I’m thrilled that Queering Agatha Christie has made the shortlist for CrimeFest’s HRF Keating Award. The award celebrates biographical or critical books in the crime fiction 
field, and is named after Harry Keating, a titanic figure in twentieth century British crime writing, who created Inspector Ghote.
Here are all the nominees:
– Mark Aldridge for Agatha Christie on Screen (Palgrave Macmillan)
– J.C. Bernthal for Queering Agatha Christie (Palgrave Macmillan)
– Barry Forshaw for Brit Noir (No Exit Press)
– Rachel Franks & Alistair Rolls for Crime Uncovered: Private Investigator (Intellect)
– Katharina Hall for Crime Fiction in German: Der Krimi (University of Wales Press)
– Megan Hoffman for Gender and Representation in British ‘Golden Age’ Crime Fiction (Palgrave Macmillan)
– Elizabeth Mannion for The Contemporary Irish Detective Novel (Palgrave Macmillan)
I absolutely don’t expect Queering Agatha Christie to win – there is a clear winner on the list, I think! – but it is an honour to have my first monograph, which was PhD thesis, shortlisted. And, seriously, just look at the names on the list. It’s illustrious company.
The RRP for Queering Agatha Christie in hardback is £66.99. I know that is quite prohibitive, so you can buy a copy direct from me for just £35 plus postage. Please use the GET IN TOUCH for more information.
Fun fact: the first edition of this book has my surname misspelt as 'Berthnal', so that's how it appears on some lists -- including CrimeFest's. In fact, since I got married a few weeks ago, my name is Bernthal-Hooker, but for writing purposes, I'm still J.C. Bernthal. Fascinating, right?
JC Bernthal 