The Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Fact Crime, established in 1948, is presented to nonfiction hardcover, paperback, or electronic books about mystery. The category, part of the Edgar Awards includes both true crime books, as well as books "detailing how to solve actual crimes."
The Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Fact Crime winners are listed below.
Recipients 1940s +1940s Best Fact Crime winners Year Author Title Result 1948Twelve Against the Law Winner1949 (editor)Regional Murder Winner
1950s +1950s Best Fact Crime winners Year Author Title Result 1950Bad Company Winner1951Twelve Against Crime WinnerN/AShortlist1952True Tales from the Annals of Crime and RascalityWinnerLady KillersShortlist1953Court of Last ResortWinner1954Why Did They Kill?Winner1955 and Lewis Thompson Winner1956Dead and GoneWinnerShortlistShortlist1957 and Louise SamuelsNight Fell on GeorgiaWinnerRuby McCollum, The Woman in the Suwanne JailShortlistHistorical WhodunitsShortlist1958 and James D. HoranThe D.A.'s ManWinner and Joseph Henry JacksonShortlist, edited by Patrick PringleMemoirs of a Bow Street RunnerShortlist1959They Died in the ChairWinnerShortlist as told to Hillel BlackShortlistShortlistShortlist
1960s +1960s Best Fact Crime winnersYearAuthorTitleResult1960Fire at SeaWinnerGreat Train Robberies of the WestShortlist1961WinnerMostly MurderShortlistHeaven Knows WhoShortlist1962Death and the Supreme CourtWinnerShortlistLizzie Borden: The Untold StoryShortlistKidnapShortlist1963Tragedy in DedhamWinner1964WinnerFlight 967ShortlistShortlist1965Gideon's TrumpetWinnerShortlistShortlistShortlistLament for the Molly MaguiresShortlist1966In Cold BloodWinnerShortlist with Lawrence G. Blochman ShortlistMurderers Sane and MadShortlistShortlist1967WinnerCrime and DetectionShortlistShortlist1968WinnerBlack Market MedicineShortlistJustice in the Back Room ShortlistFrame-UpShortlist1969Poe the DetectiveWinnerShortlistThree Sisters in BlackShortlist
1970s +1970s Best Fact Crime winnersYearAuthorTitleResult1970WinnerScottsboroShortlist and Kenneth GrossShortlistWhitmoreShortlist1971WinnerShortlistCrime in AmericaShortlist1972Beyond a Reasonable DoubtWinnerShortlistShortlist1973, Lewis Chester, and Magnus Linkletter HoaxWinnerShortlist and Max Morgan-WittsShipwreckShortlistThey Got to Find Me Guilty YetShortlist1974Legacy of DeathWinnerShortlistShortlistShortlistBurden of ProofShortlist1975 and Curt GentryHelter SkelterWinnerShortlistDummyShortlist1976WinnerInvitation to a LynchingShortlist Shortlist1977Blood and MoneyWinnerShortlistMurder in Coweta CountyShortlist1978 and Barbara Amiel By Persons UnknownWinnerClosing Time: The True Story of the Goodbar MurderShortlistSix Against the Rock Shortlist and Paul Avery ShortlistJustice CrucifiedShortlist1979 and Ken Hurwitz Til Death Do Us PartWinner and Jefferson MorganWhy Have They Taken Our Children?ShortlistCriminal ViolenceShortlistPerjuryShortlist
1980s YearAuthorTitleResult1980WinnerAnyone's DaughterShortlistBlood Will TellShortlistSentenced to DieShortlistZebraShortlist1981Winner and Saul LandauAssassination on Embassy RowShortlistShortlist1982WinnerBy Reason of DoubtShortlistPapa's GameShortlistShortlistShortlist1983WinnerBig BucksShortlistDeadly IntentionsShortlistIndecent ExposureShortlistSomebody is Lying: The Story of Doctor X.Shortlist1984Very Much a LadyWinnerDeadly ForceShortlist and Bob LancasterJudgement DayShortlistSonShortlistShortlist1985Double Play: The San Francisco City Hall KillingsWinnerEarth to EarthShortlist and John BloomEvidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the SuburbsShortlistMurder at the MetShortlistThe Molineux AffairShortlist1986 and Natalie RobinsSavage GraceWinnerAt Mother's Request: A True Story of Money, Murder, and BetrayalShortlist Nutcracker: Money, Madness, Murder: A Family AlbumShortlistSomebody's Husband, Somebody's Son: The Story of the Yorkshire RipperShortlistThe Airman and the Carpenter: The Lindbergh Kidnapping and the Framing of Richard HauptmannShortlistShortlist1987Careless Whispers: The True Story of a Triple Murder and the Determined Lawman Who Wouldn't Give UpWinner and Malcolm McConnellIncident at Big Sky: Sheriff Johnny France and the Mountain MenShortlistShortlistUnveiling Claudia: A True Story of Serial MurderShortlistWiseguy: Life in a Mafia FamilyShortlist1988 CBS MurdersWinnerDreams of AdaShortlistEngaged to Murder Shortlist Talked to DeathShortlistThe Man Who Robbed the PierreShortlist1989 In Broad DaylightWinnerShortlistFamily of Spies: Inside the John Walker Spy RingShortlist and John HubnerMonkey on a StickShortlist, Hugo Sabogal, and Sara WaldenShortlist
