The Agatha Awards, named for Agatha Christie, are literary awards for mystery and crime writers who write in the traditional mystery subgenre: "books typified by the works of Agatha Christie . . . loosely defined as mysteries that contain no explicit sex, excessive gore or gratuitous violence, and are not classified as 'hard-boiled.'" At an annual convention in Washington, D.C.,Malice Domestic the Agatha Awards are handed out by Malice Domestic Ltd, in six categories: Best Novel; Best First Mystery; Best Historical Novel; Best Short Story; Best Non-Fiction; Best Children's/Young Adult Mystery. Additionally, in some years the Poirot Award is presented to honor individuals other than writers who have made outstanding contributions to the mystery genre, but it is not an annual award.
Early meetings of the Malice Domestic Committee occurred in fall 1987, with the first convention held on April 21–23, 1989, in Silver Spring, MD. Malice Domestic Ltd was incorporated in 1992. It is governed by a volunteer board of directors.
Awards Winners and, where known, nominated titles for each year:
Best First Novel
1980s +Agatha Award for Best First Novel, 1988-1989 YearAuthorTitlePublisher Result 1988 Bantam BooksWinner Finalist Finalist Goodbye Nanny GreyFinalist Dead Men Don't Give SeminarsFinalist1989 Grime and Punishment AvonWinner Working MurderFinalist Finalist Finalist Finalist
1990s +Agatha Award for Best First Novel, 1990-1999 YearAuthorTitlePublisher Result 1990 St. Martin's PressWinner Screaming BonesFinalist Finalist Catering to NobodyFinalist Sea of TroublesFinalist1991 Zero at the Bone St. Martin's PressWinner CarpoolFinalist Just DessertsFinalist Finalist Flowers for the DeadFinalist1992 Blanche on the Lam St. Martin's PressWinner All the Great PretendersFinalist DeckedFinalist Seneca Falls InheritanceFinalist Thyme of DeathFinalist1993 Track of the Cat PutnamWinner Goodnight, IreneFinalist Finalist Death Comes as EphiphanyFinalist Child of SilenceFinalist1994 Do Unto Others BallantineWinner Writers of the Purple SageFinalist One for the Money ScribnerFinalist Fool's PuzzleFinalist Until DeathFinalist1995 WalkerWinner Finalist Horse of a Different KillerFinalist Death in Bloodhound RedFinalist Murder in ScorpioFinalist1996 Murder on a Girl's Night Out AvonWinner Death in Little Tokyo: A Ken Tanaka Mystery St. Martin’sFinalist Somebody Else's Child Onyx BooksFinalist Bantam BooksFinalist Hearts and Bone: A Novel of Historical Suspense AvonFinalist Riding for a Fall Gold MedalFinalist1997 HarperCollinsWinner Quieter Than Sleep DoubledayFinalist HarperCollinsFinalist Dead Body Language Bantam BooksFinalist Death Brims Over AvonFinalist1998 Minotaur BooksWinner Sympathy for the Devil AvonFinalist Tiger's Palette PocketFinalist Dying to Get Published FawcettFinalist Fax Me a Bagel ScribnerFinalist1999Murder with Peacocks Thomas Dunne BooksWinner Circles of Confusion HarperTorchFinalist Revenge of the Gypsy Queen Rainbow BooksFinalist By Blood Possessed Minotaur BooksFinalist Sing It to Her Bones DellFinalist
