The Crime Writers’ Association

Staying Accountable

Even writers don’t feel like writing all of the time. When you’re part-way through your book and the rest of it stretches out ahead of you like an insurmountable task, the temptation to do something else instead can become strong, and if you’ve...


What Happened When I Won the Debut Dagger by Shelley Burr

When I entered the Debut Dagger, my wild dream was to make the longlist so I would have something to put in my almost bare author bio.The day I won was surreal. Despite the CWA’s urging I didn’t fly from Australia to London for the ceremony, as I...


CWA Dagger Awards Longlists Announced

The 2021 longlists for the prestigious CWA Dagger awards, which honour the very best in the crime writing genre, have been announced. The world-famous Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Daggers are the oldest awards in the genre, and have been synony...


CWA Conference York 2023

An Overview by Matthew Booth The old adage says that time flies when you’re having fun and, like many old sayings, it is true. And that probably explains why this year’s conference, held primarily in the Park Inn by Radisson in York, seemed to f...


April 2023: York

April 2023: YorkVenue: Raddison Park Inn HotelAn Overview by Matthew Booth The old adage says that time flies when you’re having fun and, like many old sayings, it is true. And that probably explains why this year’s conference, held primarily in...


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...


True Crime Book Chat

On 13 June at 7.00PM GMT, join Dr. Angela Buckley, Sarah Bax-Horton, Robin Jarossi, and Dan Smith for an online discussion of true crime books. This online event is free, and you can book your place here....


Sister Sleuths

Come along to this online talk in which Julie Anderson,Alice Castle and Anne Coates discuss personal, political and psychological themes in their books. Is 2023 the year of the female detective? How do you solve a murder while organizing child...


Norfolk Noir

With Harry Brett, Graeme Cameron, Elly Griffiths and Elodie Harper £8 (conc £7 / students £6) Book online https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/spektrix/event-detail/?WebEventId=norfolk-noir18 or call 01603 877177 Noirwich Crime Writing Festi...


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...


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