Our Very Own Dru Ann Wins the Raven Award

by Linda Rodriguez

On April 27^th at the 71^st annual Edgar Awards Banquet in New York City, The Stiletto Gang's own Dru Ann Love will receive the prestigious Raven Award. The Raven Award is a special award given for outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing. This award was first given in 1953. People and organizations, such as Dorothy Kilgallen, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Alfred Hitchcock, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Eudora Welty, Angela Lansbury, Bouchercon Mystery Convention, Bill Clinton, Otto Penzsler, Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, and Sisters in Crime, have won this award. And now Dru Ann wins it for her dedication to the field and the contributions her wonderful book blog, Dru's Book Musings, has made to the field of the mystery.

Dru reviews a huge number of books every year, and her reviews are all based on careful reading and high standards. She also hosts a series called “A Day in the Life,” where authors write a post from the viewpoint of a major character to give the reader a taste of that author's voice and characterization skills. Her book blog is a major player in the strong field of book blogs that have replaced the vanished book review sections of newspapers and magazines.

Those of us who know her know that Dru Ann is a true aficionado of crime fiction. She loves the field, the individual books, and the authors. A fixture at the major conventions and a great supporter of the entire field of crime writing, she's kind and funny and smart as a whip and a real professional. She's also much loved by the crime writing community, so this will be a very popular choice for the Raven Award.

All of her blogmates here at The Stiletto Gang have been very excited by this news, and we all send her a huge CONGRATULATIONS! We couldn't be happier to see her reaping well-deserved recognition for the important work she does. And on April 27^th, we'll all be raising a glass of champagne to our dear Dru Ann as she receives her award. 

Well done, Dru!