The Maltese Falcon Society is an organization for admirers of

Dashiell Hammett Samuel Dashiell Hammett (; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade ('' ...

, his 1930 novel '' The Maltese Falcon,'' and

hardboiled Hardboiled (or hard-boiled) fiction is a literary genre that shares some of its characters and settings with crime fiction (especially detective fiction and noir fiction). The genre's typical protagonist is a detective who battles the violence o ...

mystery books and writers in general. Founded in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

in 1981, the organization is no longer active in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

; however, a chapter in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

has been active continuously since 1982. The Japanese branch of the society presents the

Falcon Award The Maltese Falcon Society is an organization for admirers of Dashiell Hammett, his 1930 novel ''The Maltese Falcon (novel), The Maltese Falcon,'' and hardboiled mystery books and writers in general. Founded in San Francisco in 1981, the organizatio ...

, Japan's highest honor in the mystery field, to honor the best hardboiled mystery novel published in Japan.

Beginnings

The Maltese Falcon Society was founded in

on May 20, 1981
by literary historian and biographer

Don Herron BR549 (originally spelled BR5-49) was an American country rock band founded in 1993. It originally consisted of Gary Bennett (lead and background vocals, acoustic guitar), Don Herron (steel guitar, resonator guitar, fiddle, mandolin, acoustic gu ...

and private investigator Jayson Wechter. The society's first meeting was held at John's Grill, a restaurant where Dashiell Hammett ate and which he featured in ''The Maltese Falcon''. The speakers at that first meeting were David Fechheimer, a Hammett researcher and private investigator, and E. Hoffmann Price, a pulp fiction author.''The Dashiell Hammett Tour: Thirtieth Anniversary Guidebook''. By Don Herron. San Francisco: Vince Emery Productions, 2009. Page 199. The society opened chapters in New York and Japan. By 1982, the society had 110 members in San Francisco, 55 in Japan, and 50 in New York. As its official toast, the society adopted the one used by Sam Spade in Chapter 2 of ''The Maltese Falcon'': "Success to crime."

Activities

William Nadel of the New York chapter conducted a Dashiell Hammett/''Thin Man'' walking tour of Manhattan. Founded by mystery writer Jiro Kimura, the Japanese chapter produced a newsletter called ''The Maltese Falcon Flyer'' ten times a year, and in 1983 began to present the annual Falcon Award. Co-founder Herron began to conduct the Dashiell Hammett Tour in San Francisco, the longest running literary tour in the United States. The San Francisco chapter meetings heard presentations by mystery novelists Julie Smith,

Charles Willeford Charles Ray Willeford III (January 2, 1919 – March 27, 1988) was an American writer. An author of fiction, poetry, autobiography, and literary criticism, Willeford is best known for his series of novels featuring hardboiled detective fiction, ...

, Stephen Greenleaf, and

Joe Gores Joseph Nicholas Gores (December 25, 1931 - January 10, 2011) was an American mystery writer. He was known best for his novels and short stories set in San Francisco and featuring the fictional "Dan Kearney and Associates" (the "DKA Files") privat ...

. Other speakers included Hammett biographers

Diane Johnson Diane Johnson (born Diane Lain, April 28, 1934), is an American novelist and essayist whose satirical novels often feature American heroines living abroad in contemporary France. She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for her novel ''Persian ...

and William F. Nolan, bounty hunter Tiny Boyles, people who knew Hammett including

Jerome Weidman Jerome Weidman (April 4, 1913, New York City – October 6, 1998, New York City) was an American playwright and novelist. He collaborated with George Abbott on the book for the musical ''Fiorello!'' with music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldo ...

