Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City.
The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday.
It presents the Edgar Award, a small bust of Edgar Allan Poe, to mystery or crime writers every year. It presents the Raven Award to non-writers, who contribute to the mystery genre. The category of Best Juvenile Mystery is also part of the Edgar Award, with such notable recipients as Barbara Brooks Wallace having won the honor twice, for The Twin in the Tavern in 1994 and Sparrows in the Scullery in 1998, and Tony Abbott for his novel The Postcard, which received critical accolades in 2009.
Grand Master Award
The Grand Master Award is the highest honor bestowed by the Mystery Writers of America. It recognizes lifetime achievement and consistent quality.In 2018, the Mystery Writers of America announced that it would honor best-selling author and former prosecutor Linda Fairstein with one of its Grand Master Awards for literary achievement. But two days after controversy erupted in connection with her alleged role in the Central Park jogger case, the organization withdrew the honor.
| Year | Recipient | Year | Recipient | Year | Recipient | Year | Recipient |
| 1955 | Agatha Christie | 1978 | Daphne du Maurier Dorothy B. Hughes Ngaio Marsh | 1994 | Lawrence Block | 2011 | Sara Paretsky |
| 1958 | Vincent Starrett | 1978 | Daphne du Maurier Dorothy B. Hughes Ngaio Marsh | 1995 | Mickey Spillane | 2012 | Martha Grimes |
| 1959 | Rex Stout | 1978 | Daphne du Maurier Dorothy B. Hughes Ngaio Marsh | 1996 | Dick Francis | 2013 | Ken Follett Margaret Maron |
| 1961 | Ellery Queen | 1979 | Aaron Marc Stein | 1997 | Ruth Rendell | 2013 | Ken Follett Margaret Maron |
| 1962 | Erle Stanley Gardner | 1980 | W. R. Burnett | 1998 | Elizabeth Peters | 2014 | Carolyn Hart Robert Crais |
| 1963 | John Dickson Carr | 1981 | Stanley Ellin | 1999 | P. D. James | 2014 | Carolyn Hart Robert Crais |
| 1964 | George Harmon Coxe | 1982 | Julian Symons | 2000 | Mary Higgins Clark | 2015 | Lois Duncan James Ellroy |
| 1966 | Georges Simenon | 1983 | Margaret Millar | 2001 | Edward D. Hoch | 2015 | Lois Duncan James Ellroy |
| 1967 | Baynard Kendrick | 1984 | John le Carré | 2002 | Robert B. Parker | 2016 | Walter Mosley |
| 1969 | John Creasey | 1985 | Dorothy Salisbury Davis | 2003 | Ira Levin | 2017 | Max Allan Collins Ellen Hart |
| 1970 | James M. Cain | 1986 | Ed McBain | 2004 | Joseph Wambaugh | 2017 | Max Allan Collins Ellen Hart |
| 1971 | Mignon G. Eberhart | 1987 | Michael Gilbert | 2005 | Marcia Muller | 2018 | Jane Langton William Link Peter Lovesey |
| 1972 | John D. MacDonald | 1988 | Phyllis A. Whitney | 2006 | Stuart M. Kaminsky | 2018 | Jane Langton William Link Peter Lovesey |
| 1973 | Judson Philips Alfred Hitchcock | 1989 | Hillary Waugh | 2007 | Stephen King | 2018 | Jane Langton William Link Peter Lovesey |
| 1973 | Judson Philips Alfred Hitchcock | 1990 | Helen McCloy | 2008 | Bill Pronzini | 2019 | Martin Cruz Smith |
| 1974 | Ross Macdonald | 1991 | Tony Hillerman | 2009 | James Lee Burke Sue Grafton | 2020 | Barbara Neely |
| 1975 | Eric Ambler | 1992 | Elmore Leonard | 2009 | James Lee Burke Sue Grafton | ||
| 1976 | Graham Greene | 1993 | Donald E. Westlake | 2010 | Dorothy Gilman |
Raven Award
The Raven Awards are recorded in the Edgars Database of the Mystery Writers of America.| Year | Recipient | Notes |
| 1953 | E.T. Guymon Jr. | "For his outstanding library of mystery literature" |
| 1954 | Harrison Stanford Martland | Retiring medical examiner, Essex County, New Jersey |
| 1954 | Tom Lehrer | "For his mystery parodies" |
| 1954 | Dr. Thomas A. Gonzales | Retiring medical examiner, New York City |
| 1957 | Dorothy Kilgallen | Reader of the Year |
| 1959 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Reader of the Year, accepted by Eleanor Roosevelt |
| 1959 | Frederic G. Melcher | On his retirement after 35 years with Publishers Weekly |
| 1959 | Lawrence G. Blochman | "For long and distinguished service" |
| 1960 | Phyllis McGinley | Mystery Fan of the Year |
| 1960 | Gail Patrick Jackson | Executive producer, Perry Mason |
| 1960 | Alfred Hitchcock | "For his contributions to the mystery genre" |
| 1960 | David C. Cook | Best Detective Stories of the Year |
| 1960 | Ray Brennan | "For crime reporting" |
| 1961 | Ilka Chase | Reader of the Year |
| 1962 | The Defenders | TV series |
| 1965 | Philip Wittenberg | "For his long years of voluntary service" |
| 1965 | Dr. Milton Helpern | "For his work in forensic medicine" |
