Posts Tagged ‘Scribes’

Mike Hammer Shoots .500

Tuesday, July 14th, 2015
Death Sentences

Actually, Mike Hammer probably has shot five-hundred in his career, but I refer not to bad guys but the fact that at the International Association of Media and Tie-in Writers “Scribe” Awards, KING OF THE WEEDS did not win Best Novel, while the Hammer short story, “It’s in the Book,” did win Best Short Story.

No complaints. The Scribes have been great to the Spillane/Collins collaboration – we’ve won once for Best Novel (KISS HER GOODBYE, twice for Best Short Story (“Book” and “So Long Chief”) and once for Best Audio (“Encore for Murder”).

I am particularly pleased to see “It’s in the Book” honored, because it’s my favorite of the Hammer short stories (and it was overlooked by the Edgars and Shamuses, which had both singled out “So Long, Chief”). Right now I have one more Hammer fragment that would work as a short story, and I may save it for an eventual collection.

“It’s in the Book” is available as a small book and has been collected in a book club collection (see Mike Doran’s comment last time) and in the UK in a collection called DEATH SENTENCES.

Here are all the Scribe nominees with winners in bold face:
BEST ORIGINAL NOVEL – GENERAL
24: Deadline by James Swallow
Murder She Wrote: Death of a Blue Blood by Don Bain
Mike Hammer: King of the Weeds by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins
Homeland: Saul’s Game by Andrew Kaplan
The Killing: Uncommon Denominator by Karen Dionne

BEST ORIGINAL NOVEL – SPECULATIVE
Sleepy Hollow: Children of the Revolution by Keith R. A.
DeCandido
Grimm: Chopping Block by John Passarella
Star Trek: Disavowed by David Mack
Star Trek: Foul Deeds Will Rise by Greg Cox
Grimm: The Killing Time by Tim Waggoner
Pathfinder: The Redemption Engine by James Sutter
Fringe: Sins of the Father by Christa Faust

ADAPTED NOVEL – GENERAL AND SPECULATIVE
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes by Alex Irvine
Noah by Mark Morris
War of the Worlds: Goliath by Adam Whitlach

YOUNG ADULT – ALL GENRES, ORIGINAL AND ADAPTED
Spirit Animals: Blood Ties by Garth Nix and Sean Williams
Battletech: The Nellus Academy Incident by Jennifer Brozak
Penguins of Madagascar by Tracey West

SHORT STORIES
Pathfinder: Hunter’s Folly by Josh Vogt
Mike Hammer: It’s in the Book by Max Collins and Mickey Spillane
Stargate: Perceptions by Diana Botsford
Pathfinder: Queen Sacrifice by Steven Savile
Tales of Valdemar: Written in the Wind by Jennifer Brozek

AUDIO
Dark Shadows: The Darkest Shadow by Nev Fountain
Dark Shadows: The Devil Cat by Mark Thomas Passmore
Blake’s 7: Fortuitis by George Mann
Doctor Who: Iterations of I by John Dorney
Pathfinder Legends: The Skinsaw Murders by Cavan Scott
GRANDMASTER (“the Faust Award”): TERRANCE DICKS

* * *

I note with sadness the passing of writer Tom Piccirilli, a very gifted man who reviewed many of my novels, and always favorably. When a writer as fine as Tom likes your work, you figure you’re doing something right.

Many tributes have appeared, but I’ll provide just this link to my friend Jeff Pierce’s write-up at the Rap Sheet.

* * *

Here’s a lovely review of THE LEGEND OF CALEB YORK from James Reasoner, who – like my pal Bill Crider – is a real western writer. When I pass muster with guys like James and Bill, I breathe a sigh of relief.

M.A.C.

Mike Hammer News

Tuesday, July 23rd, 2013

It’s very late Monday night as I write this. Just returned from the San Diego Comic Con. Funny thing: I was trying to connect with my friend (and Seduction of the Innocent bandmate)(and great artist) Steve Leialoha all through the con, and failed…then our taxis pulled up to the curb outside the airport and dropped us off simultaneously. Once through security check, we sat and talked for an hour.

I am saddened to learn of the passing of one of my favorite actors, Dennis Farina. He almost played Nolan once, though I never got to meet him (for a William Lustig-directed version of my script for SPREE…still unfilmed). CRIME STORY is very high on my list of all-time favorite TV shows, and I always hoped to work with him. Just last week I was talking with a producer about using him in an indie film, if we could get him. Well, we can’t get him now, damnit. An ex-cop who really made his work credible, Farina was a remarkable actor, and Chicago through and through.

