The Crime Writers Association announced the much anticipated longlists for the annual Dagger awards at a reception during CrimeFest in Bristol on the evening of Friday 19 May. The Chair of the CWA, Martin Edwards, author of The Golden Age of Murder, editor of the British Library Crime Classics series, author of two crime fiction series and several standalones, and longlisted himself for his short story ‘Murder and its Motives’, headed proceedings.

The CWA Daggers, which are the probably the awards crime authors and publishers alike most wish to win, are awarded every year in 10 categories. The Diamond Dagger, for a career’s outstanding contribution to crime fiction as nominated by CWA members, was announced earlier in the year and has been awarded to best-selling author Ann Cleeves.

Click here to view the Dagger longlists for 2017.

Shortlists for the Daggers will be announced later in the summer and the winners will be announced at the Dagger Awards dinner in London on 26 October, for which tickets will be available shortly. Visit www.thecwa.co.uk for more information.

Margery Allingham Short Story Competition

The Margery Allingham short story competition is open to published and unpublished writers alike; unusual in writing competitions. The story itself must be unpublished. The winner of the Margery Allingham short story competition was announced and the £500 prize awarded by one of the judges, Janet Laurence.

The winner was Sam Hepburn, who is a published author, with her story Box Clever. The competition is a joint initiative between the Margery Allingham Society and the CWA.

To view photos of the announcements, please click here.