The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

, based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Named after American writer

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

(1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the best in

mystery fiction Mystery is a genre fiction, fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains wiktionary:mysterious, mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually prov ...

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, and

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

published or produced in the previous year.

Active author categories

Robert L. Fish Memorial Award

The

Robert L. Fish Memorial Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

was established in 1984 to honor the best first mystery short story by an American author. The winners are listed below.

Lilian Jackson Braun Award

The

Lilian Jackson Braun Award Lillian or Lilian can refer to: People * Lillian (name) or Lilian, a given name Places * Lilian, Iran, a village in Markazi Province, Iran In the United States * Lillian, Alabama * Lillian, West Virginia * Lillian Township, Custer County, Ne ...

was established to honor

Lilian Jackson Braun Lilian Jackson Braun (June 20, 1913June 4, 2011) was an American writer well known for her light-hearted series of ''The Cat Who...'' mystery novels. ''The Cat Who'' books center on the life of (former) newspaper reporter, James Qwilleran, and h ...

and is presented in the "best full-length, contemporary cozy mystery as submitted to and selected by a special MWA committee."

Sue Grafton Memorial Award

The

Sue Grafton Memorial Award Sue or SUE may refer to: Music * Sue Records, an American record label * ''Sue'' (album), an album by Frazier Chorus * "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", a song by David Bowie Places * Sue Islet (Queensland), one of the Torres Straits island ...

was established in 2019 to honor

Sue Grafton Sue Taylor Grafton (April 24, 1940 – December 28, 2017) was an American author of detective novels. She is best known as the author of the "alphabet series" (''"A" Is for Alibi'', etc.) featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fic ...

and is presented to "the best novel in a series featuring a female protagonist." The winners are listed below.

Grand Master Award

The

Edgar Allen Poe Grand Master Award Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of ''wikt:en:ead, ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''Gar (spear), gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval per ...

was established in 1955. The award "acknowledges important contributions to the genre as well as for a body of work that is both significant and of consistent high quality." Winners are listed below.

Raven Award

The

Raven Award The Raven Award is an award given annually by the Mystery Writers of America as part of the Edgar Awards. The recipient can be a writer, editor, reviewer, or librarian or possibly a professional in the field: medical examiners and forensic special ...

was established in 1953 to honor "outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside of the realm of creative writing.""Major Mystery Prizes and Awards" (''Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine'')
/ref> The winners are listed below.

Ellery Queen Award

The Ellery Queen Award was established in 1983 "to honor outstanding writing teams and outstanding people in the mystery-publishing industry." The winners are listed below.

Simon & Schuster Mary Higgins Clark Award

The Simon & Schuster Mary Higgins Clark Award was established in 2001. The winners are listed below.

Active story categories

Critical/Biographical Work

The Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Critical/Biographical Work was established in 1977. The winners are listed below.

Fact Crime

The Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Fact Crime was established in 1948. The winners are listed below.

First Novel

The

Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel The Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel was established in 1946. Only debut novels written by authors with United States citizenship are eligible and may be published in hardcover, paperback, or e-book. If an American author has published ...

was established in 1946. The winners are listed below.

Episode in a Television Series

The

Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Episode in a TV Series The Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Episode in a TV Series was established in 1952. The Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Episode in a TV Series winners are listed below. Recipients 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s ...

was established in 1952. The winners are listed below.

Juvenile

The

Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Juvenile The Edgar Allan Poe Awards (popularly called the Edgars), named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America. They remain the most prestigious awards in the entire mystery genre. Since 1961 they have presented ...

was established in 1961. The winners are listed below.

Novel

The

Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel The Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel was established in 1954. Only hardcover novels written by a published American author are eligible. Paperback original novels are eligible for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Paperback Original. Debut nov ...

was established in 1954. The winners are listed below.

Paperback or eBook Original

The

Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Paperback Original The Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Paperback or eBook Original was established in 1970. The award honors the best mystery book that is initially printed as a paperback or eBook without a hardcover edition. EBooks must be published by a reputable ...

was established in 1970. The winners are listed below.

Short Story

The Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Short Story was established in 1951. The winners are listed below.

Young Adult Novel

The

Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Young Adult Novel The Edgar Allan Poe Awards (popularly called the Edgars), named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America. They remain the most prestigious awards in the entire mystery genre. The award for Best Young Adult ...

was established in 1989. The winners are listed below.

Discontinued categories

Book Jacket

The Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Book Jacket was established in 1955 discontinued in 1975.

Foreign Film

The

Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Foreign Film Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of ''wikt:en:ead, ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''Gar (spear), gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval per ...

was established in 1949 discontinued in 1966.

Motion Picture Screenplay

The Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay was established in 1946 and discontinued in 2009. Winners are listed below.

Mystery Criticism

The

Edgar Allan Poe Award for Outstanding Mystery Criticism Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of ''wikt:en:ead, ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''Gar (spear), gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval per ...

was established in 1946 discontinued in 1967.

Play

The Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Play was established in 1950 and is irregular.

Radio Drama

The Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Radio Drama was established in 1946 and discontinued in 1960.

Special Award

The Edgar Allan Poe Special Award was established in 1949 and is irregular.

Television Feature or Miniseries

The Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Television Feature of Miniseries was established in 1972 and discontinued in 2007.

References

External links

Mystery Writers of America

The official website of Edgar Awards
(includes nominees)
Edgar Allan Poe Awards
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{Edgar Awards Awards established in 1946 Mystery and detective fiction awards American literary awards Edgar Allan Poe English-language literary awards