No longer a secret

(but it was, for months and months)

I was invited to serve on a jury for this year’s Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence.

It was an honour, and something I was happy to do, as a way of saying thank you, and to pay forward what I experienced as someone whose work has been read by a CWC jury.

At the urging of my writing mentor, Melodie Campbell, who is an accomplished crime novelist and teacher of writing, I joined CWC in 2017. Soon after I submitted my first crime novel to their annual competition for unpublished manuscripts.

That was such an incredibly affirming process. My 5000 page excerpt and summary of The Book of Answers made the cut for the “long list” of ten, and they asked for a complete copy of the whole novel. That manuscript made the short list of five that were nominated for an award, and I was invited to a swanky banquet at the Art and Letters Club in Toronto.

When asked to describe their great hall, I now say, “Think of where the fellows of the college dine in every crime show set in Cambridge or Oxford.” (I used to make a reference to a certain school of magic.)

I had no illusions my unpublished manuscript would win the category. I was intimately familiar with its weaknesses. The nomination spurred me on to keep at it, and a few years later I was able to see it in print. The sequel will come out this fall. (The Book of Christmas Joy)

While I was reading each book in my assigned category for this year’s CWC awards, I tried to keep in mind how much it meant to me, that my manuscript received such consideration. I looked hard for things to like about each novel, even ones that weren’t the kind of crime story I normally read.

I reminded myself that each author pours themselves into their work.

I had the privilege of working as part of a team of jurors. Our Zoom calls were fun, and educational. I learned new things about how to read a crime novel, and about how to apply semi-objective standards in a judging process.

It was hard and joyous work, reading the dozens of books in our category, and deliberating over them, making our long list, then our short list, then naming the winner.

It was especially lovely that the book we finally agreed upon was the one I liked the best.

They wanted to know if I’d do it again, if asked. I said yes.