Smatterings, the Pre-Edgars Edition

Shannon Byrne was taking pictures at the Mysterious Bookshop’s party for BLUE RELIGION and presents them in a Picasa album.

Sandi Ault has won the Mary Higgins Clark Award.

And Sue Grafton will be the recipient of the 2008 Diamond Dagger.

Both Craig McDonald and Bleak House Books get great newspaper writeups from hometown papers, while the Petaluma Argus Courier talks with Grandmaster Bill Pronzini.

Linwood Barclay, Maureen Jennings and Louise Penny are among those nominated for Arthur Ellis Awards. (So far I can’t seem to find a full nominee list) The full list is now up (thanks, Jeff & Jiro!)

The Evanston Review asks Libby Hellmann what her North Shore neighbors will think of her new novel EASY INNOCENCE.

Storyglossia’s Crime issue, edited by Anthony Neil Smith, is up.

AP’s Hillel Italie talks with YA phenom Stephenie Meyer as she prepares to hit mainstream bestseller lists.

Amazon is suing the State of New York for forcing the retailer to levy sales tax when it really doesn’t want to do that.

Karen Heller really, really objects to most female-centric book covers.

For PEN World Voices coverage, there’s no better place to turn than MetaxuCafe.

And finally, this wins in the Department of Creepy and Shocking.