Three of our favorite authors have been nominated for the 2021 Edgar® Awards — Maaza Mengiste, Nnedi Okorafor, and Kwei Quartey.

The Edgar® Awards are administered by the Mystery Writers of America. Now in its 75th year, the awards honor the “best in mystery fiction, nonfiction, and television published or produced in 2020.” The awards are named after Edgar Allan Poe, mystery writer extraordinaire and “patron saint” of the MWA.

Mengiste’s “Dust, Ash, Flight,” published in the collection Addis Ababa Noir (Akashic Books), was nominated for the category of Best Short Story. Okorafor’s Ikenga (Penguin Young Readers — Viking BFYR) was nominated for the category of Best Juvenile Mystery. Quartey’s The Missing American (Soho Press — Soho Crime) was nominated for the category of Best Novel.

All three authors are being nominated for this award for the first time. While Quartey has made his name in the crime/mystery genre, Okorafor and Mengiste’s works are often categorized as Africanfuturist or literary. We’re thrilled to see their work crossing genres!

The awards will be celebrated on April 29, 2021. For the full list of nominees, go here.

Congratulations Maaza Mengiste, Nnedi Okorafor, and Kwei Quartey!