Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Paperback Original
Annual literary award
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The Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Paperback or eBook Original was a category of the Edgar Awards established in 1970.
The award honors the best mystery book that is initially printed as a paperback or eBook without a hardcover edition.[1] EBooks must be published by a reputable publisher, as determined by the Mystery Writers of America.[1] American authors' debut novels are not eligible for the award, though they are eligible for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel.[1]
The Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Paperback Original winners are listed below.
Winners
1970s
| Year | Author | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Scott C. S. Stone | The Dragon's Eye | Winner | |
| Alan Caillou | Assault on Ming | Shortlist | ||
| Elsie Cromwell | The Governess | |||
| Michael Kurland | A Plague of Spies | |||
| Richard Stark | The Sour Lemon Score | |||
| 1971 | Dan J. Marlowe | Flashpoint | Winner | |
| Jack Ehrlich | The Drowning | Shortlist | ||
| Matt Gattzden | O.D. at Sweet Claude’s | |||
| Ron Goulart | After Things Fell Apart | |||
| John Lange | Grave Descend | |||
| Peter McCurtin | Mafioso | |||
| 1972 | Frank McAuliffe | For Murder I Charge More | Winner | |
| Philip Atlee | The White Wolverine Contract | Shortlist | ||
| William F. Nolan | Space for Hire | |||
| Alicen White | Nor Spell, Nor Charm | |||
| Charles Williams | And the Deep Blue Sea | |||
| 1973 | Richard Wormser | The Invader | Winner | |
| Daniel Banko | Not Dead Yet | Shortlist | ||
| Richard Neely | The Smith Conspiracy | |||
| Charles Runyon | Power Kill | |||
| 1974 | Will Perry | Death of an Informer | Winner | |
| Clive Cussler | The Mediterranean Caper | Shortlist | ||
| Leo P. Kelley | Deadlocked! | |||
| Dinah Palmtag | Starling Street | |||
| Roger L. Simon | The Big Fix | |||
| 1975 | Roy Winsor | The Corpse That Walked | Winner | |
| Richard Forrest | Who Killed Mr. Garland’s Mistress? | Shortlist | ||
| R. R. Irvine | Jump Cut | |||
| Curtis Stevens | The Gravy Train Hit | |||
| Don Tracy | Flats Fixed-Among Other Things | |||
| 1976 | John R. Feegel | Autopsy | Winner | |
| Milt Machlin and Robin Moore | The Set-Up | Shortlist | ||
| Jacqueline Park | Charlie’s Back in Town | |||
| Simon Quinn | The Midas Coffin | |||
| David Vowell | The Assassinator | |||
| 1977 | Gregory Mcdonald | Confess, Fletch | Winner | |
| Daniel da Cruz | The Captive City | Shortlist | ||
| Kenn Davis and John Stanley | The Dark Side | |||
| Donald Hamilton | The Retaliators | |||
| R. R. Irvine | Freeze Frame | |||
| 1978 | Mike Jahn | The Quark Maneuver | Winner | |
| Lawrence Block | Time to Murder and Create | Shortlist | ||
| Donald Hamilton | The Terrorizers | |||
| Marc Olden | They’ve Killed Anna | |||
| 1979 | Frank Bandy | Deceit and Deadly Lies | Winner | |
| David Anthony | Stud Game | Shortlist | ||
| Elmore Leonard | The Switch | |||
| Phillip Margolin | Heartstone | |||
| Graham Masterton | Charnel House |
1980s
| Year | Author | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | William L. DeAndrea | The Hog Murders | Winner | |
| Sean Flannery | The Kremlin Conspiracy | Shortlist | ||
| David Heller | Vortex | |||
| Glenn Kezer | The Queen Is Dead | |||
| Michael Kurland | The Infernal Device | |||
| 1981 | Bill Granger | Public Murders | Winner | |
| Thomas H. Cook | Blood Innocents | Shortlist | ||
| John Dunning | Looking for Ginger North | |||
| Murray Sinclair | Tough Luck, L.A. | |||
| 1982 | L. A. Morse | The Old Dick | Winner | |
