The winners of the 2015 Arthur Ellis Awards have been announced. Sigmund Brouwer takes home the prize for best juvenile/YA crime book for Dead Man’s Switch (Harvest House Publishers). When William King receives a warning email from Blake he’s terrified — Blake drowned weeks ago! But Blake’s dead man’s switch computer program has been activated and King is being led on a technological hunt to unravel a dark conspiracy. Soon, King himself becomes the hunted on his remote island home, which is also home to a high-security prison. King will have to decide — whom can he trust? For a list of finalists in teh juvenile/YA crime category, click here.

Sylvia McConnell, former publisher of RendezVous Press and Napoleon Publishing, was also honoured with the 2015 Derrick Murdoch Award, for her belief in the value of Canadians telling Canadian stories, for her encouragement of new Canadian authors, and for her recognition of talent with staying power.

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. For a complete list of winners, visit crimewriterscanada.com.