The Edgar Allen Poe Awards for best mysteries are sponsored by the Mystery Writers of America. Winners will be announced at the 59th Galla Banquet in New York on April 28. See the complete list of finalists. See also nifty links below for more on the nominees and their books.

Children’s

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett (Scholastic)

Assassin: The Lady Of Grace Mysteries by Patricia Finney (Delacorte)

Abduction! by Peg Kehret (Dutton)

Looking For Bobowicz by Daniel Pinkwater (HarperCollins)

The Unseen by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (Delacorte)

Young Adult

Story Time by Edward Bloor (Harcourt)

In Darkness, Death by by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler (Philomel)

Jude by Kate Morgenroth (Simon & Schuster)

The Book Of Dead Days by Marcus Sedgwick (Wendy Lamb)

Missing Abby by Lee Weatherly (David Fickling Books)

Notes: (1) my favorite Edgar books include Lily’s Ghost by Laura Ruby (Harper, 2003); (2) Greg, who blogged today about “Star Trek,” was just reading Chasing Vermeer; (3) mystery fans should also check out the YA novel Double Helix (Dial, 2004) by Nancy Werlin, which was an SLJ Best Book of 2004, an ALA Booklist editor’s choice for 2004, and a Top 10 Mystery for Teens (Nancy already won an Edgar for The Killer’s Cousin (Delacorte, 1998)).

Nifty Links

Interview With Edward Bloor, author of Story Time: from Harcourt Brace.

Mystery At The Museum: Blue Balliett’s beguiling tale makes children think twice about art by Linda M. Castellitto from BookPage. Note: Blue Balliett was also award the 2004 Chicago Tribune Prize.

Looking For Bobowicz by Daniel Pinkwater: an NPR interview available online. See also the Looking For Bobowicz Accessories available at Cafe Press.

Lee Weatherly: Author Profile: interview from The Word Pool.

Note: thanks to “girl uninterrupted” AKA Author Laura M. Zeises for blogging about my blog.