Crime at Havering Literary Festival
Author of the Stephens & Mephisto novels, Elly’s real name is Domenica de Rosa. She came up with Elly Griffiths after developing the idea for her Dr Ruth Galloway character while on holiday in Norfolk. Her agent told her: ‘This is crime. You ...
Third time lucky with the Debut Dagger, by Anna Caig
I’ve wanted to write crime fiction ever since I read Death on the Nile as a teenager and was blown away that something so clever, so dazzling and brilliant, could even exist. But life takes over, doesn’t it. It was only in 2017, when I saved up e...
Opening Windows, by John Kennedy
A certain writer, arguably lauded for the wrong things but at the same time often underrated, once said something about writing behind closed doors and rewriting with the window open. Well, for me, the Debut Dagger competition opened that window. Get...
Debut Dagger Tips: Greg Keen
Words of advice from award-winning authors… His day job involves training and coaching businesses to deliver barnstorming presentations and wow their clients, so it’s no wonder that Greg Keen was a natural storyteller. In 2015, he w...
Short story guide
Short story guide We accept short story submissions for the CRA website, to provide you with a platform to win over new readers and expand your fan base. It might also be useful to showcase your writing skills if you’re looking for a new agent or ...
Private: Joffe Books New Publication Prize for Crime Writers of Colour
Joffe Books, in conjunction with bestselling crime writer Dorothy Koomson and literary agent Susan Yearwood, is seeking to discover a new crime fiction writer to join our bestselling list. We are launching a new writing prize for unagented crime fict...
Debut Dagger Success Story by Fiona McPhillips
I had never written a novel before I entered the 2021 Debut Dagger. I was halfway through an MA in Creative Writing and too focused on the rhythm of my prose, the structure and shape of my short stories. A novel felt like a marathon when I’d only e...
Val McDermid Honoured for Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction
On Thursday 21 July, Val McDermid was announced the winner of the seventh Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award. Sara Paretsky, Lynda La Plante, Ruth Rendell, PD James, Colin Dexter and Reginald Hill are former recipi...
The CWA Remembers CJ Sansom
The CWA are deeply saddened to hear of the news of the death of one of our greatest crime writers, C J. Sansom. Nobody raised the bar for historical crime fiction as high as he did; he wrote with forensic accuracy and passion for the smallest de...
Debut Dagger Deadline Draws Near
The deadline to enter the most hotly contended competition for aspiring crime novelists is fast approaching. Aspiring crime novelists have until the end of February to enter the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Debut Dagger, which is sponsored b...
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