The Crime Writers’ Association

Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation

Sponsored in honour of Dolores Jakubowski.

This award is for crime novels (defined by the broadest definition to include thrillers, suspense novels and spy fiction) as long as the book was not originally written in English and has been translated into English for UK publication during the judging period. 


Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger 2025 Winner


Akira Otani

tr. Sam Bett

The Night of Baba Yaga

Faber

Judges notes:

Like a manga cartoon, this savage depiction of Japanese yakuza life is relentlessly violent if only to highlight the deep humanity of its fish out of water characters. Mean and lean, this saga … More


2025 shortlist


2025 longlist

Author Title Translator Publisher
Claire Berest Artifice Sophie Lewis Mountain Leopard
Carlo Fruttero & Franco Lucentini The Lover Of No Fixed Abode Gregory Dowling Bitter Lemon Press
Anne Mette Hancock Ruthless Tara Chase Swift Press
Kotaro Isaka Hotel Lucky Seven Brian Bergstrom Harvill Secker
Andrey Kurkov The Silver Bone Boris Dralyuk Maclehose Press
Hervé Le Corre Dogs And Wolves Howard Curtis Europa Editions UK
Pierre Lemaitre Going To The Dogs Frank Wynne Maclehose Press
Patrícia Melo The Simple Art Of Killing A Woman Sophie Lewis The Indigo Press
Akira Otani The Night Of Baba Yaga Sam Bett Faber & Faber
Satu Rämö The Clues In The Fjord Kristian London Zaffre
Asako Yuziki Butter Polly Barton 4th Estate
Alia Trabucco Zerán Clean Sophie Hughes 4th Estate

Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger 2024 Winner


Maud Ventura

tr. Emma Ramadan

My Husband

Hutchinson Heinemann

Judges’ Comments
A remarkable award-winning French domestic thriller debut with a sharp twist in the tail as a marriage goes under the forensic microscope and the villain is not always the obvious one.


The 2026 Judges

Maxim Jakubowski (Chair)
Maxim worked for many years in book publishing as an editor and launched the Murder One Bookshop, which he owned and ran for over 20 years. He now writes, edits and translates full-time in London. The series The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime, which he edits and now at Volume 13, has printed many winners of the CWA Short Story Dagger. His website is maximjakubowski.co.uk.

Nic Parker

Nic Parker is a true kid of the 80s and stuck in this decade when it comes to music, films and neon colours. She’s been fascinated by all things obscure, mysterious and creepy since early childhood, and she’s a big fan of thrillers and horror. She has worked as a journalist for genre magazines and so far two of her books have been published, Descent To Hell and the short story collection Neon Shocks. She’s a sucker for Christmas and lives enslaved by seven cats with her husband in a rural part of Germany.

Danuta Reah

Danuta Reah is an award-winning writer of crime fiction. Her books and short stories have been translated into over ten languages. She believes that a good novel should tell a gripping story, have a satisfactory ending and be peopled by characters who are fully-developed and believable. Her writing is fueled by her passion for stories and her love of narrative in all its forms: novels, graphic novels, film and video, games. She believes that people create themselves in the stories they tell and the stories they experience.

Simon Kurt Unsworth

Simon Kurt Unsworth has written two thrillers set in Hell, The Devil’s Detective and The Devil’s Evidence, and six short story collections as well as co-writing a collection with his son, Benjamin Kurt Unsworth. He lives in the Lake District with his wife and various children and animals, swimming in lakes and rivers, eating pizza and writing whatever comes into his head, for which pursuit he was once nominated for a World Fantasy Award.

Join the CWA

Become part of a thriving community of successful crime writers with invaluable support, expertise and marketing opportunities for all our members.


Advertise with us