2026 Grand Masters, Raven & Ellery Queen Award Recipients announced
MWA Special Awards: Grand Masters, Raven, Ellery Queen recipients named
MWA Announces 2026 Grand Masters, Raven & Ellery Queen Award Recipients
MWA announces the recipients of its special awards. The board chose Donna Andrews and Lee Child as the 2026 Grand Masters, the 2026 Raven Award recipient is Book Passage, and John Scognamiglio of Kensington Books will receive the Ellery Queen Award. They will accept their awards at the 80th Annual Edgar Awards Ceremony, which will be held April 29, 2026, at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City.
“Donna Andrews has given us more than fifty novels, proving the cozy subgenre is more relevant than ever. In addition to her significant literary accomplishments, she has given back to the community in so many ways, by mentoring aspiring mystery writers, and serving as the MWA EVP. I’m thrilled to see Donna named as MWA Grand Master,” said MWA Executive Vice President James L’Etoile. “And Lee Child’s contributions to the genre are unparalleled. Aside from his thirty critically acclaimed novels featuring the iconic Jack Reacher, Lee Child is considered one of the most thoughtful and generous members of the mystery community. Writer, mentor, and Past President of MWA, he is a role model, and most deserving of being named MWA Grand Master.”
MWA’s Grand Master Award represents the pinnacle of achievement in mystery writing and was established to acknowledge important contributions to this genre, as well as for a body of work that is both significant and of consistent high quality.
On being notified of the honor, Donna Andrews said, “I’m both delighted and amazed at being named a Grand Master. Joining MWA was one of the first things I did when my debut novel, Murder with Peacocks, was accepted for publication and MWA has been an important part of my life ever since. I’m grateful, not only for this honor, but for all the experiences I’ve had and friends I’ve made as a member and a volunteer.”
Andrews has won the Agatha, Anthony, and Barry Awards, an RT Book Reviews Award for best first novel, and four Lefty and two Toby Bromberg Awards for funniest mystery. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and Novelists, Inc. Andrews lives in Reston, Virginia. She has written more than 30 books in the Meg Langslow mystery series.
Lee Child, previously a television director, union organizer, theater technician, and law student, was fired and on the dole when he hatched a harebrained scheme to write a bestselling novel, thus saving his family from ruin. Killing Floor went on to win worldwide acclaim and there are now 30 titles in the bestselling Jack Reacher thrillers. Lee Child lives in New York City and Wyoming.
On learning of the honor, Child said, “I’m flattered and humbled to be placed on this eighty-year-long list with so many of my idols, role models and teachers. I’ll always be grateful to Mystery Writers of America for their support, help, friendship and camaraderie during my career, such that I feel I should be giving them an award, not getting one from them.
Previous Grand Masters include Laura Lippman, John Sandford, Katherine Hall Page, R.L. Stine, Michael Connelly, Joanne Fluke, Laurie R. King, Charlaine Harris, Jeffery Deaver, Barbara Neely, Martin Cruz Smith, William Link, Peter Lovesey, Walter Mosley, Lois Duncan, James Ellroy, Robert Crais, Ken Follett, Sara Paretsky, James Lee Burke, Sue Grafton, Stephen King, Ira Levin, Mary Higgins Clark, Lawrence Block, P.D. James, Ellery Queen, Daphne du Maurier, Alfred Hitchcock, Graham Greene, and Agatha Christie, to name a few.
The Raven Award recognizes outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing. For 2026, Mystery Writers of America selected Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA.
“Book Passage is honored and thrilled to receive the Raven Award from the Mystery Writers of America. Many of the 10,000 or more author events that we’ve had over the years have featured mystery writers. During the last 30 years or so, many of these writers have given of their time to participate in our annual Mystery Writers Conference and have helped nurture new writers towards successful careers,” Book Passage founder and president Elaine Petrocelli said. “We’ve found mystery writers to be resourceful, fearless, and ingenious in describing the problems of the world. More than that, they know how to keep their portrayal of the dark side of humanity on the written page. In person, they are wonderful, personable, and a pleasure to be around.”
Previous Raven Award recipients include Face in a Book, Crime Writers of Color, Eddie Muller, Lesa Holstine, Malice Domestic, Left Coast Crime, Marilyn Stasio, The Raven Bookstore, BOLO Books, Dru Ann Love, Sisters in Crime, and Oline Cogdill.
The Ellery Queen Award was established in 1983 to honor “outstanding writing teams and outstanding people in the mystery-publishing industry.” This year the Board chose to honor John Scognamiglio of Kensington Books, who began his career 40 years ago as a file clerk in the Contracts Department at Simon & Schuster in 1986 while still a sophomore at New York University. He later moved to where he always wanted to be—editorial—and from 1989 to 1992, Scognamiglio worked as an assistant editor for S&S’s mass-market division, Pocket Books. In February 1992, he joined Kensington Publishing as an editor and he became Editor-in-Chief in 2005. He launched his own imprint, John Scognamiglio Books, at Kensington in 2017. Among his authors are New York Times bestsellers Lisa Jackson, Joanne Fluke, Ellen Marie Wiseman and Leslie Meier.
On learning he would receive the Ellery Queen Award, Scognamiglio said, “As a long-time mystery reader, I’m thrilled and honored to be receiving this award.”
Previous Ellery Queen Award winners include Peter Wolverton, Michaela Hamilton, The Strand Magazine, Juliet Grames, Reagan Arthur, Kelley Ragland, Linda Landrigan, Neil Nyren, Charles Ardai, and Janet Hutchings.
“It was gratifying to see this year’s Ellery Queen Award go to Joe Scognamiglio,” L’Etoile said. “Few publishing industry insiders have done more to create a place where authors are valued and diverse voices have a place in the business.”
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 nonfiction books, screen and television writers, as well as publishers, editors, and literary agents.
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