The Crime Writers’ Association

How I got by with a little help from the internet – on credibility, by Nikki Dudley

Last year, my psychological thriller, Volta, won the Virginia Prize for Fiction 2020. Fast forward to this year and after receiving my first round of edits, I had one big problem: credibility! My novel features three characters who are a lawyer, a th...


Social media and privacy policy

Social media and privacy policy The Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) takes its duty to process your personal data very seriously. This policy explains how we collect, manage, use and protect your personal data. We do occasionally update this Po...


Crime Writers in Residence – at home with Sarah Linley

The CRA: Please tell us a little about yourself and the books you write. The Beach is my debut novel. It is a psychological suspense set in Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Yorkshire Dales. I like to travel and the places I have visited provide ...


Debut Dagger Tips: Kristina Stanley

  Prepare to be deeply jealous when you find out the circumstances in which Kristina Stanley penned her Debut Dagger shortlisted novel, Blaze. However, despite a deeply glamourous writing story, the Canadian newcomer faced the same struggle as a...


12 Criminally Good Hints for Crime Writing by Laraine Stephens

by Laraine Stephens   Start with reading in the crime genre. You'll pick up how different authors approach their craft. You’ll learn to recognise good writing and bad writing. Also, there’s great advice in books and blogs about how to ...


Crime Writers in Residence – at home with Anne Coates

The CRA: Please tell us a little about yourself and the books you write. My work as a journalist and editor working on magazines and national newspapers as well as abridging books for Reader’s Digest has provided plenty of inspiration for my crime...


Top crime writers support Scotland on Sunday’s libraries campaign

Crime writers owe a lot to libraries. Library staff lend out their books, bringing in welcome payments under the Public Lending Right scheme, host their events and raise their profiles. Writers of all genres have much to be grateful to libraries for....


Crime Writers Emerging from Lockdown with Louise Burfitt-Dons

How an escape story inspired The Secret War Some years ago when I was living in Australia I met someone whose family had escaped the Cultural Revolution. The planning required utmost secrecy for the father to organise their ‘trip to Hong Kong to...


An Evening with Andy Griffee & Anita Bhalla

Waterstones Birmingham is delighted to welcome Andy Griffee, an 'exciting new voice in the world of crime fiction' whose debut novel Canal Pushers was published last month. The book is based on the canals and towpaths of Birmingham and its surroundin...


The Victorian Fear of Poison Murder

In the nineteenth century the prospect of being poisoned was a very real fear, and the poisoner has frequently been denounced as the worst kind of criminal. Poison is secret and treacherous, administered by someone close to the victim, hidden in food...


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