| 1967 | Richard Watts Jr. | Reader of the Year |
| 1967 | Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine | "On its 26th anniversary and as the best showcase for mystery stories" |
| 1968 | Joey Adams | Reader of the Year |
| 1971 | Judith Crist | Reader of the Year |
| 1975 | CBS Radio Mystery Theater | Produced by Himan Brown |
| 1975 | Royal Shakespeare Company | Revival production |
| 1975 | Wide World Mystery | ABC-TV |
| 1976 | Leo Margolies | Editor, Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine |
| 1976 | Eddie Lawrence | Reader of the Year |
| 1978 | Richard N. Hughes | "I Am My Brother's Keeper" |
| 1978 | Edward Gorey | For the sets he designed for Dracula on Broadway |
| 1978 | Danny Arnold | Executive producer, Barney Miller |
| 1979 | Alberto Tedeschi | Publisher of the Mondadori mysteries |
| 1980 | The Muppet Show | Episode, "Muppet Murders" |
| 1983 | Isaac Bashevis Singer | Reader of the Year |
| 1983 | Sylvia Porter | Reader of the Year |
| 1985 | Eudora Welty | Reader of the Year |
| 1986 | Suzi Oppenheimer | Reader of the Year |
| 1988 | Vincent Price | |
| 1988 | Angela Lansbury | |
| 1989 | Shear Madness | Longest running off-Broadway play |
| 1989 | Bouchercon | Annual World Mystery Convention |
| 1991 | Sarah Booth Conroy | Reader of the Year |
| 1991 | Carol Brener | "For her skill in selling books to the public" |
| 1992 | Harold Q. Masur | "For his years of service to MWA as general counsel" |
| 1993 | Bill Clinton | Reader of the Year |
| 1995 | Paul LeClerc | President, New York Public Library |
| 1996 | Library of America | "For their publication of the collected writings of Raymond Chandler" |
| 1997 | Marvin Lachman | |
| 1998 | Sylvia K. Burack | Editor, The Writer magazine |
| 1999 | Steven Bochco | |
| 2000 | Harold Augenbraum | Director, The Mercantile Library |
| 2001 | Enid Schantz, Tom Schantz | The Rue Morgue Press |
| 2002 | Barbara G. Peters | The Poisoned Pen mystery bookstore |
| 2002 | Anthony Mason, Douglas Smith | Correspondent and producer of "The Fine Print", CBS Sunday Morning profiles of mystery writers |
| 2002 | Charles Champlin | Book critic, Los Angeles Times |
| 2003 | Edgar Allan Poe Museum | Richmond, Virginia |
| 2003 | Pat Thomas, Ed Thomas | Book Carnival mystery bookstore, Orange, California |
| 2003 | Otto Penzler | The Mysterious Bookshop |
| 2004 | Graydon Carter and Vanity Fair | "In recognition of their coverage of true crime" |
| 2004 | Bowling Green State University | Ray and Pat Browne Library for Popular Culture Studies,"in recognition of its long-standing work in collecting and preserving detective fiction" |
| 2005 | Martha Farrington | Murder by the Book bookstore, Houston, Texas |
| 2005 | Diane Kovacs, Kara Robinson | Founders, DorothyL listserv |
| 2005 | Steve Oney | Founder, Cape Cod Radio Mystery Theatre |
| 2006 | Joan Hansen | Creator, Men of Mystery Conference |
| 2006 | Bonnie Claeson, Joe Guglielmelli | Black Orchid Bookshop |
| 2007 | Kathy Harig, Tom Harig | Mystery Loves Company Bookstore |
| 2007 | Mitchell Kaplan | Books & Books |
| 2008 | Center for the Book | Library of Congress |
| 2009 | Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum | Baltimore, Maryland |
| 2009 | Edgar Allan Poe Society | Baltimore, Maryland |
| 2010 | Richard Goldman, Mary Alice Gorman | Mystery Lovers Bookshop, Oakmont, Pennsylvania |
| 2010 | Zev Buffman | International Mystery Writers Festival |
| 2011 | Pat Frovarp, Gary Shulze | Once Upon a Crime Mystery Bookstore, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| 2011 | Augie Aleksy | Centuries and Sleuths Bookstore |
| 2012 | Molly Weston | Meritorious Mysteries |
| 2012 | Ed Kaufman | M is for Mystery |
| 2013 | Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore | San Diego, California |
| 2013 | Oline Cogdill | Mystery fiction columnist and critic |
| 2014 | Aunt Agatha's Bookstore | Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| 2015 | Kathryn Kennison | Magna Cum Murder |
| 2015 | Ruth and Jon Jordan | Crimespree magazine |
| 2016 | Margaret Kinsman | mentor, teacher, scholar, Executive Editor of Clues: A Journal of Detection |
| 2016 | Sisters in Crime | organization of women crime writers |
| 2017 | Dru Ann Love | writer and editor of the blog Dru's Book Musings |
| 2018 | Kristopher Zgorski | Founder of review blog, BOLO Books |
| 2018 | The Raven Bookstore | Lawrence, Kansas |
| 2019 | Marilyn Stasio | Crime Columnist - The New York Times Book Review |