On May 30, the Crime Writers of Canada will award its 2013 Arthur Ellis Awards for excellence in Canadian crime writing.

This year marks the 30th presentation of the prestigious awards, named after the nom de travail of Canada's official hangman, at left.

The awards are presented for seven crime-writing categories: novel, first novel, nonfiction/true crime, juvenile, short story, and book in the French language. For the first time since 2000, there is a new published-book category: the novella.

In addition, the CWC has an award for yet-to-be-published crime writers – the Unhanged Arthur for the best unpublished first crime novel.

Crime Writers of Canada was established as a professional organization in June 1982 by Derrick Murdoch, the Globe and Mail’s crime fiction reviewer, and other writers interested in the quality of Canadian mystery and crime writing. The Arthur Ellis Awards were launched the next year.

The Crime Writers of Canada has two goals: author promotion and professional development, which they do through discussions, workshops and other events.

For more information on the Crime Writers of Canada and the Arthur Ellis Awards, which will be awarded at the Arts & Letters Club in downtown Toronto, visit the website.

Meanwhile, here are the nominees for the awards.

American audiences will recognize many names, especially Linwood Barclay, Sean Chercover, Carsten Stroud, and Giles Blunt.

2013 Arthur Ellis Awards Shortlists (with authors’ hometowns)

Best First Novel
Peggy Blair, The Beggar’s Opera (Penguin Canada) – Ottawa, ON

Deryn Collier, Confined Space (Simon & Schuster) – Vancouver, BC

Peter Kirby, The Dead of Winter (Linda Leith Publishing) – Montreal, QC

Chris Laing, A Private Man (Seraphim) – Hamilton, ON

Simone St. James, The Haunting of Maddy Clare (NAL) – Toronto, ON

Best Novel
Linwood Barclay, Trust Your Eyes (Doubleday Canada) – Oakville, ON

Giles Blunt, Until the Night (Random House Canada) – Toronto, ON

Sean Chercover, The Trinity Game (Thomas & Mercer) – Toronto, ON

Stephen Miller, The Messenger (Delacorte Press) – Vancouver, BC

Carsten Stroud, Niceville (Knopf) – west coast US

Best Novella
Lou Allin, Contingency Plan (Orca) – Sooke, BC

Vicki Delany, A Winter Kill (Orca) – Picton, ON

Barbara Fradkin, Evil behind that Door (Orca) – Ottawa, ON

Christopher Moore, “Reunion” in Phnom Penh Noir (Heaven Lake Press) – Bangkok, Thailand

Best Short Story
Melodie Campbell, “Life without George” in Over My Dead Body Mystery Magazine (August 2012) – Oakville, ON

Sandy Conrad, “Sins of the Fathers” in Daughters and Other Strangers (The Brucedale Press) – Paisley, ON

Scott MacKay, “Cruel Coast” in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine (July 2012) – Toronto, ON

Jas R. Petrin, “Mad Dog” in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine (October 2012) – United States

Yasuko Thanh, “Spring-blade Knife” in Floating Like the Dead (McClelland & Stewart) – Victoria, BC

Best Nonfiction
Anita Arvast, Bloody Justice: The Truth behind the Bandidos Massacre at Shedden (John Wiley & Sons) – Toronto, ON

Guy Lawson, Octopus: Sam Israel, the Secret Market, and Wall Street’s Wildest Con (Crown Books/Random House) – upstate NY

Steve Lillebuen, The Devil’s Cinema: The Untold Story behind Mark Twitchell’s Kill Room (McClelland & Stewart) – Edmonton, AB

Bruce Livesey, Thieves of Bay Street: How Banks, Brokerages and the Wealthy Steal Billions from Canadians (Random House Canada) – Toronto, ON

Best Juvenile/YA
Lisa Harrington, Live to Tell (Cormorant Books) – Halifax, NS

Y.S. Lee, The Agency: The Traitor in the Tunnel (Candlewick Press) – Kingston, ON

Sylvia McNicoll, Crush Candy Corpse (James Lorimer & Company) – Burlington, ON

Shane Peacock, Becoming Holmes (Tundra Books) – Cobourg, ON

Elizabeth Stewart, The Lynching of Louie Sam (Annick Press) – Vancouver, BC

Best Crime Writing in French
Mario Bolduc, La Nuit des albinos: Sur les traces de Max O’Brien (Libre Expression) – Montreal, QC

André Jacques, De pierres et de sang (Druide) – Sherbrooke, QC

Jean Lemieux, L’homme du jeudi (La courte échelle) – Iles de la Madeleine, QC

Martin Michaud, Je me souviens (Goélette) – Quebec, QC

Richard Ste Marie, L’inaveu (Alire) – Montreal, QC

Best Unpublished First Crime Novel: the Unhanged Arthur
William Hall, Cold Black Tide – Toronto, ON

Ilonka Halsband, The Raffle Baby – Moosejaw, SK

Coleen Steele, Sins Revisited – Bowmanville, ON