# Raven Award

The Raven Award is an award given annually by the Mystery Writers of America as part of the Edgar Awards. The Raven Award is given from time to time to non-writers and institutions who have made significant professional contributions to our genre or to MWA. The Board may choose not to award a Raven in any given year.
The first one was presented in 1953. It's not always bestowed every year like the Best Novel or Best Short Story category. Some years feature multiple honorees, while others have none. Though, there was a winner since 1995 up to and including 2022.

## Winners

Raven Award winners :
| Year | Recipient | Type |
| 1953 | E.T. Guymon Jr | librarian of mystery literature |
| 1954 | Dr. Thomas A. Gonzales | medical examiner, NYC |
| 1954 | Tom Lehrer | mystery parody writer |
| 1954 | Dr. Harrison Martland | medical examiner, Essex County, NJ |
| 1957 | Dorothy Kilgallen | Reader of the Year |
| 1959 | Lawrence G. Blochman | service to MWA and The Third Degree |
| 1959 | Frederic G. Melcher | editor of Publishers Weekly |
| 1959 | Franklin Delano Roosevelt | Reader of the Year |
| 1960 | Ray Brennan | reporter of crime |
| 1960 | David C. Cook | publisher of detective stories |
| 1960 | Alfred Hitchcock | director of mystery |
| 1960 | Gail Jackson | producer, Perry Mason |
| 1960 | Phyllis McGinley | Mystery Fan of the Year |
| 1961 | Ilka Chase | Reader of the Year |
| 1962 | The Defenders | television show |
| 1965 | Dr. Milton Helpern | forensic medic |
| 1965 | Philip Wittenberg | volunteer |
| 1967 | Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine | magazine |
| 1967 | Richard Watts Jr. | Reader of the Year |
| 1968 | Joey Adams | Reader of the Year |
| 1971 | Judith Crist | Reader of the Year |
| 1975 | World Wide Mystery (ABC) | series |
| 1975 | Royal Shakespeare Company | theater company |
| 1975 | Radio Mystery Theatre (CBS): the Hy Brown nightly mysteries | radio program |
| 1976 | Eddie Lawrence | Reader of the Year |
| 1976 | Leo Margolies | editor, Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine |
| 1978 | Danny Arnold | executive producer, Barney Miller (ABC) |
| 1978 | Edward Gorey | set designer, Dracula on Broadway |
| 1978 | Richard N. Hughes | television executive and editorialist, I Am My Brother's Keeper (WPIX) |
| 1979 | Alberto Tedeschi | publisher of Italian series mystery (via Mondadori) |
| 1980 | The Muppet Show: Muppet Murders | |
| 1983 | Isaac Bashevis Singer | Reader of the Year |
| 1984 | Sylvia Porter | Reader of the Year |
| 1985 | Eudora Welty | Reader of the Year |
| 1986 | Suzi Oppenheimer | Reader of the Year |
| 1988 | Angela Lansbury | actress |
| 1988 | Vincent Price | actor |
| 1989 | Bouchercon Annual World Mystery Convention | convention for mystery readers and writers |
| 1989 | Marilyn Abrams, Bruce Jordan for Shear Madness (Cranberry Productions) | off-Broadway play |
| 1991 | Carol Brener | bookseller |
| 1991 | Sarah Booth Conroy | Reader of the Year |
| 1992 | Harold Q. Masur | general counsel to MWA |
| 1993 | President Bill Clinton | Reader of the Year |
| 1995 | Dr. Paul LeClerc | president, New York Public Library |
| 1996 | Library of America | non-profit publisher, collected writings of Raymond Chandler |
| 1997 | Marvin Lachman | author |
| 1998 | Sylvia K. Burack | editor, The Writer Magazine |
| 1999 | Steven Bochco | writer and producer |
