The entire JABberwocky team made a dazzling appearance at the 2022 Edgar Awards to celebrate the one and only Charlaine Harris!
In 2021, Charlaine was awarded the prestigious Grand Master achievement by the Mystery Writers of America, a representation of the pinnacle of achievement in mystery writing. However, due to Covid-19, the ceremony then was only virtual. And while watching Charlaine be acknowledged for her many contributions to the mystery genre on Zoom was still an honor, nothing quite beats the experience in person.
The MWA’s 76th annual awards ceremony took place on Thursday, April 28th, where Charlaine was formally recognized as the 2021 Grand Master with a brief speech, calling it “the thrill of a lifetime.” And she has certainly put in a lifetime’s amount of work — Charlaine has been writing for over 30 years and has been a JABberwocky client with Joshua Bilmes during the agency’s entire history.
But Charlaine wasn’t the only JAB client in attendance! Next to her were fellow JAB authors, Toni L.P. Kelner and Steve Kelner. Toni has been a long-time friend and collaborator with Charlaine on many anthologies and projects; you may also recognize Toni as Leigh Perry, who penned the Family Skeleton cozy mystery series.
We were also joined by Richard Dannay of the famous Ellery Queen estate. Coincidentally, long-term Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine editor Janet Hutchings was the acquiring editor for REAL MURDERS, the first Aurora Teagarden mystery, so it was special for us to have a representative of the Ellery Queen family as part of our group, and to also be joined by John Morgan, the acquiring editor of the first Sookie Stackhouse novel, and Charlaine’s current editor, Joe Monti of Simon & Schuster/Saga Press. Fellow Saga author Nick Martell and debut author Victor Manibo were also able to join in on the night’s festivities.
The JABberwocky team is beyond honored to call Charlaine Harris a client and a friend, and we were thrilled to see her celebrated for her incredible work over the last few decades. Congratulations Charlaine!
