The annual conference that ran Friday through early Sunday, named the winners of the coveted teapot, The Agatha. The Malice Domestic Conference is always held at the end of April, on the Friday after the Mystery Writers of America has their banquet, citing the best in crime fiction by bestowing authors with a bust of Edgar A. Poe. Unlike the Edgars, where the best novels of the year are decided by fellow authors, the Agathas are voted on by fans. This can tend to create a great deal of repeat offenders, as popular authors, whether they wrote the best book that year or not, are voted in by their fans. A perennial favorite, Margaret Maron once again picked up a teapot this year for Best Novel.
agatha awards Archive
The Malice Domestic awards are called Agathas, after the prolific icon, Agatha Christie. They are bestowed to fans’ favorite authors each year at a conference in Virginia. I consider these awards to be the highest fan writer awards in the soft boiled/traditional genre of crime fiction. The convention has been around since 1989, and a Teapot from Malice is a nice boast for sales and jacket blurbs. The criteria to win an Agatha: “The genre is loosely defined as mysteries which contain no explicit sex or excessive gore or violence.” As opposed to the Edgar A. Poe Awards, the Agathas are not decided by a panel of fellow published authors, but the fans that attend the convention. The way it works: those who signed up
“Established in 1989, Malice Domestic® is an annual “fun fan” convention in metropolitan Washington, D.C., saluting the traditional mystery—books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie.” The annual soft boiled mystery convention is taking reservations for this year’s extravaganza. For those not familiar with Malice, it’s a fan and mystery author based gathering that celebrates the best in cozy crime fiction. There are author panels discussing all sorts of themes in relationship to writing, publishing, etc. Fans attend panels that appeal to them. Authors sign their books in between each time slotted panel. The convention lasts three days, with a dinner on Saturday evening announcing the winners of an award called The Agatha, for Queen of Mysteries, Agatha Christie. The award itself is a