The Crime Writers’ Association

My Debut Dagger Experience, by Biba Pearce

I first found out about the CWA Debut Dagger several years ago from a writing group on Facebook. I'd been writing for a long time, an embarrassingly long time, with not much to show for it. Granted, I'd been juggling motherhood with a full-time job...


Bookshop of the Month – July 2022: Booka Bookshop

In conversation with Vaseem Khan Booka Bookshop 26-28 Church Street Oswestry Shropshire SY11 2SP Tel: 01691 662244 www.bookabookshop.co.uk Behind Tim Morris’s shoulder is a framed photo of Shane Warne, the global cricketing icon who...


Brighton Conference – Walking Tours

On Saturday 20 April, conference attendees and their guests are invited to join us on one of two walking tours. Both tours depart at 2.30PM and cost £15 (£18 with VAT). Book  your tickets here. Murder and Mystery Walk  A fascinating walk wh...


Margate Bookie – Mark Billingham

A body is found on Margate Sands… Join Mark Billingham as he reads from his latest crime blockbuster Their Little Secret. Mark’s first novel, Sleepyhead, was an instant bestseller in the UK. The series of crime novels featuring London-based ...


How Did I Get Ready for Entering the Debut Dagger? by Sherryl Clark

Well, first I had to get past my nerves! I’d written mostly children’s books, and to be honest, my first couple of drafts of my novel received the feedback, ‘sounds too much like a young adult novel’. Oops. I knew that really I needed to do a...


The Victorian Fear of Poison Murder

In the nineteenth century the prospect of being poisoned was a very real fear, and the poisoner has frequently been denounced as the worst kind of criminal. Poison is secret and treacherous, administered by someone close to the victim, hidden in food...


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...


The Debuts: What are you going to call it?

Choosing the title of your novel is almost as big a decision as deciding to write it in the first place. Do you go for something quirky and run the risk of people not understanding it – or choose a more obvious title which then doesn’t sound inte...


CWA Unveils 2019 Dagger Shortlists

The author behind one of the biggest shows on TV, a world renowned forensic anthropologist and the son of ‘the godfather of tartan noir’ have been shortlisted for the prestigious CWA Dagger awards. The ten Daggers awarded annually by the CWA are ...


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