Ngaio Marsh Award

Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel
The first Ngaio Marsh Award trophy was presented in 2010
Awarded for	Excellence in New Zealand crime, mystery, and thriller writing
Country	New Zealand
First awarded	2010
Official website	http://www.facebook.com/NgaioMarshAward

The Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel (popularly called the Ngaio) is a literary award presented annually in New Zealand to recognise excellence in crime fiction, mystery, and thriller writing. The Award was established by journalist and crime fiction reviewer Craig Sisterson in 2010, and is named after Dame Ngaio Marsh, one of the four Queens for Crime of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. The Award has traditionally been presented each year in Christchurch, the hometown of Dame Ngaio.^[1]

Beginnings

The Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel was launched in 2010 by lawyer turned journalist Craig Sisterson, who wanted to provide an opportunity for New Zealand crime and mystery writing to be supported, recognised and celebrated, as crime novels by local authors were often overlooked by festival organisers and the main books awards in New Zealand, and up until that point New Zealand - unlike most other English-speaking countries - did not have a specific award for crime, mystery, and thriller fiction.^[2]

Sisterson had been writing reviews and features about crime writers for a number of magazines and newspapers in New Zealand and Australia and had set up a website about New Zealand crime writing.^[3] Earlier in 2010, he had written an opinion piece, "Kiwis love crime fiction, but what about our own?" for Booknotes magazine saying that New Zealand had great crime writers who were not being supported locally, by bookstores, literary festivals, or awards, and it was time that changed.^[4]

After discussions with many people in the New Zealand book industry, Sisterson decided to launch the Ngaio Marsh Award at the Christchurch Writers Festival in 2010, honouring both contemporary crime writers and New Zealand's most famous mystery writer in her own hometown.^[5] He sought and received the blessing of Dame Ngaio Marsh's closest living relative to honour Dame Ngaio by using her name and an artistic impression of her likeness for New Zealand's first-ever crime fiction prize.^[6]

The inaugural award was intended to be presented at the biennial Christchurch Writers Festival in September 2010, but had to be postponed due to a severe earthquake that struck the city that month, leading to the cancellation of the festival. The first Ngaio Marsh Award was presented at a special event in Christchurch in December 2010, and won by the pseudonymous author Alix Bosco for the thriller Cut & Run. Bosco did not attend the presentation ceremony, but would later reveal 'herself' as New Zealand screenwriter and playwright Greg McGee in the lead-up to the 2011 Award.^[7]

The launch of the Award, and New Zealand crime writing in general, was featured in major newspapers and magazines in New Zealand, including the Sunday Star-Times,^[8] the Herald on Sunday,^[9] and the New Zealand Listener.^[10]

Neil Cross winning the 2012 Ngaio Marsh Award

The Award

For the first three years of the Award, the winner received a distinctive handcrafted trophy designed and created by New Zealand sculptor and Unitec art lecturer Gina Ferguson, a full set of Ngaio Marsh novels, and a cash prize provided by the Christchurch Writers Festival Trust. The trophy depicted an artistic rendering of Dame Ngaio's famous visage in mother-of-pearl on a black velvet covered partially open book.

From 2013, the winner has received a framed plaque bearing the award logo, a set of Ngaio Marsh novels, and a cash prize.

Award presentations

Following the postponement of the inaugural event when the biennial Christchurch Writers Festival was cancelled in 2010, the Award has been presented at a variety of events in association with the Christchurch Writers Festival, which has continued its support of the Award, each year. In 2011, the "Setting the Stage for Murder" event was held at the Christchurch Arts Festival, with all four finalists and internationally bestselling crime writers Tess Gerritsen and John Hart in attendance.

In 2012 and 2014 the Award was presented at events as part of the Christchurch Writers Festival programme, in each case following the popular 'Great New Zealand Crime Debate'. In 2012 Australian crime writer Michael Robotham presented the Award, and in 2014 Icelandic crime writer Yrsa Sigurdardottir presented the Award.

Winners and finalists

2010

The inaugural presentation was made in Christchurch after a standalone crime panel featuring two of the three finalists, Neil Cross and Vanda Symon, local crime writer Paul Cleave, and chaired by Sisterson. The third finalist, Alix Bosco, did not attend as it was a pseudonym for a "successful writer in other media" who wanted to keep their identity a secret.^[11] Bosco's debut thriller, CUT & RUN, was announced as the winner at the conclusion of the event, with representatives from publisher Penguin NZ accepting on the author's behalf.

• Cut & Run by Alix Bosco
  • Containment by Vanda Symon
  • Burial by Neil Cross

2011

The second presentation of the Ngaio Marsh Award was made following the "Setting the Stage for Murder" event held as part of the Christchurch Arts Festival in August 2011, which also included appearances by New York Times bestselling authors Tess Gerritsen and John Hart. At the event, acclaimed television screenwriter and playwright Greg McGee made his first appearance after revealing himself as Alix Bosco, the winner of the inaugural award, in a national newspaper in the lead-up to the 2011 Award.^[12]

• Blood Men by Paul Cleave
  • Hunting Blind by Paddy Richardson
  • Captured by Neil Cross
  • Slaughter Falls by Alix Bosco

2012

The third presentation was during an event at the 2012 Christchurch Writers Festival, which was held in temporary facilities as the city continued to recover from the devastating September 2010 and February 2011 earthquakes. Award-winning Australian crime writer Michael Robotham presented the Award to Neil Cross following the sold-out 'Great New Zealand Crime Debate' event. Cross's winning novel was a prequel to his award-winning television series Luther, starring Idris Elba.

• Luther: The Calling by Neil Cross
  • Collecting Cooper by Paul Cleave
  • By Any Means by Ben Sanders
  • Bound by Vanda Symon

2013

In the fourth year of the Award, the presentation was made privately as logistical issues didn't allow for a public event.

• Death on Demand by Paul Thomas
  • The Laughterhouse by Paul Cleave
  • Little Sister by Julian Novitz
  • The Faceless by Vanda Symon

2014

The 2014 presentation was made at the WORD Christchurch Writers Festival following the popular Great Crime Debate event where finalist Paul Cleave competed in the negative team (rather ironically) debating the moot, 'Crime Doesn't Pay'. For the record, the negative team won in an landslide victory. Liam McIlvanney was in attendance to receive the award from Icelandic crime writer Yrsa Sigurdardottir

• Where The Dead Men Go - Liam McIlvanney
  • Joe Victim by Paul Cleave
  • Frederick's Coat by Alan Duff
  • My Brother's Keeper by Donna Malane

References

External links

• Ngaio Marsh Award Facebook page