CRAIG SILVERMAN

Well, this has been a rewarding week. On Tuesday, for the second year in a row, I was nominated for a National Magazine Award. Then, yesterday, I discovered that my second book is nominated for Canada's best non-fiction crime book. The CBC has a story about the Crime Writers of Canada's annual Arthur Ellis Awards:

Crime Writers of Canada, the organizers of the Arthur Ellis Awards, on Thursday announced the nominees for the 26th edition of the annual literary prize. The awards are named after Arthur Ellis, the nom de travail of Canada's former official hangman...

Nominees in the best non-fiction category are:

• Daphne Bramham, The Secret Lives of Saints: Child Brides and Lost Boys in Canada's Polygamous Mormon Sect (Vintage Canada/RHC).
• Sharon Butala, The Girl in Saskatoon: A Meditation on Friendship, Memory and Murder (Phyllis Bruce Books/HarperCollins).
• Alex Caine, Befriend and Betray: Infiltrating the Hells Angels, Bandidos and Other Criminal Brotherhoods (Vintage Canada/RHC).
• Michael Calce & Craig Silverman, Mafiaboy: How I Cracked the Internet and Why It's Still Broken (Penguin Canada).
• Kerry Pither, Dark Days: The Story of Four Canadians Tortured in the Name of Fighting Terror (Penguin Canada).

This was totally unexpected. I had no idea our book was submitted, and I never would have guessed that we'd score a nomination. The only downside is that the awards ceremony will be held in Ottawa the day before the National Magazine Awards are held in Toronto. I'm already booked to be in Toronto that week so Michael Calce will have to represent the two of us at the ceremony. I wish I could be there, but this lovely suprise is good enough as far as I'm concerned.