december Grand Master named by Ed Gorman No one has more succinctly defined the themes of Bill Pronzini’s work than Marilyn Stasio. In her review of Bill’s novel Blue Lonesome, she wrote: ”There is a sharp sense of place in this moody crime novel, which evokes even the inner landscape of the hero's mind… For all the spareness of its style, this is a rich study of alienated people and the big open spaces where they live.” While not all of Bill’s novels are set in the wide open spaces, all of them show the impact of environment on character. In Bill’s most famous novels, The Nameless Detective books, we see Nameless grow and change as his city of San Francisco grows and changes. I know of no other series where we see a man actually go through so many different phases in his life. Friends die, lovers fade, jobs change, his attitude about himself and the world evolve constantly. The Nameless of 1971’s The Snatch is a far different man than the Nameless of 2007’s Savages. Another remarkable aspect of the Nameless books is that they’ve stayed true to their original blue-collar origins. Nameless may delve into the worlds of the rich and prominent from time to time, but he remains a working class man not given to glitz or glamour. He speaks for people that much of American fiction seems to have lost interest in. But Bill’s career has not been limited to series fiction. In his suspense novels, from the extraordinary Snowbound to the recent masterwork The Crimes of Jordan Wise, Bill has demonstrated that suspense can be both entertaining and thought-provoking at the same time. Then there are all the great and varied short stories. And all the non-fiction, including the legendary Gun In Cheek, which gathers together some of the worst sentences and paragraphs ever put to paper. All writers write the occasional bad sentence. Bill generally concentrates on the ones who made a career of it, though some big names do appear. Author Bill Pronzini, the creator of the Nameless Detective, has John D. MacDonald joked that he “quick-flipped to the index to make very been named MWA’s 2008 Grand Master sure I was not represented.” Bill Pronzini the man is, as you might surmise from reading his fiction, a very bright, passionate and thoroughly decent man who also happens to be Edgars® info funny as hell. He’s able to see the absurdity in what passes for life in this Bill Pronzini has been selected to receive the coveted new century. title of Grand Master, MWAs highest honor bestowed on Finally, he honors his roots. He wrote a number of pieces for Mystery Scene an individual. Kate's Mystery Books (page 7) and The magazine on the topic of Forgotten Writers, men and women who interested Center for the Book in the Library of Congress (page 6) or influenced him in some way. His piece on the late Gil Brewer is considered will each be presented with Raven Awards, bestowed by a masterpiece of biographical writing. MWA's Board of Directors for outstanding achievement Bill used these pieces to demonstrate that mystery fiction is a continuum, in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing. one generation influencing the next, the new generation always extending All three recipients will be honored at the 2008 Edgar® the reach and range of the field, taking it in new directions, refining what Banquet at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, NYC, on Thurs., May came before. 1, 2008. The Edgar nominees will be announced on Fri., These are just a few of the reasons the title Grand Master so comfortably Jan. 18. For additional information on Edgar events, visit and deservedly fits Bill Pronzini, one of the most important writers of our our website. time. Ed Gorman has written a number of crime novels, as well as six collections of short stories. A feature film based on his book The Poker Club will be released www.TheEdgars.com in 2008. CALENDAR OF CRIME · VITAL SIGNS · FRESH BLOOD · WGA ·RAVENS The official newsletter of Mystery Writers of America ISSN #1535-9034 Published 10 times per year MWA National Officers PRESIDENT: Nelson DeMille November: The naming of both the 2008 Grand Master and 2008 Raven Award recipients EXECUTIVE VP: Daniel J. Hale topped the agenda of Mystery Writers of America's national board meeting in November. SECRETARY: Frankie Y. Bailey Bill Pronzini (see page 1) was selected to receive the coveted title of Grand Master, TREASURER: Bob Williamson MWA's highest honor bestowed on an individual. Kate's Mystery Books (page 7) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Center for the Book in the Library of Congress (page The Third Degree Staff 1) were named recipients of the 2008 Raven Awards, awarded