, and coroners, crime reporters, FBI agents, and bail bondsmen. The San Francisco chapter also staged special events, such as a "shootout" conducted at the 1981 Marin Designers Showcase in Mill Valley, California, which resulted in the police being called."Marin Showcase opens with a bang" by Tony Lewis and Jorie Parr, ''Mill Valley Record'', September 16, 1981, pp. 1, 3 The New York chapter became inactive in the late 1980s. The fifth anniversary meeting of the San Francisco chapter was held May 27, 1986, on the 92nd anniversary of Hammett's birth, and it was the chapter's last. The author's daughter Jo Hammett was the final speaker. By 1990, only the Japanese chapter of The Maltese Falcon Society was still active. In 2006, the Japanese chapter produced a large-format softcover book in Japanese, ''The Complete Maltese Falcon Flyer 1982-2006'', which includes the first 250 issues of the newsletter with new introductions by Don Herron and other writers. In 2009, with about 90 members, the Japanese chapter continues to hold meetings in Tokyo and Osaka, to produce ''The Maltese Falcon Flyer'', and to present the Falcon Award.

Falcon Awards

The Falcon Award is awarded by the members of the Maltese Falcon Society of Japan for the best hardboiled novel published in Japan. The winning author receives a certificate of merit and a falcon sculpture crafted in wood. * 1983 ''

Early Autumn ''Early Autumn'' is a 1926 novel by Louis Bromfield. It won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1927. In 1956, producer Benedict Bogeaus announced that he was adapting the book into a film to be titled "Conquest," but the film was never made. ...

'' by

Robert B. Parker Robert Brown Parker (September 17, 1932 – January 18, 2010) was an American writer, primarily of fiction within the mystery/detective genre. His most famous works were the 40 novels written about the fictional private detective Spenser. AB ...

* 1984 ''The Old Dick'' by L.A. Morse * 1985 ''The Wrong Case'' by

James Crumley James Arthur Crumley (October 12, 1939 – September 17, 2008)Local author James Crumley dies at 68 url=http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/09/18/news/local/news02.txt date=2008-09-17 accessdate=2008–09=18Fox, Margali''New York Times'' (S ...

* 1986 ''Hammett'' by

* 1987 ''

When the Sacred Ginmill Closes ''When the Sacred Ginmill Closes'' is a Matthew Scudder novel, written by Lawrence Block. Based on the short story "By the Dawn's Early Light", and published four years after ''Eight Million Ways to Die'', this novel resurrected Block's interest ...

'' by

Lawrence Block Lawrence Block (born June 24, 1938) is an American crime writer best known for two long-running New York-set series about the recovering alcoholic P.I. Matthew Scudder and the gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr. Block was named a Grand Mas ...

* 1988 ''Hard Line'' by Michael Z. Lewin * 1989 ''

Strega Strega, the Italian word for ''witch'', may refer to: *Strega, a group of pagan magic users who are part of the protectors of Venice in the Heirs of Alexandria series by Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint, and Dave Freer *Stregheria, or the Strega traditi ...

'' by

Andrew Vachss Andrew Henry Vachss ( ; October 19, 1942 – November 23, 2021) was an American crime fiction author, child protection consultant, and attorney exclusively representing children and youths. Early life and career Vachss grew up in Manhattan on ...

* 1990 ''A Girl Who I Killed'' by Ryo Hara * 1991 '' "F" Is for Fugitive'' by

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 ...

* 1992 ''A Ticket to the Boneyard'' by

* 1993 ''Book Case'' by

Stephen Greenleaf Stephen Greenleaf (1628 – 1 December 1690) was an American colonial politician and soldier. He was one of the nine original purchasers of Nantucket Island. A number of his descendants became prominent in North American society. Life Stephen ...

* 1994 ''A Cool Breeze on the Underground'' by

Don Winslow Don Winslow (born October 31, 1953) is an American retired author best known for his award-winning and internationally bestselling crime novels, including '' Savages'', ''The Force'' and the Cartel Trilogy. Early life Winslow was born on Oct ...

* 1995 ''

The Black Ice ''The Black Ice'' is the second novel by American crime author Michael Connelly, featuring the Los Angeles detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. Plot In the book, narcotics officer Calexico (named after the place Calexico) Moore's body is disco ...

'' by

Michael Connelly Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. Connelly is the bes ...

* 1996 no winner * 1997 ''

White Jazz ''White Jazz'' is a 1992 crime fiction novel by James Ellroy. It is the fourth in his L.A. Quartet, preceded by ''The Black Dahlia'', ''The Big Nowhere'', and ''L.A. Confidential''. James Ellroy dedicated ''White Jazz'' "TO ''Helen Knode''." The ...

