Tod Goldberg’s latest crime novel, “Only Way Out,” has been nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Fiction.
“I am surprised, honored, and humbled,” said Goldberg, founder and director of the Low-Residency MFA program at UC Riverside’s Palm Desert Center. “This is my second time being a finalist, but the first time in over 20 years! So, to say I'm shocked would be a vast understatement. Southern California is my home, the Los Angeles Times is my newspaper, and so this honor means more to me than I can adequately express.”
Goldberg’s 2002 novel, “Living Dead Girl,” previously was nominated in the mystery/thriller category.
The 2025 finalists, selected in nine categories covering fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, were announced today. The winners will be announced April 17 at an awards ceremony at the University of Southern California.
Goldberg, who is also an adjunct professor of creative writing at UCR, is a New York Times bestselling author of 16 books, including the widely acclaimed Gangsterland Series.
In “Only Way Out,” a failed lawyer plans to abscond to South America with millions of dollars he’s looted from safe-deposit boxes. Before he can flee, though, he dies when his van skids off the road. A crooked cop who witnesses the crash intends to make off with the stolen money, which he finds in the wreckage. But the dead lawyer’s sister and a volatile ex-con complicate the picture.
Goldberg’s previous books have won or been nominated for a variety of awards, including the Hammett Prize, Strand Critics Award, Reading the West Award, Southwest Book of the Year, Other Voices Book Prize and Scribe Award. Goldberg has also published three volumes of collected stories, and his short fiction has appeared in magazines, journals, and anthologies, including “Las Vegas Noir,” “Palm Springs Noir,” and the 2022 and 2025 editions of the Best American Mystery and Suspense series.
His nonfiction writing and criticism appear regularly in newspapers, magazines, and anthologies, including the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Alta, and Best American Essays. (Goldberg’s essay “When They Let Them Bleed” was featured in “The Best American Essays 2013.”) For his body of work, Goldberg has won five Nevada Press Association Awards and was honored with the Silver Pen Award from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame.