The Red Herring Award
From its earliest years, right up to the present day, the CWA has benefited enormously from the hard and selfless work of a wide range of people. It’s always been a fundamental part of the CWA’s ethos that contributions of special merit to its activities should be celebrated.
From time to time over the past sixty years, therefore, the CWA has recognised valuable work of many different kinds with the Red Herring award.
The Red Herring award dates back to 1959. The first recipients were Roy Vickers and Janet Green, and so far they have had more than forty successors. Although the Red Herring, unlike the CWA Daggers, is not a literary award, many of the recipients have been writers (examples include Allan Prior, Gavin Lyall, and Reginald Hill), while others have included the literary critic F E Pardoe and the editor Elizabeth Walter. Each has given generously of their time and expertise, benefiting not only the CWA but the wider crime-writing community.
The Red Herring is especially awarded for services to the Association.
Sometimes called the Red Herring and at other times the Special Merit award. Confusingly it was also at one time called the John Creasey award.
Recent recipients
- Dea Parkin (2024)
- Jean Briggs (2024)
- Darren Wills (2024)
- Corinne Turner (2023)
- Gary Stratmann (2023)
- In memory of Thalia Proctor (2022)
- Robert Richardson (2020)
- Maxim Jakubowski (2019)
- David Stuart Davies (2018)
- Mike Stotter (2018)
- Ayo Onatade (2018)
- Ali Karim (2018)
- Barry Forshaw (2017)
Past recipients
- 1959 Roy Vickers, Janet Green
- 1961 Berkely Mather
- 1963 Allan Prior
- 1964 Herbert Harris
- 1966 Julian Symons
- 1967 Charles Franklin
- 1970 Gavin Lyall
- 1971 Alex Clark Smith
- 1975 Gladys Mitchell, Anne Britton, Jean Bowden, Penelope Wallace
- 1978 Alberto Tedeschi, Frederic Dannay, Nigel Morland
- 1979 Madelaine Duke, Frank Arthur
- 1981 Martin Russell
- 1983 F E Pardoe
- 1985 Marian Babson
- 1986 Beatrice Taylor
- 1989 Glyn Hardwicke, John Kennedy Melling
- 1993 Elizabeth Walter
- 1998 David Foster, Anthea Fraser
- 1999 Andrew Taylor, Joan Lock
- 2000 Barry Musto, Kathryn Skoyles
- 2001 Reginald Hill
- 2002 Adrian Muller
- 2005 Zoë Sharp, Judith Rhodes
- 2007 Peter Walker
- 2009 Lizzie Hayes, Margaret Murphy, Barry Forshaw, Laura Wilson
- 2011 Roger Cornwell, Jean Rogers, Martin Edwards, Diane Janes
- 2012 Bernard Knight
Join the CWA
Become part of a thriving community of successful crime writers with invaluable support, expertise and marketing opportunities for all our members.
