FORT McMURRAY, Alta. / May 1, 2025 — Author Therese Greenwood has been named a Finalist for the prestigious 2025 Award of Excellence for Best Short Story from the Crime Writers of Canada. It is Greenwood’s fourth nomination for Canada’s top mystery writing prize.
Greenwood’s 2025 nomination is for “Hatchcheck Bingo,” a women-centred story set in the Prohibition era.
“On one level, it’s a story about clever women stuck in a dead-end job,” said Fort McMurray’s Greenwood. “It also explores my favourite themes of resilience and survival. My characters are always confronted with the unexpected and rise to the occasion — or not.”
Since 1984, the Crime Writers of Canada’s annual awards have recognized the best in mystery, crime, suspense fiction, and crime nonfiction by Canadian authors. Winners will be announced Friday, May 30, 2025.
Greenwood’s story appeared in Carrick Publishing’s 2024 crime fiction collection The Thirteenth Letter, a creation of the Mesdames of Mayhem, a writing collective dedicated to promoting the best in Canadian crime writing.
“Working with the Mesdames and Messieurs of Mayhem is always a blast,” said Donna Carrick of Toronto’s Carrick Publishing. “It’s especially gratifying to watch an author like Greenwood rise, achieving both reader enjoyment and critical acclaim.”
The Thirteen Letter was nominated for a 2025 Derringer Award for Best Anthology by the Short Mystery Fiction Society. Since 1998, the Short Mystery Fiction Society has awarded the annual Derringers — named after the popular pocket pistol — to outstanding published stories. It is the first year for the Derringer’s Best Anthology category, a new prize added in 2025.
Called “a master storyteller” and “a pure Canadian voice” for her short crime fiction, Greenwood previously won the Spur Award from the Western Writers of America for “Buck’s Last Ride” in her collection Kill As You Go from Calgary’s Coffin Hop Press.
Her memoir What You Take With You: Wildfire Family and the Road Home, published by University of Alberta Press, was a finalist for the Alberta Book Publishing Award and the Alberta Reads Book Club. She has also been honoured with the Award for Excellence in Literary Arts by Arts Council Wood Buffalo.
Greenwood’s short fiction has appeared across Canada and in the U.S. in such publications as the Crime Writers of Canada’s Over The Edge anthology and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. She has co-edited two short crime fiction anthologies.
Media interviews are available by emailing media@therese.ca.
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