The Indies Today Awards have just released their 2026 Contest Results, celebrating a diverse array of books across genres. We’re pleased to share that Nicholas Litchfield’s “When The Actor Inspired Chaos and Bloodshed” has been selected as a 2026 Notable—a recognition highlighting memorable titles that caught the attention of reviewers and readers this year. The Indies Today Awards honor books that stand out for their impact and creativity.
Author: Editor
Founded in September 2009, Lowestoft Chronicle is a quarterly online literary magazine publishing travel-related fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction.
This month, Stark House Press is bringing Robert Martin’s long-unavailable Jim Bennett novels back into print, pairing Just a Corpse at Twilight with Catch a Killer in a double-feature collection. Martin, who grew up in the working towns of northern Ohio, never strayed far from the lives he knew best. His detective fiction, shaped by years in factory offices and small-town routines, stands apart for its quiet authenticity and its subtle, lived-in feel.
The real draw here is Martin’s Cleveland private eye, Jim Bennett—a character as decent as they come. Unlike the era’s typical hardboiled loners, Bennett is grounded, empathetic, and quietly persistent, a man who enjoys poker and martinis but is just as likely to be found fishing or making small talk with his loyal secretary, Sandy Hollis. He’s not flashy or cynical; he’s simply stubborn about doing the right thing, a quality that gives both novels their staying power.
“A powerful newspaper magnate’s dictatorial grip and clandestine scandals trigger murder at an elite dinner party in Death in a Domino, an intense post-war crime novel steeped in social intrigue, simmering resentments, and polished façades that conceal deeper desires and betrayals.
First published in 1932 by the London-based publisher William Heinemann as It Means Mischief, and in the US that same year as Death in a Domino, Roland Pertwee’s standalone mystery returns to print after more than ninety years lost to obscurity.”
Lowestoft Chronicle Editor reviews Death in a Domino for the Lancashire Post.
“A missing-person case sweeps private investigator Wendy Lu into the murky underbelly of Virginia Beach, a city where the lost and desperate slip through the cracks and justice remains a rare commodity. In Broken Kite, Timothy J. Lockhart’s second Wendy Lu novel, he exposes the grim realities of human trafficking and the narrow margin between survival and ruin. Lockhart, both a lawyer and former Navy intelligence officer, brings the weight of lived experience to his fiction. Since his 2017 debut, Smith, he has earned a place among writers of lean and gritty mysteries with his stories marked by a tough procedural edge and emotional grit.”
Lowestoft Chronicle Editor reviews Broken Kite by Timothy J. Lockhart for the Lancashire Post.
Stark House Press recently reissued two standout novels by Richard Jessup, a writer who never confined himself to a single genre. Jessup grew up in an orphanage, ran away to sea at thirteen, and worked every tough job imaginable before turning out scripts, TV shows, and more than seventy novels. He sometimes wrote under pseudonyms such as Richard Telfair or Carey Rockwell.
Port Angelique and Wolf Cop each showcase a different side of Jessup’s talent for portraying people on the edge.
“A globe-trotting private investigator unravels thieving, murder and local vendettas while protecting a flame-haired heiress in The Red Tassel, an atmospheric thriller set amid betrayal, violence and the chill of the Bolivian Andes. First published in hardcover by Random House in 1950 and quickly reissued as a Dell paperback, David Dodge’s third and final case for the hard-nosed Al Colby is now back in print.”
Lowestoft Chronicle Editor reviews The Red Tassel by David Dodgei for the Lancashire Post.
Each year, Lowestoft Chronicle has the pleasure—and the challenge—of highlighting stand-out voices from the magazine. The Pushcart Prize, with its cherished annual tradition of shining a light on exceptional small press writing, grants each publication just six opportunities to put forward their best. After a great deal of difficult deliberation, the editor has chosen the following pieces for consideration in the Pushcart Prize LI: Best of the Small Presses 2027 volume.
We’re delighted to share that Reedsy Discovery has included Lowestoft Chronicle’s newest anthology, *Unfamiliar Territory*, in its curated selection of the Best Anthology Books. This new annual list, compiled by Reedsy’s dedicated reviewers Kelsey Cashman and Kayla Riportella, showcases exceptional collections that stand out for their storytelling quality, range, and originality.
Earlier this month, the editor of Lowestoft Chronicle nominated a selection of our most memorable pieces for inclusion in several Best American Series anthologies. Each volume typically features a mere twenty or so works, handpicked from the hundreds—occasionally thousands—submitted every year. Fortunately, the days of losing an afternoon to the post office (queues snaking into the parking lot and sometimes your soul) are mostly gone, with online submissions now the norm. [Well, except for The Best American Essays, which has, somewhat mysteriously, reverted to snail mail this year—perhaps as an act of charity for the USPS.]
Stark House Press reintroduces Jack Webb’s long-lost Los Angeles noir gems, One For My Dame and The Deadly Combo, in a newly released double volume. Acclaimed reviewer James Reasoner delves into the hardboiled action and jazz-soaked atmosphere of these classic crime novels, inviting a new generation of readers to rediscover Webb’s unique voice.