The Edgar Allan Poe Awards 1979
The Edgar Allan Poe awards (the "Edgars") are awarded by the Mystery Writers of America to authors of distinguished work in various categories of the mystery genre.  The following list is of print literature only.  The awards for television, motion pictures, and plays have been omitted.
Best Novel:  THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE, by Ken Follett.

Nominated:
THE SNAKE, by John Godey (Putnam)
LISTENING WOMAN, by Tony Hillerman (Harper & Row)
A SLEEPING LIFE, by Ruth Rendell (Doubleday)
THE SHALLOW GRAVE, by Jack S. Scott (Harper & Row)

Best First Novel:   KILLED IN THE RATINGS, by William L. DeAndrea

   Nominated:
   THE SCOURGE, by Thomas L. Dunne (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan)
   FALLING ANGEL, by William Hjortsberg (Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich)
   BLOOD SECRETS, by Craig Jones (Harper & Row)
   THE MEMORY OF EVA RYKER, by Donald A. Stanwood

Best Paperback Original:  DECEIT AND DEADLY LIES by Frank Bandy (Charter)

   Nominated:
   STUD GAME by David Anthony (Pocketbooks)
   THE SWITCH by Elmore Leonard (Bantam)
   HEARTSTONE by Philip Margolin (Pocket Books)
   CHARNEL HOUSE by Graham Masterton (Pinnacle)

Best Fact Crime:  TILL DEATH DO US PART, by Vincent Bugliosi and Ken Hurwitz (Norton)

    Nominated:
    WHY HAVE THEY TAKEN OUR CHILDREN?, by Jack W. Baugh and Jefferson Morgan (Delacourt)
    CRIMINAL VIOLENCE, by Charles Silberman (Random House)
    PERJURY, by Alan Weinstein (Knopf)

Best Critical or Biographical Work:  THE MYSTERY OF AGATHA CHRISTIE, by Gwen Robins (Doubleday)

    Nominated:
    ERLE STANLEY GARDNER: THE CASE OF THE REAL PERRY MASON, by Dorothy B. Hughes (Wm. Morrow)
    THE TELL-TALE HEART: THE LIFE AND WORK OF EDGAR ALLAN POE, by Julian Symons (Harper & Row)
    THE DETECTIVE IN HOLLYWOOD, by John Tuska (Doubleday)

Best Short Story: "The Cloud Beneath the Eaves", by Barbara Owens (in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, January, 1978).

Nominated:
"Going Backward" by David Ely (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine 11/78)
"Strangers in the Fog" by Bill Pronzini (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine 6/78)
"The Closed Door" by Thomas Walsh (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine 5/78)
"This is Death" by Donald E. Westlake (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine 11/78)

Best Juvenile:  ALONE IN WOLF HOLLOW by Dana Brookins (Seabury)

    Nominated:
    THE BASSUMTYTE TREASURE by Jean Louise Curry (Atheneum)
    EMILY UPHAM'S REVENGE by Avi (Pantheon)
    THE HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN SMASHER by Judith St. George (Putnam)
    THE CASE OF THE SECRET SCRIBBLER by E. W. Hildick (Macmillan)

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