The CWA John Creasey Memorial Dagger 2001

The Winner: Susanna Jones

SUSANNA JONES was the 2001 winner of the Creasey Dagger, the UK’s leading literary award for first time novelists writing crime fiction. The author won the award with The Earthquake Bird (Picador).

The announcement was made at Dead on Deansgate, Britain's biggest crime fiction convention organised by Waterstone's Booksellers in conjunction with the Crime Writers' Association (CWA).

THE EARTHQUAKE BIRD
Susanna Jones, £12.99 Hardback (Picador, ISBN 0-3304-8501-6)
A British translator in Tokyo is sucked into the investigation of a friend's murder. A beautifully written novel which explores the nature of guilt and responsibility and builds to a remarkable conclusion.

Susanna Jones grew up in Yorkshire and studied drama at London University. She has worked in Japan as a teacher and radio script editor. At present she lives in Brighton. She will receive her ornamental dagger and a cheque for £1000 at the Dagger Award Lunch on Friday, the 16th of November at The Brewery in London.

Also shortlisted for the 2001 Creasey Dagger were:

JOHN FUSCO for Paradise Salvage (Scribner)
SCOTT PHILLIPS for The Ice Harvest (Picador)
KARIN SLAUGHTER for Blindsighted (Century)
ELIZABETH WOODCRAFT for Good Bad Woman (HarperCollins)

The Creasey Dagger is sponsored by Chivers Press in association with the Crime Writers'Association. Chivers Press specialises in crime reprints, large print and audio books.

Former Creasey Dagger winners include Patricia Cornwell, Walter Mosley and Minette Walters. The winner of last year’s Creasey was Dan Fesperman for Lie in the Dark (No Exit Press).

The CWA John Creasey Memorial Dagger was founded by the Crime Writers’ Association in 1973 to commemorate its co-founder John Creasey. The judging year ran from 15 September 2000 to 15 September 2001, and final submissions had to be received by 1 September. The convenor of the judges was crime novelist Andrew Taylor, winner of the 1982 Creasey; the other judges were Val McDermid, winner of the 1995 CWA the Macallan Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel, and Denise Mina, winner of the 1998 Creasey.

Andrew Taylor comments:
"The Earthquake Bird emerged as the winner from this year's strong and varied shortlist because of its unusual premise, its beautifully realised setting and its sharply original prose."

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The short-listed titles:

PARADISE SALVAGE: John Fusco, £10.00 paperback (Scribner, ISBN 0 7432 0862 5)
Both a crime story and a poignant coming-of-age novel set among the Italian-American community in blue-collar Connecticut. Vivid, often humorous - and full of insights into scrapyard secrets.

John Fusco is an award-winning screenwriter who has written and produced eight major motion pictures. He lives with his family on a stud farm in Vermont.

THE EARTHQUAKE BIRD: Susanna Jones, £12.99 Hardback (Picador, ISBN 0 330 48501 6)
A British translator in Tokyo is sucked into the investigation of a friend's murder. A beautifully written novel which explores the nature of guilt and responsibility and builds to a remarkable conclusion.

Susanna Jones grew up in Yorkshire and studied drama at London University. She has worked in Japan as a teacher and radio script editor. At present she lives in Brighton.

THE ICE HARVEST: Scott Phillips, £10.00 hardback (Picador ISBN 0 330 48137 1)
An amiably amoral Kansas gangster says some unexpected farewells to friends, family and business associates on Christmas Eve 1979. Wry, witty, and as noir as burned toast.

Scott Philips has lived and worked in Paris as a teacher and translator. He now lives in Southern California with his wife and young daughter.

BLINDSIGHTED: Karin Slaughter, £16.99 hardback (Century ISBN 0 7126 7679 1)
A Deep South small-town killer pursues a devious agenda in a case involving the town's coroner-cum-paediatrician and her estranged police chief husband. A powerful narrative builds to a shattering climax.

Karin Slaughter grew up in a small Georgia town and now lives in Atlanta. Formerly a commercial signwriter, she is now working on her second novel.

GOOD BAD WOMAN: Elizabeth Woodcraft, £9.99 paperback (HarperCollins ISBN 0 00 232699 X)
Murder with dash of Motown has dramatic effects on an impoverished London barrister's past, present and future. A novel that makes you smile, makes you wince with sympathy - and makes you look forward to the sequel.

Elizabeth Woodcraft has practised in London as a barrister since 1980, a career choice which provides her with a professional reason to wear black. She has represented striking miners, Greenham Common women and victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence.