SinC is thrilled to announce that the winner of the 2026 Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Writer of Color Award is Jackie Yap, from Gadigal Country (Sydney), Australia . Her winning submission, “Isabelle Gomez is Innocent, She Swears!”,  is a YA cozy murder mystery set in Manila. The story is part-murder mystery, part-fish-out-of-water, part coming-of-age—with universal themes of humor, heart, and belonging.

The judges–Delia C. Pitts, Victor Manibo, and last year’s ETB winner Tina Ehsanipour–say their “panel reviewed an abundance of compelling crime fiction from emerging writers of diverse backgrounds, and Ms. Yap’s novel excerpt is an excellent representation of the caliber of this year’s entries. With a distinctly refreshing voice, ‘Isabelle Gomez is Innocent, She Swears!’ stood out for its humor, heart, and assured writing. It also introduced us to characters and locales not often seen in crime writing, which made us even more excited for the future of this novel and of our field as a whole.”

Five runners-up were also chosen: The recipients were Uju Asika of London, United Kingdom; Billie Hanson-Dupree of Oakland, CA; Nina Michiko Tam of Houston, Texas; D. S. Mori of Orange County, California; and DeAnna Yvette of Chicago, IL.

Congratulations to Jackie Yap, and to the runners-up. And a huge thank you to the judges and to board member Mia Manansala, who coordinated the process

About the Award

The Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award is an annual grant of $2,000 for an emerging writer of color. This grant is intended to support the recipient in crime fiction writing and career development activities. The grantee may choose to use the grant for activities that include workshops, seminars, conferences, retreats, online courses, and research activities required for completion of the work. The Eleanor Taylor Bland grant is administered by Sisters in Crime, a 4000+ member international organization of mystery authors, readers, publishers, agents, booksellers and librarians. Sisters in Crime was founded by Sara Paretsky and a group of women at the 1986 Bouchercon in Baltimore. In 2014 the group declared its mission to members to “promote the ongoing advancement, recognition and professional development of women crime writers.”