2000s +Agatha Award for Best First Novel, 2000-2009 YearAuthorTitlePublisher Result 2000 [fr]Death on a Silver Tray Berkley Prime CrimeWinner Three Dirty Women and the Garden of Death Overmountain PressFinalist Death of an Amiable Child Walker & CompanyFinalist Murder of a Small Town Honey SignetFinalist2001 Bubbles UnboundDuttonWinner Innkeeping with MurderBerkley Prime CrimeFinalist Mute WitnessPoisoned Pen PressFinalist SignetFinalist2002 In the Bleak Midwinter Minotaur BooksWinner Not All Tarts Are Apple Poisoned Pen PressFinalist Six Strokes Under Berkley Prime CrimeFinalist Beat Until Stiff Poisoned Pen PressFinalist How to Murder a Millionaire SignetFinalist Shadows at the Fair ScribnerFinalist2003 Maisie Dobbs Soho Press Inc.Winner [fr]Dealing in Murder AvonFinalist Haunted Ground ScribnerFinalist Take the Bait Pocket BooksFinalist Alpine for You Pocket BooksFinalist Murder off Mike Minotaur BooksFinalist [de]O’ Artful Death St. Martin's PressFinalist2004 Dating Dead Men DoubledayWinner Till the Cows Come Home Poisoned Pen PressFinalist Arson and Old Lace Pocket BooksFinalist I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason HarperCollinsFinalist University of New Mexico PressFinalist and Jerome RossGod Speed the NightFinalist2005 [fr]Better Off Wed HarperCollinsWinner Jury of One Hilliard & HarrisFinalist Witch Way to Murder AvonFinalist Knit One, Kill TwoFinalist Blood Relations Hilliard & HarrisFinalist2006 [fr]Poisoned Pen PressWinner Consigned to Death Minotaur BooksFinalist and Susan SmilyHilliard & HarrisFinalist Feint of Art SignetFinalist Murder on the Rocks Midnight InkFinalist2007 Prime Time HarlequinWinner Minotaur BooksFinalist Five Star MysteryFinalist Silent in the Grave Mira BooksFinalist2008 Death of a Cozy Writer Midnight InkWinner Through a Glass, DeadlyFinalist Paper, Scissors, DeathFinalist Penguin GroupFinalist Pushing Up Daisies Minotaur BooksFinalist2009 Delacorte PressWinner For Better, for MurderFinalist Posed for Murder Minotaur BooksFinalist St. Martin's PressFinalist In the Shadow of Gotham Minotaur BooksFinalist
2010s +Agatha Award for Best First Novel, 2010-2019 YearAuthorTitle Result 2010 [fr; ja]Winner Murder at the PTAFinalist Finalist Maid of MurderFinalist Full MortalityFinalist Diamonds for the DeadFinalist2011 [fr]Learning to SwimWinner Dire ThreadsFinalist ChokeFinalist Who Do, Voodoo?Finalist Tempest in the Tea LeavesFinalist2012 Lowcountry BoilWinner Iced ChiffonFinalist Finalist Finalist Faithful Unto DeathFinalist2013 Death Al DenteWinner You Cannoli Die OnceFinalist Board StiffFinalist Kneading to DieFinalist Front Page FatalityFinalist2014 Well Read, Then DeadWinner Circle of InfluenceFinalist Tagged for DeathFinalist Finding SkyFinalist Murder Strikes a PoseFinalist2015 On the Road with Del and LouiseWinner Death of a Dishonorable GentlemanFinalist MacdeathFinalistPlantation ShuddersFinalist Just Killing TimeFinalist2016 Winner Terror in TaffetaFinalist Murder in G MajorFinalist Decanting a MurderFinalist Design for DyingFinalist2017 Hollywood HomicideWinner AdriftFinalist Finalist Daughters of Bad MenFinalist ProtocolFinalist2018 [fr]Winner Curses, Boiled AgainWinner Little ComfortFinalist What Doesn't Kill YouFinalist Deadly SolutionFinalist2019 [fr]One Night GoneWinner Finalist Murder Once RemovedFinalist When It’s Time for LeavingFinalist Staging is MurderFinalist
2020s +Agatha Award for Best First Novel, 2020-2029 YearAuthorTitle Result 2020Murder at the Mena HouseWinnerFinalistWinter WitnessFinalistDerailedFinalistMurder Most SweetFinalist2021 Arsenic and AdoboWinnerFinalistFinalistMurder in the MasterFinalistMango, Mambo, and MurderFinalist2022 Cheddar Off DeadWinnerDeath in the AegeanFinalistThe Bangalore Detectives ClubFinalistDevil's Chew ToyFinalistThe FinalistFinalistThe Gallery of BeautiesFinalist2023Crime and Parchment WinnerGlory Be FinalistFinalistDutch ThreatFinalistMother-Daughter Murder Night Finalist2024You Know What You Did Winner Finalist Hounds of Hollywood BaskervillesThreads of DeceptionGhosts of Waikiki 2025Whiskey Business Winner Murder in the Crazy Mountains Finalist Player EliminationSavvy Summers and the Sweet Potato CrimesVoices of the Elysian Fields
