2026 Edgar Award Winners announced
See the Edgar Winners TTD for a list of all nominees — and information about the new MWA Hall of Fame!
Mystery Writers of America Announces 2026 Edgar Allan Poe Award Winners
April 29, 2026, New York, NY – Mystery Writers of America is proud to announce the winners for the 2026 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction and television published or produced in 2025. The 80th Annual Edgar® Awards were celebrated on April 29, 2026 at the Marriott Marquis Times Square Hotel.
BEST NOVEL
The Big Empty by Robert Crais (Penguin Random House – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
Dead Money by Jakob Kerr (Penguin Random House – Bantam Books)
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
The Backwater by Vikki Wakefield (Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press)
BEST FACT CRIME
Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser (Penguin Random House – Penguin Press)
BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
Edgar Allan Poe: A Life by Richard Kopley (University of Virginia Press)
BEST SHORT STORY
“Julius Katz Draws a Straight Flush,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine – September-October 2025 by Dave Zeltserman (Must Read Books Publishing)
BEST JUVENILE
Blood in the Water by Tiffany D. Jackson (Scholastic Press)
BEST YOUNG ADULT
Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray (Macmillan Publishers – Farrar, Straus and Giroux BFYR)
BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
“Pilot” – Paradise, Written by Dan Fogelman (Hulu)
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OUR OTHER AWARDS
ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD – Endowed by the family of Robert L. Fish.
“How It Happened,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, July-August 2025 by Billie Kay Fern (Must Read Books Publishing)
THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD – Presented on behalf of Simon & Schuster.
All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD – Presented on behalf of G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
Gone in the Night by Joanna Schaffhausen (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
THE LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN MEMORIAL AWARD – Endowed by the estate of Lilian Jackson Braun.
A Senior Citizen’s Guide to Life on the Run by Gwen Florio (Severn House)
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THE PRESIDENT’S AWARD
Margery Flax, MWA Executive Director
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SPECIAL AWARDS
PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED ON JANUARY 13, 2026
GRAND MASTER
Donna Andrews
Lee Child
RAVEN AWARD
Book Passage, Corte Madera CA
ELLERY QUEEN AWARD
John Scognamiglio, Kensington Books
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The Edgar Awards, or “Edgars,” as they are commonly known, are named after MWA’s patron saint Edgar Allan Poe and are presented to authors of distinguished work in various categories. MWA is the premier organization for mystery writers, professionals allied to the crime-writing field, aspiring crime writers, and those who are devoted to the genre. The organization encompasses some 3,000 members including authors of fiction and non-fiction books, screen and television writers, as well as publishers, editors, and literary agents.
Mystery Writers of America would like to emphasize our commitment to diversity and fairness in judging of the Edgar Awards. Judges are selected from every region of the country, from every sub-category of our genre, and from every demographic to ensure fairness and impartiality.
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The EDGAR (and logo) are Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by the Mystery Writers of America, Inc.
