims of unsolved murders. As he races against time, the dead haunt his every step…

We also heard from two other 2010 short-listed authors over the summer. Rick DeMille’s entry A Murder in Mumbles (now retitled Hellfire) has been picked up by Transit Publishing and is due for publication in at the end of October. and Rosemary McCraken’s book Safe Harbour (now retitled Safe Harbor) has just been taken by a Canadian publisher and will be issued as a paperback and e-book early next year.