Join us in honoring this year’s ThrillerMasters, Thriller Legend, and Thriller Award winners!
On Saturday, June 4, 2022, we will welcome everyone to the 17th annual banquet where we will honor 2022 ThrillerMasters Frederick Forsyth and Diana Gabaldon, present the Thriller Awards, and offer other entertainment. We also host a cocktail party before the dinner and an after-party following the dinner. During the banquet, the key individuals who make this organization work are introduced. Highlights include hearing from our ThrillerMasters and finding out who wins the coveted Thriller Awards, which are given every year for the best thriller books in hardcover, paperback original, debut, e-book original, and other categories. The nominees for each category for the 2022 Thriller Awards will be posted on the ThrillerFest website by March, 2022.
A special thanks to Jennifer Hillier, the VP of Awards and all the volunteers who read, judge, and choose the winners.
The nominees and winners for the 2021 Thriller Awards are listed below.
2021 ITW Thriller Awards
During a ceremony at “Virtual” ThrillerFest on Saturday, July 10, 2021, the International Thriller Writers announced the winners of the 2020 Thriller Awards. The awards were presented by literary luminaries Harlan Coben, Lisa Gardner, Tess Gerritsen, Walter Mosley, Karin Slaughter and R.L. Stine.
BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL
WINNER: S.A. Cosby – BLACKTOP WASTELAND (Flatiron Books)
Joe Ide – HI FIVE (Mulholland Books)
Richard Osman – THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB (Penguin)
Ivy Pochoda – THESE WOMEN (Ecco)
Lisa Unger – CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45 (Park Row)
BEST FIRST NOVEL
Jasmine Aimaq – THE OPIUM PRINCE (Soho Press)
Don Bentley – WITHOUT SANCTION (Berkley)
Kyle Perry – THE BLUFFS (Michael Joseph)
Francesca Serritella – GHOSTS OF HARVARD (Random House)
WINNER: David Heska Wanbli Weiden – WINTER COUNTS (Ecco)
BEST ORIGINAL PAPERBACK NOVEL
Alyssa Cole – WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING (William Morrow Paperbacks)
Layton Green – UNKNOWN 9: GENESIS (Reflector Entertainment)
WINNER: John Marrs – WHAT LIES BETWEEN US (Thomas & Mercer)
Andrew Mayne – THE GIRL BENEATH THE SEA (Thomas & Mercer)
Benjamin Stevenson – EITHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT (Penguin Random House Australia)
BEST SHORT STORY
Steve Hockensmith – “The Death and Carnage Boy” (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
Laura Lippman – “Slow Burner” (Amazon Original Stories)
WINNER: Alan Orloff – “Rent Due” (Down & Out Books)
Elaine Viets – “Dog Eat Dog” (Untreed Reads)
Andrew Welsh-Huggins – “The Mailman” (Down & Out Books)
BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
Demetra Brodsky – LAST GIRLS (Tor Teen)
WINNER: Andrea Contos – THROWAWAY GIRLS (Kids Can Press)
Kit Frick – I KILLED ZOE SPANOS (Margaret K. McElderry Books)
Lily Sparks – TEEN KILLERS CLUB (Crooked Lane Books)
Heather Young – THE DISTANT DEAD (William Morrow)
BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL
Sean Black – AVENUE OF THIEVES (Sean Black)
WINNER: Jeff Buick – A KILLING GAME (Novel Words)
Diane Capri – FULL METAL JACK (AugustBooks)
Jake Needham – MONGKOK STATION (Half Penny)
Kirk Russell – NO HESITATION (Strawberry Creek)