Best Contemporary Novel
2010s +Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel, 2013-2019 YearAuthorTitle Result 2013 Winner Pagan SpringFinalist How the Light Gets InFinalist Clammed UpFinalistThrough the Evil DaysFinalist2014 Truth Be ToldWinner Finalist Finalist Designated DaughtersFinalist Finalist2015 Long Upon the LandWinner Bridges BurnedFinalist Finalist Nature of the BeastFinalist What You SeeFinalist2016 Winner Body on the BayouFinalist Quiet NeighborsFinalist Fogged InnFinalist Say No MoreFinalist2017 Glass HousesWinner Death OverdueFinalist Finalist No Way HomeFinalist Take OutFinalist2018 Mardi Gras MurderWinner Beyond the TruthFinalist Cry WolfFinalist Kingdom of the BlindFinalist Trust MeFinalist2019 Winner Fatal Cajun FestivalFinalist Fair GameFinalist Finalist Finalist Finalist
2020s +Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel, 2020-2029 YearAuthorTitle Result 2020 All the Devils Are HereWinner Finalist Murder in the Bayou BoneyardFinalistSherry Harris From Beer to EternityFinalist Finalist2021 Cajun Kiss of DeathWinner Watch HerFinalist Finalist Her Perfect LifeFinalistGabriel Valjan Symphony RoadFinalist2022 A World of CuriositiesWinner Bayou Book ThiefFinalistJennifer J. Chow Death By Bubble TeaFinalist Fatal ReunionFinalistTina De Bellegarde Dead Man's LeapFinalist 2023WinnerWined and Died in New Orleans FinalistHelplessFinalistCase of the Bleus FinalistFinalist2024Winner Finalist Fondue or Die2025At Death's DoughWinner Finalist Murder in Fifth PositionWaters of Destruction
Best Novel
1980s +Agatha Award for Best Novel,1988-1989 YearAuthorTitlePublisher Result 1988Something WickedBantamWinnerFinalistMischief in MaggodyFinalistPaying the PiperFinalistDead CrazyFinalist1989Naked Once MoreWarnerWinnerFinalistFinalistCorpus ChristmasFinalistPhilly StakesFinalist
1990s +Agatha Award for Best Novel,1990-1999 YearAuthorTitlePublisher Result 1990Bum SteerPocket BooksWinnerReal MurdersFinalistDeadly ValentineFinalistFinalistFinalist1991I.O.U.Pocket BooksWinnerMake No BonesMysterious PressFinalistBantam BooksFinalistAn Owl Too ManyMysterious PressFinalistWarnerFinalist1992Bootlegger's DaughterMysterious PressWinnerSouthern GhostFinalistFinalistDefend and BetrayFinalistFinalist1993Dead Man's IslandBantam BooksWinnerOld ScoresFinalistO Little Town of MaggodyFinalistTo Live and Die in DixieFinalistFair GameFinalistSouthern DiscomfortFinalist1994She Walks These HillsScribnerWinnerScandal in Fair HavenFinalistFinalistAngel of DeathFinalistNight Train to MemphisFinalist1995If I'd Killed Him When I Met HimBallantine BooksWinnerMiracles in MaggodyFinalistFinalistTwilightFinalistEscapadeFinalist1996Up Jumps the DevilMysterious PressWinnerKansas TroublesBerkley BooksFinalistStrong as DeathForgeFinalist1997Viking PressWinnerHocusSimon & SchusterFinalistDreaming of the BonesScribnerFinalistGoose in a PondBerkley BooksFinalistSeeing a Large CatWarnerFinalist1998Butchers HillAvonWinnerLiarSimon & SchusterFinalistDove in the WindowBerkleyFinalistBlind Bloodhound JusticeHarperCollinsFinalistHome FiresMysterious PressFinalistAvonFinalist1999Mariner's CompassBerkley BooksWinnerImmaculate ReceptionAvonFinalistDeath on the River WalkAvonFinalistIn Big Trouble AvonFinalistHarperCollinsFinalist
2000s