Welcome to the Crime Writers' Association

Best-selling crime writer Peter James, who took over as Chair of the CWA in April 2011, welcomes you to the web site:

The main aims of Crime Writers’ Association are to promote the crime genre and to support professional writers. The CWA has been providing social and professional support for its members for more than half a century, as well as running the prestigious Dagger Awards.

The CWA Dagger Awards celebrate the best in crime writing: the Gold Dagger is awarded for crime fiction in its broadest definition, but other Daggers recognize excellence in a range of categories: the John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger for first novels, the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for thrillers, the International Dagger for translated works, the Ellis Peters Award for historical mysteries, the Gold Dagger for non-fiction, the Dagger in the Library – the library readers’ choice – and finally the Short Story Dagger, which acknowledges the best in short fiction.

The Cartier Diamond Dagger is a separate, and very special award. Nominated and voted for exclusively by members of the Crime Writers' Association, the winner of this Dagger is selected for sustained excellence in crime writing, and for having made a significant contribution to crime fiction.

For over a decade, the CWA has been encouraging new writing with the Debut Dagger competition. Unpublished writers can enter the competition by submitting the opening chapters and a synopsis of a proposed crime novel. The submissions are judged by a panel of top crime editors and an agent, and the shortlisted entries are offered to publishers and agents who specialize in the crime genre. Publication isn’t guaranteed, but to date, sixteen winners or short listed entrants have been published as a result of this award. Some, like Louise Penny, Edward Wright and Joolz Denby, have gone on to win further awards for their work.

Membership of the CWA is open to writers of crime fiction or non-fiction resident in Great Britain who are published by a bona fide publisher, but, at the discretion of the committee, overseas members are welcomed. Associate membership is available for editors, agents and booksellers who meet our criteria – it’s always worth checking with the membership secretary.

Want to find out where you can see your favourite author? Check out our Events page. Organising an event? Events organisers may contact individual writers by searching our Members’ web page. If you would like to book a group, or if you have a particular theme in mind, you should take a look at the Speakers’ page. Readers’ and writers’ workshop leaders, festival speakers, conference presenters and knowledgeable literary panellists are all just a click away

Do come back and visit us again for updates of awards, events, members’ new publications and much more.

Peter James is one of the UK’s most popular crime and thriller novelists. In 2011 viewers of the six week Crime Thriller Season on ITV3 voted him the ITV3 People’s Bestseller Dagger.

His Roy Grace detective novels have sold more than one and a half million in the UK alone and six million worldwide in total. This page has more about Peter and his ambitions for the CWA.