Andy Straka is a Shamus Award

Shamus Award

The Shamus Award is awarded by the Private Eye Writers of America for the best detective fiction genre novels and short stories of the year....

 winning American crime novelist. Born and raised in upstate New York and a graduate of Williams College

Williams College

Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...

, he worked in publishing and medical sales for nearly fifteen years before turning to writing in the late 1990s. His debut private eye novel, A Witness Above, garnered Shamus, Anthony, and Agatha Award

Agatha Award

The Agatha Awards are literary awards for mystery and crime writers who write via the same method as Agatha Christie...

 nominations for Best First Novel in 2002. A Killing Sky received an Anthony Award

Anthony Award

The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher , one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America....

 nomination in 2003, and Andy’s third book, Cold Quarry, won a 2004 Shamus Award. Straka’s inaugural non-series novel, Record of Wrongs, was labelled "a first-rate thriller" by Mystery Scene magazine in 2008.

Straka lives in Virginia and is also a licensed a falconer; the sport is featured prominently in his PI novels. The next book in the Pavlicek series, KITTY HITTER, will be released in August 2009.

External links

• http://www.andystraka.com/
• http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2008/03/13/HOTSEAT-straka-B.aspx
• http://www.thrillerwriters.org/2008/01/awardwinning-mystery-author-goes-for-the.html
• http://www.cvillepodcast.com/2008/03/09/andy-straka-ndb/