The Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society is to sponsor the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction in 2018. This year sees the 40^th anniversary of the award; previous winners having included Antonia Fraser, Jonathan Goodman and Ruth Dudley Edwards.

Martin Edwards, Chair of the CWA, said: “We are delighted by ALCS’ support for the Dagger. Although the CWA is associated in the public mind with crime fiction, non-fiction has always been a key part of our remit. Our members include some of the leading writers of non-fiction, and they focus on a much wider range of subjects than just ‘true crime’. That breadth of range of their work is increasingly recognised worldwide, and this new sponsorship can only help.”

Barbara Hayes, Deputy Chief Executive of ALCS said: “ALCS is delighted to be sponsoring the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association’s Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction. We are committed to promoting writing of all types and are proud to be involved with the CWA in supporting a genre that has been inspirational to British authors and readers for so long.”

The Gold Dagger is an award is for any non-fiction work on a crime-related theme by an author of any nationality on condition that the book was first published in the UK in English during the judging period. This award encompasses, though is not limited to, non-fiction works relating to true crime, historical crime, crime-related biography, crime-fiction literature, and critical studies.