MONTREAL - A mystery investigated by a Quebec provincial police inspector and a Canadian sci-fi series where clones run rampant are among the nominees for the prestigious 2014 Edgar Allan Poe Award offered by the Mystery Writers of America.

Mystery writer Louise Penny, who lives in a small village outside Montreal, is nominated in the best novel category for her latest book, "How the Light Gets In."

Toronto-based writer and director Will Pascoe will be vying for an Edgar in the best television episode teleplay category for the "Variation Under Domestication" episode of the popular Space / BBC America series "Orphan Black."

Poe was one of the earliest American writers of the short story and is credited with creating the detective fiction genre. The award, commonly known as The Edgar, honours the best in mystery fiction and non-fiction in print and television from the previous year.

Previous winners include Raymond Chandler, John le Carre, Elmore Leonard and Scottish crime scribe Ian Rankin.

The awards will be presented at the group's 68th gala banquet in New York on May 1.

"How the Light Gets In" debuted in the No. 1 spot on the New York Times bestseller list when it was released last fall.

Penny's competitors include Rankin for "Standing in Another Man's Grave" and Thomas H. Cook for "Sandrine's Case."

"How the Light Gets In" is the ninth in the series of Penny's books about Insp. Armand Gamache, who finds himself in the tiny Quebec village of Tree Pines looking for a missing person. The inspector also has to deal with hostile forces lining up against him in his own police force in a nasty internal political battle.

Penny's books have already received numerous awards.

She has been awarded the John Creasey Dagger, the Nero, Macavity and Barry awards, as well as two each of the Arthur Ellis and Dilys awards. She has also won five Agatha awards and four Anthony awards.

Pascoe, who was born in Calgary, has directed documentaries as well as comedy and drama films, including the award-winning short film "Choices" and "Noam Chomsky: Rebel Without a Pause."

A co-producer and writer on "Orphan Black," his other television credits include "Bitten," "The Finder," "Combat Hospital" and "Heartland."

"Orphan Black" focuses on several women who are discovered to be clones. The acclaimed series has been noted for examining the issue of the implications of human cloning.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2014