The crime writing genre’s oldest and most famous award has had an injection of new blood thanks to a new sponsor.

Author Karen Baugh Menuhin is sponsoring its highest accolade, the CWA Diamond Dagger. The very first CWA awards ceremony was hosted in 1965, with Agatha Christie as the principal guest, and the awards have become known as the ‘Oscars of the crime genre.’

The Diamond Dagger was introduced in 1986, and is considered the UK’s most prestigious lifetime achievement award for crime writers. Presented annually, nominations for the award are put forward by CWA members and selected by a vote of past Diamond Dagger winners. Past recipients include Mick Herron, Lynda La Plante, John Le Carré, PD James, Ian Rankin, Ann Cleeves, Lee Child, Frederik Forsyth, and Michael Connolly.

Karen Baugh Menuhin is a bestselling author of cosy crime novels. Based in the Cotswolds, she is married to Krov Menuhin, a retired filmmaker and son of the violinist Lord Yehudi Menuhin.

Karen Baugh Menuhin said: “I’m a huge fan of the 1920s, Downton Abbey and whodunnits, and began writing aged 60 showing it’s never too late. Since, I’ve reached number 1 in the USA and sold over a million books. Crime fiction has given me so much pleasure as a reader and writer, and so I’m very proud to give something back to the genre I love and sponsor the CWA Diamond Dagger, arguably the most esteemed award in crime fiction.”

Maxim Jakubowski, chair of the CWA Daggers’ committee, said: “I am delighted that Karen Menuhin has come forward to personally sponsor the CWA Diamond Dagger. Following a handful and more of decades when the award was sponsored in turn by a variety of welcome corporate bodies, it is gratifying to find an author with a belief in our crime & mystery community willing to take over the flame.”

The Daggers celebrate the best in crime writing, and feature 13 Dagger Awards in total, celebrating established careers as well as new talent, with the Emerging Author Dagger, open to unpublished authors. To date, agents and editors have signed over two dozen of these emerging authors.

Nadine Matheson, Chair of the CWA, said: “I’m delighted to have Karen Baugh Menuhin as the sponsor of the CWA Diamond Dagger. The Diamond Dagger is the highest honour in crime writing, celebrating a lifetime of extraordinary commitment, creativity, and contribution to the genre. Karen’s generosity and support ensure that this prestigious award continues to recognise the writers whose work has shaped, inspired, and elevated the world of crime fiction.”

Other sponsors of the Daggers include the family-owned company that looks after the James Bond literary brand, Ian Fleming Publications, with the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for best thriller, Kevin Anderson and Associates who sponsor the Gold Dagger, and the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS), a not-for profit organisation that supports authors to receive fair payment, sponsor the ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction.

The sponsor of the John Creasey First Novel Dagger is the intellectual property specialists, International Literary Properties (ILP). Also, the author Maxim Jakubowski sponsors the Crime Fiction in Translation award in honour of his wife, Dolores. The editorial consultancy Fiction Feedback sponsor the Emerging Author Dagger, and Morgan Witzel sponsors the Historical Dagger in memory of his wife, the writer Dr Marilyn Livingstone.

The CWA’s founding aims were to provide a social network, as well as help crime writers with business matters. Today, the CWA’s determination to promote the genre remains central to its mission.