Quick Facts
Biography
Shawn Andre Cosby (born August 4, 1973, in Newport News, Virginia) is an American author of "Southern noir" crime fiction. He resides in Gloucester, Virginia, on the York River. Cosby has published four crime novels: My Darkest Prayer, Blacktop Wasteland, Razorblade Tears, and All the Sinners Bleed.
Awards and accolades
Cosby's 2021 novel, Razorblade Tears, debuted #10 on The New York Times Best Seller list. The book was featured on Jimmy Fallon's The Tonight Show for Fallon's 2021 Summer Reads Book Club. The book was one of six contenders for a Jimmy Fallon read. It won or was nominated for a slew of awards, particularly ones that honor thrillers, suspense, and mystery, such as the Anthony Award, Barry Award, Edgar Award, Gold Dagger, ITW Award, Macavity Award, and Lefty Award. It was received positively by critics and audiences.
His previous novel, Blacktop Wasteland "...won a landslide of awards, including a Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 2020." Notably, it is a 2021 Anthony Award and Macavity Award winner. The International Thriller Writers, an association spanning 49 countries, with a membership of 4,500 authors of the genre, voted Blacktop Wasteland the ITW Award Best Hardcover Novel of 2021. It also was chosen as a 2020 New York Times Notable Book and charted at #22 on that list.
| Year | Work | Award | Result | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Blacktop Wasteland | Goodreads Choice Awards | Mystery & Thriller | Nominated—16th | |
| Los Angeles Times Book Prize | Mystery/Thriller | Won | |||
| 2021 | Anthony Award | Novel | Won | ||
| Barry Award | Novel | Won | |||
| BCALA Literary Awards | Fiction | Honor | |||
| CWA Gold Dagger | — | Shortlisted | |||
| ITW Award | Hardcover Novel | Won | |||
| Lefty Award | Mystery Novel | Shortlisted | |||
| Macavity Award | Mystery Novel | Won | |||
| RUSA CODES Reading List | Adrenaline | Shortlisted | |||
| Razorblade Tears | Goodreads Choice Awards | Mystery & Thriller | Nominated—10th | ||
| Los Angeles Times Book Prize | Mystery/Thriller | Shortlisted | |||
| 2022 | Anthony Award | Novel | Shortlisted | ||
| Audie Award | Thriller/Suspense | Shortlisted | |||
| Barry Award | Novel | Won | |||
| BCALA Literary Awards | Fiction | Won | |||
| Edgar Awards | Novel | Shortlisted | |||
| CWA Gold Dagger | — | Shortlisted | |||
| Hammett Prize | — | Won | |||
| ITW Award | Audiobook | Won | |||
| Hardcover Novel | Won | ||||
| Lefty Award | Mystery Novel | Shortlisted | |||
| Macavity Award | Mystery Novel | Won | |||
| RUSA CODES Reading List | Adrenaline | Won | |||
| 2023 | All the Sinners Bleed | Crime Fiction Lovers Award | Book of the Year | Shortlisted | |
| Goodreads Choice Awards | Mystery & Thriller | Nominated—10th | |||
| Los Angeles Times Book Prize | Mystery/Thriller | Shortlisted | |||
| Libby Book Award | Audiobook | Shortlisted | |||
| 2024 | Anthony Award | Hardcover Novel | Pending | ||
| Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence | Fiction | Longlisted | |||
| Audie Award | Audiobook of the Year | Shortlisted | |||
| CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger | — | Pending | |||
| Edgar Award | Novel | Shortlisted | |||
| ITW Award | Hardcover Novel | Won | |||
| Lefty Award | Mystery Novel | Shortlisted | |||
| Macavity Award | Mystery Novel | Pending | |||
| Southern Book Prize | Fiction | Shortlisted | |||
| The Strand Critics Award | Novel | Shortlisted | |||
Bibliography
- —— (2019). My Darkest Prayer (paperback ed.). Intrigue Publishing. p. 224. ISBN 9781940758862.
- —— (2020). Blacktop Wasteland (hardcover ed.). Flatiron Books. p. 285. ISBN 9781250252685.
- —— (2021). Razorblade Tears (hardcover ed.). Flatiron Books. p. 322. ISBN 9781250252708.
- —— (2023). All the Sinners Bleed (hardcover 1st ed.). Flatiron Books. p. 336. ISBN 9781250831910.
Adaptions
Blacktop Wasteland and Razorblade Tears have been optioned for films. Jerry Bruckheimer's company "was among the group that won the film rights in an auction" for Razorblade Tears.
