The International Thriller Writers organization has announced their 2009 “Thriller Award” Winners. Congratulations to:

The 2009 THRILLER Awards:

Best Thriller Of The Year:
THE BODIES LEFT BEHIND by Jeffery Deaver (Simon & Schuster)

Best First Novel:
CHILD 44 by Tom Rob Smith (Grand Central Publishing)

Best Short Story:
THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN by Alexandra Sokoloff (in The Darker Mask)

ThrillerMaster Award: David Morrell

Silver Bullet Award: Brad Meltzer

Bravo! As a new member of this organization, I was pleased to read of these selections…all strong, worthy stories and authors.

For the record, the Pithy Morbid Thought contest has officially ended and prize-winners have been selected! Winners were announced live with much drama on twitter.com/MikeArnzen this morning. I assigned all entrants a number and used http://random.org to pull random winners out of the virtual hat, then announced as I went a long live on twitter.

Below are the prize winners (visit their websites if they provided them) along with links to information about the titles they won. Congrats one and all. — Mike Arnzen, http://www.gorelets.com

WD Prescott won a signed hardcover of my novel PLAY DEAD for:

“When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I’ve never tried before.” -Mae West d. 1980

E.A. White won a signed paperback of PROVERBS FOR MONSTERS for:

“The graveyards are full of indispensable men.” – Charles de Gaulle (Died 1970)

Chris Valk won a signed paperback of 100 JOLTS for:

“It’s not that I’m afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”
– Woody Allen

John Pupo won a autographed CD of AUDIOVILE for:

The Monster Called Hollywood
“If they tell you that she died of sleeping pills you must know that she died of a wasting grief, of a slow bleeding at the soul. ” -Clifford Odets (1963)

Ron McGillvray won a signed copy of FREAKCIDENTS for:

I want to die like my father, peacefully in his sleep, not screaming and terrified like his passengers.
– Bob Monkhouse (December 2003)

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Though the contest is over, you can still post a ‘pithy morbid thought’ — a dark quotable quote from a dead person — if you would like to share it.