Private: Trust your gut: how a Debut Dagger longlisting led to a publishing deal
People often ask me where the initial idea for “Trust Me, I’m Dead” came from, and I talk about an article I read many years ago where one snippet caught my eye, and then stuck in my brain. It was a small thing, about a man who’d left behind ...
Crime Writers in Residence – at home with Marissa De Luna
The CRA: Please tell us a little about yourself and the books you write. I grew up in Goa and moved to England when I was a teenager. I now live in Oxford with my husband and two children and work as a Development Manager for a housing association i...
Top crime writers support Scotland on Sunday’s libraries campaign
Crime writers owe a lot to libraries. Library staff lend out their books, bringing in welcome payments under the Public Lending Right scheme, host their events and raise their profiles. Writers of all genres have much to be grateful to libraries for....
Bookseller of the Month: October 2022 – Richard Reynolds
As part of the new CWA Bookshops Champion initiative, we want to celebrate bookshops and booksellers, because we believe they don’t just sell our books – they bring our streets alive. This month there’s a special CWA Bookseller of the Month ...
Norwich Crime Writing Festival 2018
Thursday 13 – Sunday 16 September Across the city, Norwich, Norfolk £87 season pass (individual tickets available) Book online noirwich.co.uk or call 01603 877177 Join us for the fifth Noirwich Crime Writing Festival; the region’s largest an...
Gold Dagger
Gold Dagger This award is for the best crime novel by an author of any nationality, originally written in English and first published in the UK during the judging period. The broadest definition of the crime novel applies. Eligible books include thr...
“Killing People for Fun and Profit” a guest lecture by Val McDermid
The Literary Leicester Festival welcomes bestselling author Val McDermid cto Leicester discuss her writing, her inspirations and the fatal attraction of crime fiction. CWA Diamond Dagger recipient, Val McDermid, has sold over 15 million books to d...
Notes on Word Count for CWA Writing Competitions
Different competitions have different rules – and different levels of rigour in the way they apply them. For the Debut Dagger we are super-strict. We ask for entries not to exceed 3,000 words (1,500 words for the synopsis) by even a word. The ti...
Emerging Author Dagger Rules
Rules and Submission Guidelines Emerging Author Dagger The Emerging Author Dagger (formerly the Debut Dagger), an international competition for the opening of an adult/YA crime novel and synopsis, is aimed at debut writers. The CWA defines a de...
Corporate membership
Join the CWA - Corporate membership Thank you for your interest in joining the CWA. Membership is subject to meeting the membership criteria and completing the application form does not guarantee membership. Please fill in your details below and a m...
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