| John Dunning | Deadline | Shortlist | ||
| Patricia MacDonald | The Unforgiven | |||
| Andrew Neiderman | Pin | |||
| Ray Obstfeld | Dead Heat | |||
| 1983 | Teri White | Triangle | Winner | |
| Ralph Burrows | Vital Signs | Shortlist | ||
| James Ellroy | Clandestine | |||
| Jack Lynch | The Missing and the Dead | |||
| 1984 | Margaret Tracy | Mrs. White | Winner | |
| Sean Flannery | False Prophets | Shortlist | ||
| Richard Harper | The Kill Factor | |||
| Warren Murphy | Trace | |||
| Eric Sauter | Hunter | |||
| 1985 | Molly Cochran and Warren Murphy | Grandmaster | Winner | |
| Eric Blau | The Keys to Billy Tillio | Shortlist | ||
| Roland Cutler | The Seventh Sacrament | |||
| Kenn Davis | Words Can Kill | |||
| Stuart M. Kaminsky | Black Knight in Red Square | |||
| 1986 | Warren Murphy | Pigs Get Fat | Winner | |
| Earl Emerson | Poverty Bay | Shortlist | ||
| Sean Flannery | Broken Idols | |||
| Philip Ross | Blue Heron | |||
| Conall Ryan | Black Gravity | |||
| 1987 | Robert Wright Campbell | The Junkyard Dog | Winner | |
| Lilian Jackson Braun | The Cat Who Saw Red | Shortlist | ||
| R. D. Brown | Hazzard | |||
| Nick Christian | Ronin | |||
| Kate Green | Shattered Moon | |||
| 1988 | Sharyn McCrumb | Bimbos of the Death Sun | Winner | |
| Robert Crais | The Monkey's Raincoat | Shortlist | ||
| Walter Dillon | Deadly Intrusion | |||
| James N. Frey | The Long Way to Die | |||
| Gabrielle Kraft | Bullshot | |||
| 1989 | Timothy Findley | The Telling of Lies | Winner | |
| Fredrick D. Huebner | Judgment by Fire | Shortlist | ||
| Lia Matera | A Radical Departure | |||
| Keith Peterson | The Trapdoor | |||
| Ted Thackrey, Jr. | Preacher |
1990s
| Year | Author | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Keith Peterson | The Rain | Winner | |
| Jeffery Deaver | Manhattan Is My Beat | Shortlist | ||
| Eugene Izzi | King of the Hustlers | |||
| Randy Russell | Hot Wire | |||
| Deborah Valentine | A Collector of Photographs | |||
| 1991 | David Handler | The Man Who Would Be F. Scott Fitzgerald | Winner | |
| L. L Enger | Comeback | Shortlist | ||
| Jane Haddam | Not a Creature Was Stirring | |||
| B. J. Oliphant | Dead in the Scrub | |||
| John Maddox Roberts | SPQR I: The King’s Gambit | |||
| 1992 | Thomas Adcock | Dark Maze | Winner | |
| P. M. Carlson | Murder in the Dog Days | Shortlist | ||
| Ed Naha | Cracking Up | |||
| Christopher Newman | Midtown North | |||
| Deborah Valentine | Fine Distinctions | |||
| 1993 | Dana Stabenow | A Cold Day for Murder | Winner | |
| Lee Harris | The Good Friday Murder | Shortlist | ||
| Gini Hartzmark | Principal Defense | |||
| William Jefferies | Shallow Graves | |||
| Billie Sue Mosiman | Night Cruise | |||
| 1994 | Steven Womack | Dead Folk's Blues | Winner | |
| Margaret Frazer | The Servant’s Tale | Shortlist | ||
| Eugene Izzi | Tony’s Justice | |||
| Thomas A. Roberts | Beyond Saru | |||
| Lisa Scottoline | Everywhere That Mary Went | |||
| 1995 | Lisa Scottoline | Final Appeal | Winner | |
| Milton Bass | The Broken-Hearted Detective | Shortlist | ||
| Dean Feldmeyer | Viper Quarry | |||
| Walter Sorrells | Power of Attorney | |||
| Chassie West | Sunrise | |||
| 1996 | William Heffernan | Tarnished Blue | Winner | |
| Harlan Coben | Deal Breaker | Shortlist | ||
| Kirk Mitchell | High Desert Malice | |||
| Gloria White | Charged With Guilt | |||
| R. D. Wingfield | Hard Frost | |||
| 1997 | Harlan Coben | Fade Away | Winner | |
| Joan M. Drury | Silent Words | Shortlist | ||
| Teri Holbrook | The Grass Widow | |||
| Susan Wade | Walking Rain | |||
| R. D. Zimmerman | Tribe | |||
| 1998 | Laura Lippman | Charm City | Winner | |
