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Anthony Awards 2010

The 2010 Anthony Awards went to Talking About Detective Fiction by P.D. James (Best Critical/Nonfiction Work), A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie Littlefield (Best First Novel) and The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny (Best Novel), with winners in 1 more category. 21 books were nominated across 4 categories.

Winners

Best Critical/Nonfiction Work

  1. Talking About Detective Fiction by P.D. Jamessource (opens in a new tab)

Best First Novel

  1. A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie Littlefieldsource (opens in a new tab)

Best Novel

  1. The Brutal Telling by Louise Pennysource (opens in a new tab)

Best Paperback Original

  1. Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruleysource (opens in a new tab)

Nominees

Best Critical/Nonfiction Work

  1. Dame Agatha’s Shorts by Elena Santangelosource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King by Lisa Rogaksource (opens in a new tab)
  3. The Lineup: The World’s Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives by Otto Penzlersource (opens in a new tab)
  4. The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith by Joan Schenkarsource (opens in a new tab)

Best First Novel

  1. In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoffsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruleysource (opens in a new tab)
  3. The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Nevillesource (opens in a new tab)
  4. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradleysource (opens in a new tab)

Best Novel

  1. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larssonsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. The Last Child by John Hartsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Hustonsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. The Shanghai Moon by S.J. Rozansource (opens in a new tab)

Best Paperback Original

  1. Air Time by Hank Phillippi Ryansource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbottsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Death and the Lit Chick by G.M. Mallietsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Quarry in the Middle by Max Allan Collinssource (opens in a new tab)
  5. Tower by Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Colemansource (opens in a new tab)

About the Anthony Awards

Book categories only; short story, novella, cover art, audiobook narration, TV, website, fan and service awards are skipped. Year is the Bouchercon year. Sources: Bouchercon's own winners-and-nominees pages for 2006-2019, 2023 and 2024; bouchercon.com has no pages for 2020-2022 or 2025, so those years come from Stop, You're Killing Me! (stopyourekillingme.com), with winners checked against Wikipedia and 2025 press reports. Three official cells are wrong or short and cite Stop, You're Killing Me! instead: 2009 Paperback Original (official page repeats Scot & Soda, a 2020 nominee), 2023 Best Novel (official page omits finalist The Maid), and 2024 Anthology (official page omits Happiness Is a Warm Gun). Stable category names: Best Novel was Best Hardcover Novel in 2021 and 2023-2025; Best Paperback Original became Paperback/E-book/Audiobook Original from 2021; Best Children's/Young Adult covers the Children's/YA, Young Adult (2016, 2020) and Juvenile/YA labels; Best Humorous Novel was Cozy/Humorous in 2025. Categories that did not run in a year have count 0. The 2015 Critical/Nonfiction nominee Dru's Book Musings is a website but is listed as the organization named it.

Organization: Bouchercon. Years are award years, which can differ from publication years. Official site (opens in a new tab)

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