SIMON & SCHUSTER TO PUBLISH INTERNATIONAL THRILLER WRITERS ANTHOLOGY

New York, N.Y., July 9, 2013 – In an unprecedented collaboration, 23 of the world’s bestselling and critically acclaimed thriller writers will pair their series characters in an 11-story anthology curated by the International Thriller Writers (ITW) and to be published in 2014 by Simon & Schuster.

The stories in Face Off will feature such pairings as Michael Connelly’s Hieronymous “Harry” Bosch joining forces with Dennis Lehane’s Patrick Kenzie in the story Red Eye and John Sandford’s Lucas Davenport teaming up with Jeffery Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme in Rhymes with Prey. All of the contributors are ITW members and the project will be edited by ITW member and #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci, who says, “This is a once-in-a lifetime opportunity for readers. It’s only through ITW that we were able to bring these literary legends toe to toe. I’m honored to be at the helm of this amazing ship.”

Senior Editor Sarah Knight acquired world rights to Face Off, the fourth anthology that ITW has published and the first with Simon & Schuster. Knight says, “This will be a treasure trove for thriller fans—it doesn’t get any better than these writers, with these characters, all in one blockbuster book.”

S&S plans to publish in June 2014, just in time to celebrate at ThrillerFest, the gathering of ITW that happens each July in New York City. Already, foreign rights have been sold to Great Britain, with more sales to come. READ MORE

ITW is proud to announce the finalists for the 2013 Thriller Awards!

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL

Sean Chercover – THE TRINITY GAME (Thomas & Mercer)
Brian Freeman – SPILLED BLOOD (SilverOak)
Lisa Gardner – CATCH ME (Dutton Books)
Gregg Hurwitz – THE SURVIVOR (St. Martin’s Press)
William Landay – DEFENDING JACOB (Delacorte Press)

BEST FIRST NOVEL

Daniel Friedman – DON’T EVER GET OLD (Minotaur Books)
Owen Laukkanen – THE PROFESSIONALS (Putnam Adult)
Chris Pavone – THE EXPATS (Crown)
Matthew Quirk – THE 500 (Reagan Arthur Books)
Michael Sears – BLACK FRIDAYS (Putnam Adult)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL

Blake Crouch – PINES (Thomas & Mercer)
Sean Doolittle – LAKE COUNTRY (Bantam)
Alison Gaylin – AND SHE WAS (Harper)
Alex Marwood – THE WICKED GIRLS (Penguin Books)
Michael W. Sherer – NIGHT BLIND (Thomas & Mercer)

BEST SHORT STORY

David Edgerley Gates – “The Devil to Pay” (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine)
Clark Howard – “The Street Ends at the Cemetery” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)
Dennis Lehane – “The Consumers” (Mulholland Books)
Gordon McEachern – “The History Lesson” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)
John Rector – “Lost Things” (Thomas & Mercer)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Michelle Gagnon – DON’T TURN AROUND (HarperCollins)
Andrew Klavan – IF WE SURVIVE (Thomas Nelson)
Dan Krokos – FALSE MEMORY (Hyperion Books CH)
Niall Leonard – CRUSHER (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)
William Richter – DARK EYES (Razorbill)

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL

Jon Land – PANDORA’S TEMPLE (Open Road E-riginal)
CJ Lyons – BLIND FAITH (Minotaur Books)
Alexandra Sokoloff – HUNTRESS MOON (Alexandra Sokoloff)
Allen Wyler – DEAD END DEAL (Astor + Blue Editions)
Allen Wyler – DEAD WRONG (Astor + Blue Editions)

Congratulations to all the finalists!  The 2013 Thriller Award Winners will be announced at ThrillerFest VIII, July 13, 2013, at the Grand Hyatt (New York City).

(click on each book cover to learn more)

Read the EXCLUSIVE “Between the Lines” interview with contributing authors!