May 2, 2008

A Winning Mystery

Author Katherine Marsh receives the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery

By Vickie An

Who will take home an Edgar? That was the mystery on everyone's minds Thursday night as writers from across the nation gathered for the 2008 Edgar Allan Poe Awards in New York City.

VICKIE AN FOR TIME FOR KIDS Author Katherine Marsh is honored with a 2008 Edgar Award for her novel, The Night Tourist.

The prestigious prize is the Oscars of the mystery industry. The Edgar awards are given out each year by the Mystery Writers of America to honor the genre's best fiction and nonfiction authors. Today show host and bookworm Al Roker served as master of ceremonies for the second year in a row.

And the Edgar Goes To . . .

Fan favorites Dan Hale, co-author of the Zeke Armstrong mystery series, and Goosebumps creator R.L. Stine presented the award for Best Juvenile Mystery. The Edgar went to a delighted Katherine Marsh for her debut novel, The Night Tourist. Marsh's story introduces readers to a curious ninth-grader named Jack Perdu, who discovers hidden tracks and staircases in New York City's Grand Central Station. As he follows the mysterious passageways, Jack discovers the ghostly underworld of New York City. His is an adventure filled with twists and turns.

Marsh, a first-time winner and nominee, says receiving the award was a "wonderful surprise." Especially since she didn't realize as she was writing The Night Tourist that it was a mystery! "That was part of the mystery of winning this (award)," Marsh told TFK. "I just wanted to write a page-turning book." A sequel to The Night Tourist comes out at the beginning of 2009.

Marsh had to endure spine-tingling suspense while waiting to hear who won. The list of Best Juvenile nominees was terrifying. The newly published author was up against past Edgar winner Wendelin Van Draanen for Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things, the secretive Pseudonymous Bosch for The Name of This Book is Secret, Evelyn Coleman for Shadows on Society Hill, and Mary Downing Hahn for Deep and Dark and Dangerous.

Other categories included Best Novel, Best Fact Crime Novel and Best Motion Picture Screen Play. In the Best Young Adult Mystery category, Tedd Arnold won for his book Rat Life, about a New York teen named Todd who befriends a mysterious old war veteran.

A Man of Mystery

The Edgar Award is named in honor of 19th-century American mystery writer Edgar Allan Poe. The legendary author is hailed as the inventor of the detective novel. Poe loved giving readers a good fright with his bone-chilling tales, including the spooky poem, The Raven.

This year marks the 62nd annual Edgars event, and the 199th anniversary of Poe's birth. Judges considered more than 1,000 books, 500 short stories, and several television and movie screenplays to determine the winners.

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