| Susan Rogers Cooper | Home Again, Home Again | Shortlist | ||
| Margaret Frazer | The Prioress’ Tale | |||
| Stuart M. Kaminsky | Tarnished Icons | |||
| Gloria White | Sunset and Santiago | |||
| 1999 | Rick Riordan | The Widower's Two-Step | Winner | |
| Ruth Birmingham | Atlanta Graves | Shortlist | ||
| Laura Lippman | Butchers Hill | |||
| Sujata Massey | Zen Attitude | |||
| Steven Womack | Murder Manual |
2000s
| Year | Author | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Ruth Birmingham | Fulton County Blues | Winner | |
| Tony Dunbar | Lucky Man | Shortlist | ||
| Mark Graham | The Resurrectionist | |||
| José Latour | Outcast | |||
| Laura Lippman | In Big Trouble | |||
| 2001 | Mark Graham | The Black Maria | Winner | |
| Victoria Thompson | Murder on St. Mark’s Place | Shortlist | ||
| Chassie West | Killing Kin | |||
| Eric Wright | The Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn | |||
| Sally Wright | Pursuit and Persuasion | |||
| 2002 | Daniel Chavarria | Adios Muchachos | Winner | |
| Jeffery Deaver | Hell’s Kitchen | Shortlist | ||
| Teri Holbrook | The Mother Tongue | |||
| P. J. Parrish | Dead of Winter | |||
| Martin J. Smith | Straw Men | |||
| 2003 | T. J. MacGregor | Out of Sight | Winner | |
| Jeff Abbott | Black Jack Point | Shortlist | ||
| John Lutz | The Night Watcher | |||
| Graham Masterton | Trauma | |||
| Anna Salter | Prison Blues | |||
| 2004 | Sylvia Maultash Warsh | Find Me Again | Winner | |
| Jeff Abbott | Cut and Run | Shortlist | ||
| Joel Goldman | The Last Witness | |||
| Christopher Hyde | Wisdom of the Bones | |||
| Nina Revoyr | Southland | |||
| 2005 | Domenic Stansberry | The Confession | Winner | |
| Larry Beinhart | The Librarian | Shortlist | ||
| Thomas H. Cook | Into the Web | |||
| Ron Faust | Dead Men Rise Up Never | |||
| Chris Haslam | Twelve-Step Fandango | |||
| 2006 | Jeffrey Ford | Girl in the Glass | Winner | |
| Anne Argula | Homicide My Own | Shortlist | ||
| Reed Farrel Coleman | The James Deans | |||
| Allan Guthrie | Kiss Her Goodbye | |||
| Charlie Huston | Six Bad Things | |||
| 2007 | Naomi Hirahara | Snakeskin Shamisen | Winner | |
| Massimo Carlotto | The Goodbye Kiss | Shortlist | ||
| Brian Evenson | The Open Curtain | |||
| Paul Levine | The Deep Blue Alibi | |||
| Patrick Neate | City of Tiny Lights | |||
| 2008 | Megan Abbott | Queenpin | Winner | [3][4] |
| David Corbett | Blood of Paradise | Shortlist | ||
| Vicki Hendricks | Cruel Poetry | |||
| Russell Hill | Robbie’s Wife | |||
| Kevin Wignall | Who Is Conrad Hirst? | |||
| 2009 | Meg Gardiner | China Lake | Winner | [5] |
| Alex Carr | The Prince of Bagram Prison | Shortlist | ||
| Christa Faust | Money Shot | |||
| Ed Gaffney | Enemy Combatant | |||
| Tom Piccirilli | The Cold Spot |
2010s
| Year | Author | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Marc Strange | Body Blows | Winner | |
| Megan Abbott | Bury Me Deep | Shortlist | ||
| Robert Arellano | Havana Lunar | |||
| Russell Hill | The Lord God Bird | |||
| L. C. Tyler | The Herring Seller’s Apprentice | |||
| 2011 | Robert Goddard | Long Time Coming | Winner | |
| Catherine O'Flynn | The News Where You Are | Shortlist | ||
| Duane Swierczynski | Expiration Date | |||
| Frank Tallis | Vienna Secrets | |||
| L. C. Tyler | Ten Little Herrings | |||
| 2012 | Robert Jackson Bennett | The Company Man | Winner | [6][7] |
| Lucretia Grindle | The Faces of Angels | Shortlist | [7] | |
| Russell Hill | The Dog Sox | |||
| Michael Stanley | Death of the Mantis | |||
| Frank Tallis | Vienna Twilight | |||
| 2013 | Ben H. Winters | The Last Policeman | Winner | [8] |
| Isaac Adamson | Complication | Shortlist | ||