'' by

James Ellroy Lee Earle "James" Ellroy (born March 4, 1948) is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a telegrammatic prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, sta ...

* 1998 no winner * 1999 ''

The Big Blowdown ''The Big Blowdown'' is a 1996 crime novel written by George Pelecanos. It is set in Washington, D.C. and focuses on Peter Karras. It is the first of four books comprising the D.C. Quartet. The other books in this series are '' King Suckerman'', ' ...

'' by

George Pelecanos George P. Pelecanos (born February 18, 1957) is an American author. Many of his 20 books are in the genre of detective fiction and set primarily in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He is also a film and television producer and a television writ ...

* 2000-2004 no winner * 2005 ''The Wrong Goodbye'' by Toshihiko Yahagi * 2006 ''

Lost Light ''Lost Light'' is the ninth novel in Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series. It is the first Bosch novel to be narrated in first person; all prior Bosch novels had utilized an omniscient third-person style. Plot summary ''Lost Light'' is the fi ...

'' by

* 2007 ''Under the Skin'' by

James Carlos Blake James Carlos Blake (born May 26, 1947) is an American writer of novels, novellas, short stories, and essays. His work has received extensive critical favor and several notable awards. He has been called “one of the greatest chroniclers of the my ...

* 2008 ''

No Country for Old Men ''No Country for Old Men'' is a 2007 American neo-Western crime thriller film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, based on Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel of the same name. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin, the ...

'' by

Cormac McCarthy Cormac McCarthy (born Charles Joseph McCarthy Jr., July 20, 1933) is an American writer who has written twelve novels, two plays, five screenplays and three short stories, spanning the Western and post-apocalyptic genres. He is known for his gr ...

* 2009 ''Winter and Night'' by S.J. Rozan * 2010 '' The Power of the Dog'' by

* 2011 ''

The Winter of Frankie Machine ''The Winter of Frankie Machine'' is a 2006 thriller novel by American writer Don Winslow. The book was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller, ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. Plot summary Fra ...

'' by

* 2012 no winner * 2013 no winner * 2014 ''Live by Night'' by

Dennis Lehane Dennis Lehane (born August 4, 1965) is an American author. He has published more than a dozen novels; the first several were a series of mysteries featuring recurring characters, including ''A Drink Before the War''. Of these, four were adapted a ...

* 2015 ''Ghostman'' by

Roger Hobbs Roger Hobbs (June 10, 1988 – November 14, 2016) was an American writer. He was the author of ''Ghostman'' and ''Vanishing Games''. In 2011, Hobbs sold the adaptation rights to his crime fiction ''Ghostman'' to Warner Bros., Warner Brothers. ...

* 2016 ''Missing: New York'' by

* 2017 ''Kurai Etsuryu'' by Nanami Wakatake * 2018 ''The Promise'' by

Robert Crais Robert Crais (pronounced ) (born June 20, 1953) is an American author of detective fiction. Crais began his career writing scripts for television shows such as ''Hill Street Blues'', ''Cagney & Lacey'', '' Quincy'', ''Miami Vice'' and ''L.A. Law ...

* 2019 ''The Force'' by

* 2020 ''Down the River Unto the Sea'' by

Walter Mosley Walter Ellis Mosley (born January 12, 1952) is an American novelist, most widely recognized for his crime fiction. He has written a series of best-selling historical mysteries featuring the hard-boiled detective Easy Rawlins, a black private inv ...

* 2021 ''Breaking Point'' by

C. J. Box Charles James Box Jr. (born 1958) is an American author of more than thirty novels. Box is the author of the Joe Pickett series, as well as several stand-alone novels, and a collection of short stories. The novels have been translated into 27 lan ...

* 2022 ''Private Eyes'' by Chi Wei-Jan

References

External links

Online versions of some issues of ''The Maltese Falcon Flyer''

{{The Maltese Falcon Mystery fiction Literary societies Organizations based in San Francisco 1981 establishments in California Clubs and societies in Japan