And the Winner Is

Awards for crime fiction from year to year ride a line between subjective merit and a popularity contest -- agree or disagree?. And what is your personal philosophy on awards -- their impact on readers (and you, if you've won any) and on subsequent award years?

Brenda Chapman chiming in. Happy New Year, all!

The Oxford Dictionary defines an award as: "a prize or other mark of recognition given in honor of an achievement". A neat and tidy action on the surface but one fraught with problems. How doe...