| 2000 | The Mercantile Library (Harold Augenbraum, director) | library; NYC |
| 2001 | The Poisoned Pen (Barbara Peters, owner) | bookstore; Scottsdale, AZ |
| 2001 | The Rue Morgue (Tom and Enid Schantz, owners) | bookstore; Boulder, CO |
| 2002 | Charles Champlin | film critic at LA Times |
| 2002 | Anthony Mason (Sunday Morning's FINE PRINT) | |
| 2002 | Douglas Smith (Sunday Morning's FINE PRINT) | |
| 2003 | Mysterious Bookshop (Otto Penzler, owner) | bookstore; NYC |
| 2003 | Book Carnival (Pat & Ed Thomas, owners) | bookstore; Orange, CA |
| 2003 | Edgar Allan Poe Museum | museum; Richmond, VA |
| 2004 | Ray and Pat Browne Library for Popular Culture Studies, Bowling Green University | library, collecting and preserving detective fiction; Bowling Green, OH |
| 2004 | Vanity Fair Magazine | magazine, covering True Crime |
| 2005 | Cape Cod Radio Mystery Theatre (Steve Oney, founder) | radio drama |
| 2005 | DorothyL listserv (Diane Kovacs & Kara Robinson, co-founders) | online digest website |
| 2005 | Murder by the Book (Martha Farrington, owner) | bookstore; Houston, TX |
| 2006 | Black Orchid Bookshop (Bonnie Claeson & Joe Guglielmelli, owners) | bookstore; NYC |
| 2006 | Men of Mystery Conference (Joan Hansen, founder) | convention for readers and aspiring writers |
| 2007 | Books & Books Bookstore (Mitchell Kaplan, owner) | bookstore; Coral Gables, FL |
| 2007 | Mystery Loves Company Bookstore (Kathy & Tom Harig) | bookstore; Baltimore, MD (founded 1991) |
| 2008 | Center for the Book in the Library of Congress | state center promoting literacy and reading |
| 2008 | Kate's Mystery Books (Kate Mattes) | bookstore; Cambridge, MA |
| 2009 | Edgar Allan Poe Society | society for scholarly study of Poe |
| 2009 | Edgar Allan Poe House | historical site; Baltimore, MD |
| 2010 | International Mystery Writers Festival (Zev Buffman) | festival showcasing mystery plays, television, and film |
| 2010 | Mystery Lovers Bookshop (Richard Goldman, Mary Alice Gorman) | bookstore; Oakmont, PA |
| 2011 | Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore (Augie Aleksy) | bookstore; Forest Park, IL |
| 2011 | Once Upon a Crime Bookstore (Pat Frovarp, Gary Shulze) | bookstore; Minneapolis, MN |
| 2012 | M is For Mystery (Ed Kaufman) | bookstore; San Mateo, CA |
| 2012 | Molly Weston | blogger; Meritorious Mysteries (defunct) |
| 2013 | Oline Cogdill | mystery columnist, South Florida Sun Sentinel |
| 2013 | Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore | bookstore; San Diego, CA |
| 2014 | Aunt Agatha's Bookstore | bookstore; Ann Arbor, MI |
| 2015 | Ruth & Jon Jordan: Crimespree Magazine | magazine |
| 2015 | Magna Cum Murder (Kathryn Kennison, founder or director) | crime writing festival / conference |
| 2016 | Margaret Kinsman | editor, Clues: A Journal of Detection |
| 2016 | Sisters in Crime | crime writing association |
| 2017 | Dru Ann Love | blogger, mystery books |
| 2018 | The Raven Book Store | bookstore; Lawrence, KS |
| 2018 | BOLO Books (Kristopher Zgorski, admin/owner) | blog website (centered around crime fiction) |
| 2019 | Marilyn Stasio | mystery reviewer for New York Times Book Review |
| 2020 | Left Coast Crime | annual mystery convention |
| 2021 | Malice Domestic | annual fan convention |
| 2022 | Lesa Holstine | critic; reviewer for Library Journal |
| 2023 | Crime Writers of Color | |
| 2023 | Eddie Muller | Noir Alley and The Film Noir Foundation |