1990s +1990s Best Fact Crime winners Year Author Title Result 1990Doc: The Rape of the Town of Lovell WinnerShortlistWasted: The Preppie MurderShortlistThe Death Shift: The True Story of Nurse Genene Jones and the Texas Baby MurdersShortlistMurder in Little EgyptShortlist1991In a Child's Name Winner and Ernest VolkmanGoombataShortlistBeyond ReasonShortlistShortlist1992Homicide: A Year on the Killing StreetsWinner and Eric Stover Witnesses from the Grace: The Stories Bones TellShortlist and Andris Kurins Boss of Bosses: The Fall of the Godfather: The FBI and Pauk CastellanoShortlistDen of ThievesShortlist and James P. Cole Death of Elvis: What Really HappenedShortlist1993Swift JusticeWinnerShortlistBlood EchoesShortlistEverything She Ever WantedShortlistMy Husband's Trying to Kill MeShortlist1994Until the Twelfth of NeverWinnerLindbergh: The CrimeShortlist and Gregory White SmithFinal JusticeShortlistShortlist and Rob WardenGone in the NightShortlist1995To Protect and to ServeWinnerBefore He WakesShortlistMississippi MudShortlistIn the Best of FamiliesShortlistBreakdownShortlist1996Circumstantial EvidenceWinner and Mark OlshakerMindhunterShortlistBorn to KillShortlistUnfinished MurderShortlistBy Two and TwoShortlist1997Power to HurtWinner1998To the Last BreathWinnerDeath SentenceShortlistTough JewsShortlistGreentownShortlistOne of OursShortlist1999The Death of InnocentsWinnerOur Guys: The Glen Ridge Rape and the Secret Life of the Perfect SuburbShortlistShortlistBitter Harvest: A Woman's Fury, a Mother's SacrificeShortlistMay God Have Mercy: A True Story of Crime and PunishmentShortlist
2000s +2000s Best Fact Crime winners and shortlists Year Author Title Result 2000Blind EyeWinnerAnd Never Let Her GoShortlistDisco BloodbathShortlistMean JusticeShortlistShortlist2001 and Gerard O'NeillBlack Mass: The Irish Mob, The FBI, & A Devil's DealWinnerAuthor Unknown: On the Trail of AnonymousShortlistMoonlight: Abraham Lincoln and the Almanac TrialShortlistPortraits of Guilt: The Woman Who Profiles the Faces of America's Deadliest CriminalsShortlist and Anthony BrunoShortlist2002Son of a GrifterWinnerBase Instincts: What Makes a Killer Kill?Shortlist and Stephen G. MichaudDark Dreams: Sexual Violence, Homicide and the Criminal MindShortlistLeavenworth Train: A Fugitive's Search for Justice in the Vanishing WestShortlistShortlist2003Fire LoverWinnerBlood and Ink: International Guide to Fact-Based Crime LiteratureShortlistDeath at the Priory: Sex, Love and Murder in Victorian EnglandShortlist and Rick CowanShortlistShortlist2004WinnerAnd the Dead Shall Rise: The Murder of Mary Phagan & the Lynching of Leo FrankShortlistBlack Dahlia Avenger - The True StoryShortlist and Mitchell ZuckoffJudgement Ridge: The True Story Behind the Dartmouth MurdersShortlistRothstien: The Life, Times, & Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World SeriesShortlist2005 Conviction: Solving the Moxley Murder: A Reporter and a Detective's Twenty-Year Search for JusticeWinnerAre You There Alone?: The Unspeakable Crime of Andrea YatesShortlistBallad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken HeartsShortlistForensics for DummiesShortlistGreen River, Running Red: The Real Story of the Green River Killer -- America's Deadliest Serial MurdererShortlistReady for the People: My Most Chilling Cases as ProsecutorShortlist2006Rescue Artist: A True Story of Art, Thieves, and the Hunt for a Missing MasterpieceWinnerDesire Street: A True Story of Death and Deliverance in New Orleans ShortlistThe Elements of Murder: The History of PoisonShortlistTrue Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea CulpaShortlistWritten in BloodShortlist2007Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's KillerWinnerA Death in Belmont ShortlistFinding Amy: A True Story of Murder in MaineShortlistRipperology: A Study of the World's First Serial KillerShortlistStrange Piece of Paradise ShortlistThe Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allan Poe and the Invention of MurderShortlist2008WinnerRelentless Pursuit: A True Story of Family, Murder, and the Prosecutor Who Wouldn't QuitShortlistSacco and Vanzetti: The Men, The Murders and the Judgment of MankindShortlistThe Birthday PartyShortlist2009American Lightning: Terror, Mystery and the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the CenturyWinnerFor the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb and the Murder that Shocked ChicagoShortlistHavana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost it to the RevolutionShortlistThe Man Who Made Vermeers: Unvarnishing the Legend of Master Forger Hans van MeegerenShortlistThe Suspicions of Mr. WhicherShortlist
2010s +2010s Best Fact Crime winners and shortlists Year Author Title Result 2010ColumbineWinnerGo Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and ClydeShortlistProvenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern ArtShortlistThe Fence: A Police Cover-Up Along Bostons Racial DivideShortlistVanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona LisaShortlist2011Ken Armstrong