for outstanding achievement TTD COMMITTEE CHAIR: Sandra Balzo in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing. All three will be honored at the EDITOR: Beth Tindall 62nd Annual Edgar® Awards banquet on Thursday, May 1, 2008 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel ASST. EDITOR: Annie Chernow in New York City. EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS: In other action, the board approved the appointment of Naomi Hirahara and Sandra Parshall E-MAIL: [email protected] to the Helen McCloy Scholarship Committee. They will join Erin Hart, Margaret Coel and William Tapply on the 2008 committee. The board also approved the proposal of MWA:Reads For terms of submission please see: to allow the youth literacy committee to conduct the Joan Lowery Nixon Contest on an www.mysterywriters.org/submit annual basis. The mystery-writing contest has been held the last two years. In 2007, students wrote more than 2,000 stories in their schools, resulting in 200-plus entries. CALENDAR OF CRIME SUBMISSIONS: E-MAIL: [email protected] A motion also was passed to adopt the CORT Document (Chapter Operating Rules Template) as the standard template for consideration by chapters for their operating guidelines. VITAL SIGNS, ADDRESS CHANGES AND OTHER MEMBERSHIP ISSUES: Finally, due to space considerations, December will be the final month that paid advertising Margery Flax will run in The Third Degree. Thank you to all of our advertisers over the years, and thank Administrative Manager you, too, to Jeffrey Marks for his diligent work as advertising coordinator. Mystery Writers of America --Sandy Balzo 17 E 47th St, 6th floor New York, NY 10017 MWA supports writer’s strike TEL: 212/888-8171 Mystery Writers of America is steadfast in its support of the Writers Guild of America FAX: 212/888-8107 (WGA) strike in seeking appropriate compensation for writers when their work is E-MAIL: [email protected] distributed digitally, either via DVD or Internet downloads. MWA is a professional WEB: www.mysterywriters.org crime writers' organization; we are writers first and foremost. All writers will be © 2007, Mystery Writers of America, Inc. affected by the outcome of this strike, and MWA stands in solidarity with WGA in seeking fair compensation for its members' work. All rights reserved. The publication herein of news, advertising, seminars, classes, etc. does not imply any endorsement by or recommendation of MWA. The Edgar name and logo are registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office. User name & password The user name and password for the Save the date: Edgar® Awards banquet -- Thursday, May 1, 2008. The Edgar nominees Members Only section of the website is will be announced on Friday, Jan. 18th, 2008. Watch our website for this and other member. Contact the National Office for Edgar information. Visit www.theedgars.com. the Active Members Only section password. Don’t forget to check the MWA website (look under About) to make sure your author website is listed on our Members Website section. If you want your site listed, please contact us at [email protected] with the website address. How to be listed on Vital Signs: In order for your work to qualify to be listed, it TTD by e-mail must be genre-related (crime fiction, non-fiction, etc.) and the publisher/producer If you would prefer to receive your TTD must be on MWA's approved publishers list. If the work qualifies, you must send by e-mail, please let the National Office your information to the MWA National Office at least 30 days before your publication know. You must be able to receive large date. We will only include your listing during the month of publication. For example, PDFs (1-2M) as e-mail attachments. a pub date of June 15th, will only be listed in the June/July TTD and the information must be sent to the National Office by May 15th. 2 Ira Levin: An appreciation By Robert S. Levinson There's one thing Ira Levin doesn't write that irks the hell out of me — More. I wrote that in the MWA Annual distributed at the 2003 Edgar Awards dinner, where Ira was celebrated as our newest Grand Master, observing that his output over fifty years totaled only seven novels. Yeah, only seven, but no two alike except for their qualities of invention and execution, groundbreaking from the first one. His career-making A Kiss Before Dying brought Ira international acclaim and the 1954 Edgar for Best First Novel -- at the age of 23. Ira moved on to themes and genres that we might not classify as mysteries or thrillers, only as damn fine, page-turning, memorable fiction: Rosemary's Baby. This Perfect Day. The Stepford Wives The Boys from Brazil. Sliver.