Congratulations to R.J. Ellory who has received one of the most prestigious awards in crime writing. His novel A Simple Act of Violence scooped this year’s Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, announced 22 July at the opening night party of the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate.
Beating off stiff competition from a shortlist that included genre giants Ian Rankin, Peter James and Mark Billingham, R.J. Ellory also beat a number of longlisted heavy-weights from the cream of Britain’s crime writers including Val McDermid, Martina Cole and Peter Robinson.
Now in its sixth year, the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award was created to celebrate the very best in crime writing, and is open to British and Irish authors whose novels were published in paperback in 2009.
Ellory, who was presented the prize by broadcaster Mark Lawson, was completely stunned upon hearing the news: “I don’t think anyone not in my shoes can understand the definition of speechless. I am utterly speechless. This has really taken me aback. I feel acknowledged for doing something different. Thank you, I’m grateful beyond words.”
The judging panel, which included Jenni Murray, BBC Radio 4 broadcaster and author; John Dugdale, Guardian Associate Media Editor; Natalie Haynes, comedian and journalist; Simon Theakston, Executive Director of T&R Theakston Ltd; and a public online vote that represented a 20% share of the all-new judging process, was very impressed by Ellory’s novel. Simon Theakston, said:
“The standard of the shortlist was particularly high this year and our decision was a tough one. However, R.J. Ellory’s A Simple Act of Violence is a most impressive, fascinating and surprising book and a worthy winner of this year’s Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. A fast-paced thriller, each page seems to bring about a new twist and take you deeper into a world that could only have come from a true master of crime fiction. ”