The Darcy Scott Award for Young Mystery Writers

at the Maine Crime Wave

In honor of award-winning mystery writer Darcy Scott and thanks to the generosity of Maine Authors Publishing & Cooperative, her husband Cleave, and many indvidual donors, we are pleased to offer the Darcy Scott Award for Young Mystery Writers. This award provides one young writer with a full scholarship to attend the Maine Crime Wave and a travel stipend to help cover hotel costs in Portland.

Award-winning author Darcy Scott (Best Mystery, 2013 Indie Book Awards; Silver Award, 2013 Readers Favorite Book Awards; Bronze Award, 2013 IPPY Awards; Winner, 2019 National Indie Excellence Award) was a live-aboard sailor and experienced ocean cruiser who’s sailed to Grenada and back on a whim, island-hopped through the Caribbean, and was struck by lightning in the middle of the Gulf Stream. For all her wandering, her summer home and favorite cruising grounds remained along the coast of Maine—the history and rugged beauty of its sparsely populated out-islands serving as inspiration for much of her fiction, including Margel’s Madness and her popular Island Mystery Series (Matinicus, Reese’s Leap, and Ragged Island). Her debut novel, Hunter Huntress, was published in 2010 by Snowbooks, Ltd., UK.

We are pleased to announce that Katie York is the 2024 winner of the Darcy Scott Award for Young Mystery Writers. Kate will attend the Maine Crime Wave free of charge and receive a cash award toward her travel expenses.

Katie York lives and writes off of a dirt road in rural Maine. Primarily, she writes thrillers and loves all things steeped in suspense. She was nominated for the James Kirkwood Literary Prize in 2023 for her novel-in-progress, Looking for Memphis. A terrible liar, she spends her time pretending to be a high school English teacher and, regrettably, she’s not fooling anyone.

We are pleased to announce that Finn Williamson is the 2023 winner of the Darcy Scott Award for Young Mystery Writers. Finn will attend the Maine Crime Wave free of charge and receive a cash award toward his travel expenses.

Finn Williamson grew up in Oxford, Maine, and was raised on the words of Stephen King, Shirley Jackson, and Agatha Christie. After several years in North Carolina, he returned to Maine where he works and lives in the mountains. When not reading or writing horror and crime fiction, he can be found on the ski slopes, watching tv with his wife, Morgan, or playing with their dog, Chowder.

Value

The scholarship is worth $450. A portion of that money will go toward covering the registration fee for the Maine Crime Wave, and the remaining will be given to the recipient as a travel stipend/cash award.

Location

The Maine Crime Wave takes place at USM in Portland. Please see the Crime Wave page for full details.

Costs
There is a no fee to apply.

To be eligible, all applicants must

• live in Maine at least 6 months a year

• and be under the age of 40 at the time of application.

Note: There is no limitation on what the award recipient has previously published, or if they have not published any work yet.

All applications must be received by May 23, 2024. MWPA will convene a small jury of accomplished writers to select the Darcy Scott Scholarship. The winner’s application will show a combination of specific intentions for the Maine Crime Wave and great writing. We strongly encourage applications from people who are members of marginalized communities in terms of race, ethnicity, geography, income, and/or gender identification. 

Donate

If you would like to contribute to the Darcy Scott Scholarship, please make a tax-deductible donation by clicking the button below and note that you wish to support this scholarship.