Sara J. Henry: Sara in Vermont

Tickets on Sale for MWA Symposium April 25

2012-02-18T10:11:00.001-05:00

I'll be appearing on a panel at the MWA Symposium Wednesday, April 25, during Edgars week, with Ace Atkins, Diana Gabaldon, and Kelley Ragland, moderated by Reed Coleman. There are a bunch of great panels throughout the day, and anyone can register to attend (with a discount for MWA members).

11:20-12:20: Hanging with the Pros
What makes characters memorable?

Moderator: REED FARREL COLEMAN, Former MWA EVP, 2-time Edgar® Nominee (Hurt Machine)
Panelists: ACE ATKINS, 2012 Best Novel Edgar® Nominee (The Ranger)
                  DIANA GABALDON, 2012 Best Short Story Edgar® Nominee (Down These Strange Streets)
                  SARA J. HENRY, 2012 Mary Higgins Clark Nominee (Learning to Swim)
                  KELLEY RAGLAND, Editorial Director, Minotaur Books

Here's the full lineup for the day. Books will also be on sale by Partners and Crime (the store that hosted my launch!) following each panel, and of course you can get them signed. You can register for the symposium here. Hope to see you there.

LEARNING TO SWIM: Up for an Agatha Award

2012-02-16T12:43:00.000-05:00

I'm very honored to have just received a nomination for the Agatha Award for best first novel - here's the list:

Best First Novel:
Dire Threads by Janet Bolin (Berkley)
Choke by Kaye George (Mainly Murder Press)
Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry (Crown)
Who Do, Voodoo? by Rochelle Staab (Berkley)
Tempest in the Tea Leaves by Kari Lee Townsend (Berkley)

Agatha Awards are given to books "best typified by the works of Agatha Christie as well as others" - which, in general, contain no explicit sex, excessive gore, or gratuitous violence.

So of course huge thanks to the nominating committee and everyone, everywhere, who had a hand in helping push this novel along to publication, and, yep, I'll be at Malice Domestic in Bethesda April 27-29.

The Only Thing Better than Being Nominated for an Award: Having a Friend Nominated Too

2012-02-13T08:23:00.001-05:00

I'm incredibly pleased to announce that my novel Learning to Swim was nominated for a Barry Award for best first novel - as was my friend Taylor Stevens' The Informationist. (If you haven't read Taylor's book, you'd better get cracking, because her sequel's already out. Mine, you'll have to wait until November for, unless you're on my advanced copy list.)

And am also delighted to see my friend Reed Coleman's Hurt Machine on the best novel list, and Roger Ellory's Bad Signs on the best British list. And up for best paperback: Fun and Games by Duane Swierczynski, one of the authors I'll be appearing with at the St. Louis library's Suspense Night in April.

Here's the full list:

2012 BARRY AWARD NOMINATIONS
The Barry Awards will be presented October 4, 2012 at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame during the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 Bouchercon in Cleveland, Ohio.

Best Novel
THE KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES (in U.K., MERCY), Jussi Adler-Olsen
THE ACCIDENT, Linwood Barclay
HURT MACHINE, Reed Farrel Coleman
IRON HOUSE, John Hart
HELL IS EMPTY, Craig Johnson
THE TROUBLED MAN, Henning Mankell

Best First Novel
LEARNING TO SWIM, Sara J. Henry
THE DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X, Keigo Higashino
THE BOY IN THE SUITCASE, Lene Kaaberbol and Agnette Friis
TURN OF MIND, Alice LaPlante
THE INFORMATIONIST, Taylor Stevens
BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP, S.J. Watson

Best British (Published in the U.K. in 2011)
NOW YOU SEE ME, S.J. Bolton
HELL'S BELLS (in U.K., THE INFERNALS), John Connolly
BAD SIGNS, R. J. Ellory
THE HOUSE AT SEA’S END, Elly Griffiths
OUTRAGE, Arnaldur Indridason
DEAD MAN’S GRIP, Peter James

Best Paperback Original
THE SILENCED, Brett Battles
THE HANGMAN’S DAUGHTER, Oliver Pötzsch
A DOUBLE DEATH ON THE BLACK ISLE, A. D. Scott
DEATH OF THE MANTIS, Stanley, Michael
FUN AND GAMES, Duane Swierczynski
TWO FOR SORROW, Nicola Upson

Best Thriller
CARVER, Tom Cain
COUP D’ETAT, Ben Coes
SPYCATCHER (SPARTAN), Matthew Dunn
BALLISTIC, Mark Greaney
HOUSE DIVIDED, Mike Lawson
THE INFORMANT, Thomas Perry

Best Short Story (compiled by Marv Lachman)
Doug Allyn, "Thicker Than Blood" (AHMM September)
Jeffrey Cohen, "The Gun Also Rises" (AHMM January-February)
Mike Cooper, "Whiz Bang" (EQMM September-October)
Trina Corey, "Facts Exhibiting Wantonness" ( EQMM November)
James Powell, "Last Laugh in Floogle Park" (EQMM July)
Eric Rutter, "Purge" (AHMM December)

Note: If you're wondering how I have such cool friends - there's a one-word answer: Bouchercon. And, in a round-about way, Laurie King, who told me I should attend. And my friend Meg Clayton, from my Nashville writing group where I started this novel, who for a time shared an agent with Laurie.