Okay, here’s the news, straight from my meeting with Titan’s publisher at San Diego con: I am signing on to complete three more unfinished Mickey Spillane “Mike Hammer” novels. These are smaller fragments (in one case, two fragments combined), but all are significant…usually two chapters or so with notes. What I am really excited about is the era of these novels: it’s the lost years between KISS ME, DEADLY in 1952 and THE GIRL HUNTERS in 1961.

Of course, the recently completed KING OF THE WEEDS will come out first.

I am thrilled about this, to say the least.

By the way, if you check this update once a week, you may have missed my daily updates from the Comic Con. Scroll down and see what a great time we had – lots of cool pics.

M.A.C.

[And here’s the Scribe Awards pics from this year.—Nate]


Kevin J. Anderson receives the International Association of Tie-in Writers “Scribe” award for Best Novel


Peter David accepts the Faust life achievement award for Ann C. Crispin.

International Association of Media Tie-In Writers Scribe Awards 2012

Saturday, July 14th, 2012
Bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson was honored as this year’s Grandmaster at the International Association of Media Tie-In Writer’s annual Scribe Awards ceremony, held Friday night at Comic-Con in San Diego.

Anderson was honored for remarkable achievements in the tie-in field, which include more than one hundred novels, adding up to over 20 million books in print in thirty languages. His work includes the Star Wars “Jedi Academy” books, three internationally bestselling X-Files novels, the Superman novels The Last Days of Krypton and Enemies & Allies, many novelizations (Sky Captain & The World of Tomorrow, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, etc.) and, of course, the ten globally bestselling DUNE novels he has co-authored with Brian Herbert.

Receiving the honor was, for Anderson, “like receiving a standing ovation for something that was already fun in the first place, and I am very honored to be recognized by my colleagues in this particularly challenging line of writing.”

He wasn’t alone accepting honors on Friday. The Scribe Awards, recognizing excellence in the field of media tie-in writing, for Best Original Novel in Speculative and General Fiction genres, Best Adaptation, Best Young Adult novels and Best Audio performance, were also awarded at the event, which included a lively panel discussion with the winners and nominees.

“The Scribe Awards honor a very popular but under-celebrated branch of popular fiction,” said Lee Goldberg, IAMTW’s co-founder, “and this year’s awards show the breadth and depth of the field.”

Cowboys & Aliens by Joan D. Vinge was the winner for Best Adaptation, Dungeons & Dragons – Forgotten Realms: Brimstone Angels by Erin M. Evans took the prize for Best Speculative Original Novel, Mike Hammer: Kiss Her Goodbye by Max Allan Collins & Mickey Spillane won for Best Original Novel, and Thunderbirds: Extreme Hazard by Joan Marie Yerba was honored for Best Young Adult Novel. Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer: Encore for Murder by Max Allan Collins won the Best Audio award.

Collins was “blown away” by his double win this year, but was particularly pleased that “the work I’ve been doing to bring Mickey Spillane’s unpublished, unfinished material to fruition has earned this kind of recognition.”

The IAMTW (I Am a Tie-In Writer) is dedicated to enhancing the professional and public image of tie-in writers…to working with the media to review tie-in novels and publicize their authors…to educating people about who we are and what we do….and to providing a forum for tie-in writers to share information, support one another, and discuss issues relating to their field.

For more information, visit www.iamtw.org.

San Diego Comic-Con: Day Five

Monday, July 25th, 2011

A surprisingly crowded Sunday session found me doing an interview about the Harrison Ford BLACK HATS news, but largely just roaming the crowded room looking for bargains (found a few). Sunday always is a little sad — fewer costumes, a sense of urgency tinged with despair, and security staff getting a last burst of pointless officiousness out of their system — but I did get to talk to a few folks, including the legendary Jim Steranko, who chatted with me about our mutual love for Mickey Spillane and Mike Hammer. A similar conversation took place with Nick Cuti, co-creator of Mike Mauser (Joe Station being the other half), and I also talked to a publisher about bringing out a new, single-volume collection of the MIKE HAMMER comic strip, with the Sunday pages in color.

We had a lovely evening out with Ken and Mary Levin, at the ridiculously assaultive Brazilian steak house Rei Do Gabo.

And now, thanks to Nate, here’s an array of pics from the con.

M.A.C.

Comic Con 2011
M.A.C. with Titan honcho Nick Landau (excellent and still top-secret Mike Hammer covers not shown)

Comic Con 2011
M.A.C. with the RiffTrax crew: Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett, and Michael J. Nelson

Comic Con 2011
First Comics panel

Comic Con 2011
Vertigo panel (including the reveal of the cover of RETURN TO PERDITION)

Comic Con 2011
2011 Scribes winners Nathan Long and Nancy Holder, and the Scribe Faust Award winner Peter David

Comic Con 2011
Nathan and M.A.C. at SOUTH PARK’s Year of the Fan