| Lou Berney | Whiplash River | |||
| Alan Glynn | Bloodland | |||
| Malla Nunn | Blessed Are the Dead | |||
| 2014 | Alex Marwood | The Wicked Girls | Winner | [9] |
| Lisa Ballantyne | The Guilty One | Shortlist | [10] | |
| E. R. Brown | Almost Criminal | |||
| Paul Cleave | Joe Victim | |||
| Stephen King | Joyland | |||
| Marcus Sakey | Brilliance | |||
| 2015 | Chris Abani | The Secret History of Las Vegas | Winner | [11][12] |
| Alison Gaylin | Stay With Me | Shortlist | [13] | |
| William Lashner | The Barkeep | |||
| Catriona McPherson | The Day She Died | |||
| Lisa Turner | The Gone Dead Train | |||
| Ben H. Winters | World of Trouble | |||
| 2016 | Lou Berney | The Long and Faraway Gone | Winner | [14][15] |
| Malcolm MacKay | The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter | Shortlist | [14] | |
| Gilly Macmillan | What She Knew | |||
| Gordon McAlpine | Woman with a Blue Pencil | |||
| Adrian McKinty | Gun Street Girl | |||
| Jane Shemilt | The Daughter | |||
| 2017 | Adrian McKinty | Rain Dogs | Winner | [16] |
| Patricia Abbott | Shot in Detroit | Shortlist | ||
| Tyler Dilts | Come Twilight | |||
| Robert Dugoni | The 7th Canon | |||
| Robin Yocum | A Brilliant Death | |||
| James W. Ziskin | Heart of Stone | |||
| 2018 | Anna Mazzola | The Unseeing | Winner | [17] |
| Rhys Bowen | In Farleigh Field | Shortlist | ||
| Ron Corbett | Ragged Lake | |||
| Andrew Mayne | Black Fall | |||
| Kanae Minato | Penance | |||
| Jock Serong | The Rules of Backyard Cricket | |||
| 2019 | Alison Gaylin | If I Die Tonight | Winner | [18] |
| Naomi Hirahara | Hiroshima Boy | Shortlist | ||
| Lori Rader-Day | Under a Dark Sky | |||
| Leila Slimani | The Perfect Nanny | |||
| Lisa Unger | Under My Skin |
2020s
| Year | Author | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Adam O'Fallon Price | The Hotel Neversink | Winner | [19][20] |
| Susan Alice Bickford | Dread of Winter | Shortlist | [21] | |
| William Lashner | Freedom Road | |||
| Jonathan Moore | Blood Relations | |||
| Alan Parks | February’s Son | |||
| Lisa Sandlin | The Bird Boys | |||
| 2021 | Alyssa Cole | When No One Is Watching | Winner | [22] |
| Brian Freeman | The Deep, Deep Snow | Shortlist | [23] | |
| Jess Lourey | Unspeakable Things | |||
| Jessica Moor | The Keeper | |||
| Khurrum Rahman | East of Hounslow | |||
| 2022 | Alan Parks | Bobby March Will Live Forever | Winner | [24] |
| David Bell | Kill all Your Darlings | Shortlist | [25] | |
| C.J. Cooke | The Lighthouse Witches | |||
| Daryl Gregory | The Album of Dr. Moreau | |||
| C.S. O'Cinneide | Starr Sign | |||
| Laura Purcell | The Shape of Darkness | |||
| 2023 | Joe Hart | Or Else | Winner | [26] |
| Max Allan Collins | Quarry’s Blood | Shortlist | [27] | |
| Seraphina Nova Glass | On a Quiet Street | |||
| Carol Lawrence | Cleopatra’s Dagger | |||
| A.R. Torre | A Familiar Stranger | |||
| 2024 | Jesse Q. Sutanto | Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers | Winner | [28][29] |
| A.F. Carter | Boomtown | Shortlist | [30] | |
| Tracy Clark | Hide | |||
| Jess Lourey | The Taken Ones | |||
| Scott Von Doviak | Lowdown Road | |||
| 2025 | Kimberly Belle | The Paris Widow | Winner | [31] |
| Seraphina Nova Glass | The Vacancy in Room 10 | Shortlist | [32] | |
| Bonnie Kistler | Shell Games | |||
| Isabella Maldonado | A Forgotten Kill | |||
| Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson | The Road to Heaven | |||
| 2026 | Vikki Wakefield | The Backwater | Winner | [33] |
| Sacha Bronwasser | Listen | Shortlist | [34] | |
| Holly Kennedy | The Sideways Life of Denny Voss | |||
| Matthew Spencer | Broke Road | |||
| Abbi Waxman | One Death at a Time |