The Crime Writers’ Association

Emerging Author Dagger Experience & Tips by Karabi Mitra

One of the most memorable experiences from last year was getting longlisted and subsequently shortlisted for the prestigious CWA Debut Dagger (now known as the Emerging Author Dagger). This is awarded for the best opening of a crime novel and I was honoured to have made the shortlist from hundreds of highly competitive submissions. 

I have been writing for as long as I can remember. A few years ago I started narrowing my focus towards crime / thrillers, given my passion for reading in this genre, and I continued honing my writing skills. While I was on maternity leave, I started working on a novel that explores the dark side of motherhood and revolves around a horrific kidnapping. Once I began work on it, I was completely hooked to the idea and concept. I continued to edit and polish it over several months before finally taking a leap of faith and submitting it for the award. 

I was amazed when I received the email notifying me that I’d made the longlist. And even more so when I learnt that I had made the shortlist as well. 

Being shortlisted for the award was immensely helpful in getting the attention of literary agents and I am very happy to share that in October 2024, I signed with my brilliant agent, Madeleine Milburn. The journey so far has been truly exhilarating and I can confidently say that getting shortlisted for the Debut Dagger was a critical milestone for me.    

Following were some of the key considerations that I kept in mind while crafting my submission package to ensure it was competitive: 

  1. Start your novel with an inciting incident: Given how competitive the crime genre is, it’s critical to grab your readers’ attention as quickly as possible. Starting with an inciting incident helps propel the pacing of a novel very quickly and I made sure to do that for the manuscript I submitted.  
  1. Have an engaging plot and concept: Starting with an explosive event can help push your narrative forward but it’s also important to have an engaging plot and concept that you can sustain throughout the novel. Reading widely in your genre can help you build an understanding of similar books and publishing trends and while crafting your concept the stakes should be high. Having that key element ensures that your readers are going to stay with you for the entire journey. 
  1. Keep your synopsis succinct and relevant: After writing an entire novel, it can always feel challenging to craft a synopsis that condenses everything into a couple of pages. While drafting a synopsis, it’s important to make sure that it includes the key events, introduces the main characters with their motivations, tells how the novel is conveyed – for example multiple viewpoints in close third person – and reveals the ending. You have a generous limit of 1500 words for the synopsis and the judges are happy to read the detail you often don’t have the word count to include, so do make the most of it. Even so, you should use your words carefully and make each one of them count.  
  1. Read and re-read the rules carefully: The Emerging Author Dagger lays out the rules very carefully on the CWA website and you should check each one before submitting. The word count rules are particularly strict and you should make sure to stay within the stipulated guidelines. After working hard on polishing your submission package, you wouldn’t want to get disqualified for something that you missed. 
  1. Continue working on your manuscript: If you do get longlisted for the Emerging Author Dagger, you will be asked to submit 3000 more words from later in your novel. That’s why it’s important to continue working on your manuscript if you don’t have a completed one at the time of submission. I did have a complete manuscript but continued revising it. When I made the longlist I was able to quickly identify the next 3000 words that I wanted to submit because I had the full manuscript completed. 

Getting on the shortlist ensures that your submission package is sent to literary agents and publishers in the industry and it is a great way to get your profile and writing noticed. In addition, you also get feedback on your submission from the judges and this is particularly helpful as you continue to refine your work. 

If you are an aspiring crime writer, taking the opportunity to enter the Emerging Author competition can be an extremely useful launch pad for your career. The deadline is 28 February, so continue to polish your submission package if you are considering entering – and all the best! 

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