This award is for any crime short story first published in the UK in English during the Judging Period, whether on its own or within an anthology or collection. Upon publication it must have been for sale to the public, either in print or e-book, through established channels or platforms.
The term short story refers to a work of fiction no shorter than 1,000 and no longer than 15,000 words.
You are able to nominate a full anthology where we consider every story, or an individual story.
Publishers or authors can nominate.
| Author | Title | From | Editor | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rachel Amphlett | Three Ways to Die | No W.W.M. – Thrill Ride #3 | M. L. “Matt” Buchman | Buchman Bookworks, Inc |
| Lee Child | Safe Enough | An Unnecessary Assassin | Lorraine Stevens | Rivertree |
| Mia Dalia | The Last Best Thing | Bang!:An Anthology of Modern Noir Fiction | Andrew Hook | Head Shot Press |
| Andrew Humphrey | Slap Happy | Bang!:An Anthology of Modern Noir Fiction | Andrew Hook | Head Shot Press |
| Benedict J Jones | The Also-Rans | Bang!:An Anthology of Modern Noir Fiction | Andrew Hook | Head Shot Press |
| Sanjida Kay | The Divide | The Book of Bristol | Joe Melia and Heather Marks | Comma Press |
| Ambrose Parry | The Spendthrift and the Swallow | Canongate Books | ||
| DG Penny | Drive | An Unnecessary Assassin | Lorraine Stevens | Rivertree |
| FD Quinn | Best Served Cold | An Unnecessary Assassin | Lorraine Stevens | Rivertree |
| Robert Scragg | Revenge is Best Served Hot | An Unnecessary Assassin | Lorraine Stevens | Rivertree |
An emotional tale of rape and murder that leads to a man being condemned by suspicion by a whole village. But is this suspicion justified? Ward delivers a truly emotional ride with a twist.
Chris Simmons (Chair)
Chris Simmons is the online editor of his brainchild, Crimesquad.com – a crime review website, running since March 2005. Chris is a past judge for the John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger, which has highlighted the debuts of authors such as Louise Penny (John Creasey Dagger winner), S J Watson, Sarah Hilary, James Oswald and two-time Dagger winner, Wiley Cash.
Harriet Tyce
Harriet Tyce was born and grew up in Edinburgh. She graduated in 1994 with a degree in English Literature before working as a criminal barrister for nearly a decade. Having escaped law and early motherhood, she started writing, and completed the MA in Creative Writing – Crime Fiction at the University of East Anglia. She has written three novels to date, the Sunday Times bestsellers Blood Orange and The Lies You Told. It Ends At Midnight was published in April 2022 to critical acclaim.
Laura Wilson
Laura Wilson’s psychological crime novels have been critically acclaimed. Stratton’s War won the CWA Ellis Peters Award for Historical Crime Fiction and both The Lover – which won the Prix du Polar Europeen – and A Thousand Lies were shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger. She also writes for young adults as Jamie Costello. She has taught on the Crime/Thriller MA course at London’s City University, written a series of Crime Fiction Masterclass columns for Mslexia magazine, judged both the CWA John Creasey Dagger and the Debut Dagger, programmed the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival, and co-organised the Killer Women Festival. She is also the Guardian’s crime and thriller fiction reviewer.
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