AGATHA AWARDS
From Malice Domestic, Ltd.:
" The Agatha Awards honor the traditional mystery--books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie. The genre is generally characterized by mysteries that contain no explicit sex, excessive gore, or gratuitous violence; usually featuring an amateur detective, they have a confined setting and characters who know one another. Novels and stories featuring police officers and private detectives may qualify for the Agatha, but materials generally classified as "hard boiled" are not appropriate."
Categories
Best Novel, Best First Mystery, Best Short Story, Best Non-Fiction, Best Children's/Young Adult Mystery
Judging Process
The Agatha Awards are issued by Malice Domestic, a group established in 1989 to salute traditional mysteries. They hold an annual convention at which the awards are issued. It is a fan-based award, with fans voting to determine which books should be recognized.
Nominations for awards are taken from both publishers and fans. Publishers submit either actual books or lists of books they would like to have considered. Then, convention registrants and members of Malice Domestic will receive nomination ballots. They may then vote on their favorite books and return it to Malice Domestic. The Agatha Committee tallies the votes and determines which books will make the list of final nominees.
Convention attendees then vote via secret ballot and the award are then bestowed at the convention banquet.
