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Anthony Awards 2016

The 2016 Anthony Awards went to Murder Under the Oaks: Bouchercon Anthology 2015 by Art Taylor (Best Anthology or Collection), Need by Joelle Charbonneau (Best Children's/Young Adult) and Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime by Val McDermid (Best Critical/Nonfiction Work), with winners in 3 more categories. 31 books were nominated across 6 categories.

Winners

Best Anthology or Collection

  1. Murder Under the Oaks: Bouchercon Anthology 2015 by Art Taylorsource (opens in a new tab)

Best Children's/Young Adult

  1. Need by Joelle Charbonneausource (opens in a new tab)

Best Critical/Nonfiction Work

  1. Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime by Val McDermidsource (opens in a new tab)

Best First Novel

  1. Past Crimes by Glen Erik Hamiltonsource (opens in a new tab)

Best Novel

  1. The Killing Kind by Chris Holmsource (opens in a new tab)

Best Paperback Original

  1. The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berneysource (opens in a new tab)

Nominees

Best Anthology or Collection

  1. Jewish Noir: Contemporary Tales of Crime and Other Dark Deeds by Kenneth Wishniasource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Protectors 2: Heroes-Stories to Benefit PROTECT by Thomas Plucksource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Safe Inside the Violence by Christopher Irvinsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Thuglit Presents: Cruel Yule: Holiday Tales of Crime for People on the Naughty List by Todd Robinsonsource (opens in a new tab)

Best Children's/Young Adult

  1. A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnissource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Ask the Dark by Henry Turnersource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Fighting Chance by B.K. Stevenssource (opens in a new tab)
  4. How to Win at High School by Owen Matthewssource (opens in a new tab)
  5. The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisburysource (opens in a new tab)

Best Critical/Nonfiction Work

  1. Meanwhile There Are Letters: The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and Ross Macdonald by Suzanne Marrs and Tom Nolansource (opens in a new tab)
  2. The Golden Age of Murder: The Mystery of the Writers Who Invented the Modern Detective Story by Martin Edwardssource (opens in a new tab)
  3. The Lost Detective: Becoming Dashiell Hammett by Nathan Wardsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook: Wickedly Good Meals and Desserts to Die For by Kate Whitesource (opens in a new tab)

Best First Novel

  1. Bull Mountain by Brian Panowichsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Concrete Angel by Patricia Abbottsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. New Yorked by Rob Hartsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. On the Road with Del & Louise by Art Taylorsource (opens in a new tab)

Best Novel

  1. Night Tremors by Matt Coylesource (opens in a new tab)
  2. The Child Garden by Catriona McPhersonsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. The Nature of the Beast by Louise Pennysource (opens in a new tab)
  4. What You See by Hank Phillippi Ryansource (opens in a new tab)

Best Paperback Original

  1. Gun Street Girl by Adrian McKintysource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Little Pretty Things by Lori Rader-Daysource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Stone Cold Dead by James W. Ziskinsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Young Americans by Josh Stallingssource (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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