Mysteries (literature): First two national mystery writers associations to jointly award an annual...

..."Best Genius Detective Mystery Novel of the Year" award.  [As such a title is quite a mouthful, perhaps this award could be called more simply "The Sherlock Award."]   The award can only be given to free ebook mystery novels written in the first-person narrative of a genius detective's "different smarts" sidekick.  [Like Sherlock Holmes' Dr. Watson and Nero Wolfe's Archie Goodwin.  Dr. Watson was a medical doctor and Archie Goodwin overflowed with street smarts.  But the sidekick cannot have crime-solving smarts or they'd be the detective and not the helpful sidekick.]  The novel's last chapter must be titled "Last Chapter" and only contain "the great reveal."  No new facts, clues or red herrings can be revealed in the last chapter.  The author must play fair with the reader by giving the reader all the clues the detective uses to figure out the crime BEFORE the last chapter.  [By playing fair and informing the reader that the last chapter is the last, this gives the reader one last chance to pause and try to figure out themselves who did it, how, where and why.]  Needless to say, the author isn't required to highlight these clues and can bury them deep with red herrings and dead-end alleyways.  The genius detective can be an amateur, police, military, private detective, or even a criminal who solves crimes done by other criminals.  However, no novel that uses another author's genius detective can be considered for the award.  [In other words, Sherlock Holmes, Hercules Poirot, or Nero Wolfe are off limits.  {Fun Trivia: That trio makes up the above illustration and in that order.}  The idea is to get authors to create their own genius detectives and thus add to the diversity of that group.]

The award must be open to all mysteries written in or translated into English and released within the year.  The two national mystery writers associations must not be from the same country.  [The point of making this award a joint award from two national mystery writers associations (e.g., Mystery Writers of America and Crime Writers' Association {UK}) is to hopefully prevent any single country from dominating the award by their voters being only from that country.]  The founding mystery writers associations must be open to other national mystery writers associations joining them in nominating, voting, and awarding this award and providing fair and reasonable requirements for accepting such associations into this joint venture.

Future Challenges: First winner of the above award to be made into a:

1) A Broadway or Off-Broadway play as outlined in the ENTERTAINMENT: Mysteries (theatrical plays) challenge.

2) Weekly prime-time hour-long TV mystery series for a cable TV network.

3) Weekly prime-time hour-long TV mystery series for a US cable TV network.

4) Weekly prime-time hour-long TV mystery series for a broadcast TV network.

5) Weekly prime-time hour-long TV mystery series for a US broadcast TV network.

6) Five-part three-hour-per-part TV miniseries for a cable TV network.

7) Five-part three-hour-per-part TV miniseries for a US cable TV network.

8) Five-part three-hour-per-part TV miniseries for a broadcast TV network.

9) Five-part three-hour-per-part TV miniseries for a US broadcast TV network.

10) Major motion picture premiering in at least 2,000 movie theaters.

Discussion:
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