The Mystery Writers of America have revealed the winners of this year’s Edgar Awards. The annual prize is named after beloved writer Edgar Allan Poe, awarded to the best authors in the mystery genre since 1945.

These awards recognize the following categories: novel, first novel, paperback original, fact crime, critical/biographical, short story, juvenile, young adult, play, and TV episode.

Last year’s winners included John Hart, Stefanie Pintoff, and Mary Downing Hahn. Follow the jump to see this year’s winners in a few of the top categories.

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Do blurbs matter when you buy a book?

Over at The Awl, six authors shared vastly different opinions about blurbs. They also offered some practical advice about getting blurbs for your own work–add your thoughts and advice in the comments.

Mystery novelist Stefanie Pintoff (pictured, via) defended blurbs: “I believe they can be very helpful to debut novels, for which of course there are no reviews in place. The best blurbs come from an author writing within the same genre, since they will take advantage of a shared audience. For example, for a thriller debut, a blurb from Michael Connelly or Lee Child is an instant attention-getter and lends an air of credibility to the book. Authors can be very busy, so connections matter (sharing an agent or editor for example).”

Novelist Kate Christensen shared her blurb memories: “Two close friends blurbed my first novel. I am forever in their debt, and I found the whole process a bit humiliating. No strangers were willing to blurb me on the strength of the book itself, and my editor asked many people, far and wide … My later books were beautifully blurbed by a several generous fellow writers I barely knew—people I now adore and feel indebted to, although I still barely know them.”

The Mystery Writers of America announced the Edgar Award winners last night. The annual prize is named after Edgar Allan Poe, awarded to the best authors in the mystery genre since 1945. Here are some of the big winners…

Best Novel: The Last Child by John Hart
Best First Novel: In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff
Best Paperback Original: Body Blows by Marc Strange
Best Fact Crime: Columbine by Dave Cullen
Best Critical/Biographical: The Lineup: The World’s Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives edited by Otto Penzler
Best Short Story: “Amapola”–Phoenix Noir by Luis Alberto Urrea

GalleyCat missed the ceremony, but special thanks to Sarah Weinman for tweeting the festivities.