The countdown is on for the world-famous Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Daggers, which honour the very best in crime writing.

Tickets are now available for the Dagger Awards gala dinner, which takes place from 6.30pm at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London City.

The oldest awards in the genre, created in 1955, the CWA Daggers have been synonymous with quality crime writing for over half a century.

The night is compered by Barry Forshaw, one of the UK’s leading experts on crime fiction.

Barry Forshaw said: “It’s a starry evening showcasing the most prestigious prizes in the crime fiction world – the Oscars of the genre – and I’m always pleased and privileged to emcee it. Not least for the chance to rub shoulders with the very best writers and publishers at a very convivial event.”

A Dagger is considered something of a holy grail for crime authors as well as one of the highlights on the awards’ calendar for the publishing world.

Winners of the Daggers – including the Gold for best crime novel, the Ian Fleming Steel for best spy or thriller, the ALCS Gold for Non-fiction, the John Creasey (New Blood) for first-time authors, and the Sapere Books Historical Dagger – will be announced on the night.

UK Libraries have also shortlisted six crime authors for the prestigious Dagger in the Library. M C Beaton, Mark Billingham, John Connolly, Kate Ellis, C J Sansom and Cath Staincliffe have been nominated by librarians, chosen for their body of work and their support of libraries.

The 10 coveted Daggers will also be complemented by a new category for the book trade – the Best Crime and Mystery Publisher of the Year.

Robert Goddard has already been announced as the recipient of the elite Diamond Dagger. Goddard will be presented with the award on the night in celebration of his career and contribution to the crime genre.

Guest speaker on the night is the writer, broadcaster, dramatist and journalist Lynne Truss, famed for Eats, Shoots and Leaves alongside her comic crime novel, A Shot in the Dark.

Tickets are limited. For ticket details and to book a place, https://thecwa.co.uk/the-daggers/cwa-dagger-awards-gala-dinner-2019 or contact admin@thecwa.co.uk Discounts are available for tables of 10 or 12.

2019 CWA DAGGER SHORTLIST IN FULL:

CWA GOLD DAGGER

Claire Askew: All the Hidden Truths (Hodder & Stoughton)

M W Craven: The Puppet Show (Constable)

Christobel Kent: What We Did (Sphere)

Donna Leon: Unto Us a Son is Given (William Heinemann)

Derek B Miller: American by Day (Doubleday)

Benjamin Wood: A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better (Scribner)

CWA IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER

Megan Abbott: Give Me Your Hand (Picador)

Dan Fesperman: Safe Houses (Head of Zeus)

Luke Jennings: Killing Eve: No Tomorrow (John Murray)

Stephen Mack Jones: Lives Laid Away (Soho Crime)

Holly Watt: To the Lions (Raven Books)

Tim Willocks: Memo from Turner (Jonathan Cape)

CWA JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD)

Claire Askew: All the Hidden Truths (Hodder & Stoughton)

Alex Dahl: The Boy at the Door (Head Of Zeus)

Chris Hammer: Scrublands (Wildfire)

Vicky Newham: Turn a Blind Eye (HQ)

Laura Shepherd-Robinson: Blood and Sugar (Mantle)

Vanda Symon: Overkill (Orenda)

CWA ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION

Sue Black: All That Remains (Doubleday)

Mikita Brottman: An Unexplained Death (Canongate)

Claire Harman: Murder by the Book (Viking)

Kirk Wallace Johnson: The Feather Thief (Hutchinson)

Ben Macintyre: The Spy and the Traitor (Viking)

Hallie Rubenhold: The Five (Doubleday)

CWA INTERNATIONAL DAGGER

Dov Alfon: A Long Night in Paris, tr Daniella Zamir (Maclehose Press )

Karin Brynard: Weeping Waters, tr Maya Fowler & Isobel Dixon (World Noir)

Gianrico Carofiglio: The Cold Summer, tr Howard Curtis (Bitter Lemon Press)

Keigo Higashino: Newcomer, tr Giles Murray (Little, Brown)

Håkan Nesser: The Root of Evil, tr Sarah Death (Mantle)

Cay Rademacher: The Forger, tr Peter Millar (Arcadia Books)

CWA SAPERE BOOKS HISTORICAL DAGGER

Liam McIlvanney: The Quaker (Harper Fiction)

S G MacLean: Destroying Angel (Quercus Fiction)

Abir Mukherjee: Smoke and Ashes (Harvill Secker)

Alex Reeve: The House on Half Moon Street (Raven Books)

C J Sansom: Tombland (Mantle)

Laura Shepherd-Robinson: Blood and Sugar (Mantle)

CWA SHORT STORY DAGGER

Martin Edwards: Strangers in a Pub in ‘Ten Year Stretch’ edited by Martin Edwards and Adrian Muller (No Exit Press)

Syd Moore: Death Becomes Her in ‘The Strange Casebook’ by Syd Moore (Point Blank Books)

Danuta Reah: The Dummies’ Guide to Serial Killing in ‘The Dummies’ Guide to Serial Killing and other Fantastic Female Fables’ (Fantastic Books)

Teresa Solana: I Detest Mozart in ‘The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and Other Stories’ by Teresa Solana (Bitter Lemon Press)

Lavie Tidhar: Bag Man in ‘The Outcast Hours’ edited by Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin (Solaris)

DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY

M C Beaton

Mark Billingham

John Connolly

Kate Ellis

C J Sansom

Cath Staincliffe

DEBUT DAGGER

(A competition for the opening of a crime novel by an uncontracted writer)

Shelley Burr: Wake

Jerry Crause: The Mourning Light

Catherine Hendricks: Hardways

David Smith: The Firefly

Fran Smith: A Thin Sharp Blade

BEST CRIME & MYSTERY PUBLISHER DAGGER

Faber & Faber

Harper Fiction (HarperCollins)

HQ (HarperCollins)

No Exit Press (Oldcastle Books)

Orenda Books
Pushkin Vertigo (Pushkin)

Raven Books

DIAMOND DAGGER

Presented to Robert Goddard.