The Crime Writers of Canada have announced the shortlists for the 2011 Arthur Ellis Awards. The awards, established in 1984 and named after the nom de travail of Canada’s official hangman, are for crime writing, and they are not restricted to mystery writing. Crime-writing encompasses far more than the traditional whodunit. The crime genre includes crime, detective, espionage, mystery, suspense, and thriller writing, as well as fictional or factual accounts of criminal doings and crime-themed literary works. The finalists for Best Juvenile/YA Crime Book are listed below.

Borderline
Written by Allan Stratton
HarperCollins
Sami must fight to keep his world from unravelling. An wxplosive thriller ripped from today’s headlines… the story of a funny, gutsy Muslim-American teen determined to save his father, his family, and his life.

Pluto’s Ghost
Written by Sharee Fitch
Doubleday Canada
Jake’s on a desperate quest to find Skye before she aborts the baby he believes is his. As he hurtles headlong toward certain tragedy, Jake relives the fatal choices he’s made and the powerful forces that have led him to this to end. A gripping thriller and a heart-wrenching love story.

The Vinyl Princess
Written by Yvonne Prinz
HarperCollins
Business at Allies beloved record store is becoming dangerously slow – not to mention that there have been a string of robberies in the neighbourhood. At least her blog seems to be gaining interest, one vinyl junkie at a time.

Lost For Words (The Worst Thing She Ever Did)
Written by Alice Kuipers
HarperCollins
All Sophie wants to do is forget. But it’s not easy now that everything’s changed. The house feels too big, school drags on for too long, lights are too bright, the room spins, and her hands get sweaty for no reason.

Victim Rights
Written by Norah McClintock
Red Deer Press
In her third novel about the intense and difficult life of seventeen-year-old Ryan Dooley, Norah McClintock doesn’t let up on the challenges and potential disasters faced by her complex protagonist.

The winners is all categories will be revealed on June 2 at the Arthur Ellis Gala Banquet in Victoria.

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For more information, please contact The Crime Writers of Canada at info@crimewriterscanada.com.