Last August, mystery mainstay Jeremiah Healy passed away. Healy wrote 18 novels, including the Shamus Award winning Cuddy series. Now, the Mystery Writers Key West Fest are honoring his memory with the inaugural Jeremiah Healy Mystery Writing Award – “The Jerry” – which will be presented at the 2nd Annual Mystery Writers Key West Fest, August 14-16 in Key West, Florida. The winner will receive a book-publishing contract with Absolutely Amazing eBooks, free Mystery Writers Key West Fest registration, hotel accommodations for two nights, and a bobble-headed Jerry trophy.
Sponsored by Absolutely Amazing eBooks, the award salutes the author’s legacy as a beloved and influential mentor credited with helping and advising many aspiring writers. Candidates wishing to compete for the Jeremiah Healy Mystery Writing Award are invited to submit the first three pages of a finished, unpublished manuscript no later than June 30, 2015. Finalists will be notified August 1, and will have until August 10 to submit full manuscripts.
Deadline for Entries: June 30, 2015
Judging Complete: July 31, 2015
Notification to Finalists: August 1, 2015
Entries will need to be emailed to JerryAward@comcast.net as Word attachments. First three pages of a FINISHED manuscript, maximum number of words 750. No need to end with a full sentence or paragraph, just wherever the third page naturally falls. Finalists will be notified and will need to submit the full manuscript. Full manuscripts must be submitted by August 10 to avoid being disqualified
The award judging committee will be led by Healy’s fiancé, mystery author Sandra Balzo, and includes Shirrel Rhoades, author, film critic, media consultant and publisher of Absolutely Amazing eBooks; Ted Hertel, attorney, author, reviewer and immediate past executive vice president of Mystery Writers of America; and Gary Warren Niebuhr, library director, reviewer and author of numerous nonfiction works on crime fiction, including Make Mine a Mystery: A Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction and Read ’em Their Writes: A Handbook for Mystery Book Discussions.
Hat Tip to The Rap Sheet.
