Welcome to the Crime Writers' Association

The Crime Writers’ Association was founded in 1953 by John Creasey with the aim of supporting professional writers and promoting the genre. Creasey himself was no slouch at crime, producing literally hundreds of titles and using almost thirty pseudonyms. Over half a century later, the CWA continues to play a very vigorous role in raising the profile of crime writing and providing a forum for writers and others connected with it. And - fortunately for all of us - the public appetite for crime fiction, whether in books or films or on television, is keener than ever.

The public face of the CWA is seen in our wealth of Dagger Awards, which every year acknowledge the very best in fiction and non-fiction, thriller and historical mystery, short story and librarians’ choice, first-time author and distinguished practitioner. The award for the year’s outstanding crime novel is sponsored by the Duncan Lawrie Bank and at £20,000 is the largest crime-writing prize in the world. Duncan Lawrie also sponsor a prize for the best crime novel in translation.

Membership is open to any author who has had one crime novel produced by a bona fide publisher (although there are other acceptable qualifications at the discretion of the CWA committee). We also support writing groups, festivals and literary events where authors talk about their work and our craft. The links in the sidebar will help you find out more about what we do. Whether your taste is for the cosiness of the country-house murder or the grittiness of urban noir, or somewhere in between, you’ll discover plenty of authors and titles to fit the bill. And whether you want to become a member of the CWA, or just to meet one, you’ll find information on how to do that too. Thank you for visiting our site - to go back to the start, click on the crossed daggers logo at the top left-hand corner of any page.

Philip Gooden
Chairman.

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