Andrew Pyper’s novel The Demonologist has won the 2014 International Thriller Writers’ Thriller Award for best hardcover novel, beating finalists Stephen King and Lee Child.

The award was presented July 12 at the ThrillerFest IX conference in New York City. Pyper is the first Canadian to receive the honour.

Published by Simon & Schuster Canada, The Demonologist is a finalist for the 2014 Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic. Film rights for the novel have been optioned by Universal Studios and director/producer Robert Zemeckis.