The Nominations are in...

The nominations have been tallied and the tournament bracket has been set. You can download your copy of the bracket here. As with last year's tournament, there will be a contest on your prediction skills. We had some surprises last year and I think this year will be even more challenging, given the array of characters we have. So fill out your brackets and more information on submitting for the contest will follow tomorrow.

This year's nominees came out significantly different than last year's nominees. A few characters nominated were disqualified because they fit into one of the exempt categories: a detective eligible for last year's tourney, a member of the legal profession, or someone in the medical profession. We had over 90 different sleuths nominated but only 20 of those received more than one nomination. Those 20 were slotted into the bracket and the remaining nominees with one nomination each were chosen via Random Number Generator. The lucky 64 competing this year will be (author listed in parentheses):

• Abby Knight (Kate Collins)
• Alafair Tucker (Donis Casey)
• Amanda Pepper (Gillian Roberts)
• Amelia Peabody (Elizabeth Peters)
• Amlingmeyer Brothers (Steve Hockensmith)
• Annie Darling (Carolyn Hart)
• Annie Kincaid (Hailey Lind)
• Annika Bengtzon (Liza Marklund)
• Asey Mayo (Phoebe Atwood Taylor)
• Benni Harper (Earlene Fowler)
• Brett Kavanaugh (Karen Olson)
• Candy Holliday (B.B. Haywood)
• Carter Ross (Brad Parks)
• Charlotte McNally (Hank Phillippi Ryan)
• Doc Ford (Randy Wayne White)
• Dorothy Martin (Jeanne M. Dams)
• Duffy Dombrowski (Tom Schreck)
• Ellie Foreman (Libby Fischer Hellmann)
• Emily Tempest (Adrian Hyland)
• Emma Lord (Mary Daheim)
• Father Brown (G.K. Chesterton)
• Flavia de Luce (Alan Bradley)
• Gervase Fen (Edmund Crispin)
• Goldy Schultz (Diane Mott Davidson)
• Gus Carpenter (Bryan Gruley)
• Hannah Swensen (Joanne Fluke)
• Hector Lassiter (Craig McDonald)
• Henry Gamadge (Elizabeth Daly)
• Hitchcock Sewell (Tim Cockey)
• Jack Garrett (Neil White)
• Jack Reacher (Lee Child)
• James Qwilleran (Lilian Jackson Braun)
• Jane Marple (Agatha Christie)
• John Putman Thatcher (Emma Lathen)
• Josie Prescott (Jane Cleland)
• Kelly Flynn (Maggie Sefton)
• Kent Murdock (George Harmon Coxe)
• Kiki Lowenstein (Joanna Campbell Slan)
• Lady Emily Hargreaves (Tasha Alexander)
• Lily Moore (Hilary Davidson)
• Lisbeth Salander (Stieg Larsson)
• Lord Peter Wimsey (Dorothy L. Sayers)
• Lori Shepherd (Nancy Atherton)
• Lucy Stone (Leslie Meier)
• Myron Bolitar (Harlan Coben)
• Nancy Drew (Carolyn Keene)
• Ned Oglive (John Galligan)
• Odelia Grey (Sue Ann Jaffarian)
• Ollie Paras (Julie Hyzy)
• Omar Yussef (Matt Rees)
• Paula Holliday (Rosemary Harris)
• Penny Brannigan (Elizabeth J. Duncan)
• Phryne Fisher (Kerry Greenwood)
• Poke Rafferty (Timothy Hallinan)
• Rebecca Robbins (Joelle Charbonneau)
• Ruth Galloway (Elly Griffiths)
• Stella Hardesty (Sophie Littlefield)
• Stephanie Plum (Janet Evanovich)
• Stewart Hoag (David Handler)
• The Hardy Boys (Franklin W. Dixon)
• Troy Chance (Sara J. Henry)
• Wiki Coffin (Joan Druett)
• Wollie Shelley (Harley Jane Kozak)
• Zack Walker (Linwood Barclay)

I hope you'll take some time and explore a character or two who might be new to you. Some of these characters will also be highlighted during the theme week by participating bloggers. The first week's voting form will follow this post at 9 A.M. Eastern time. You'll have until Saturday March 12th to cast your votes.

Good luck to all the sleuths. Let the games begin!