The Crime Writers’ Association

Dagger Shortlists Announced

A debut novel is up against one of Britain’s biggest and most celebrated authors for the crime novel of the year. The 2021 shortlists for the prestigious CWA Dagger awards, which honour the very best in the crime writing genre, have been announced....


Debut Dagger Tips: Joanne Spain

Joanne Spain’s life was changed by her decision to enter the CWA Debut Dagger competition in 2013. She credits her experience with the CWA contest with helping to shape her now-flourishing writing career. Now, having secured a two-book deal with Qu...


The Board

The Board The Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) is a company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales (no. 3495776). It’s a non-campaigning, non-sectarian body. Our primary objective is to promote the prestige and appreciation ...


Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition – Rules

Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition - The rules Please read all terms carefully before submitting your entry. Please pay attention to the Margery Allingham’s definition of a mystery and the chronology it outlines. Submission of an entry...


Private: Into the River: how a last-minute decision led to an award-winning bestseller, by Mark Brandi

In a river, on the outskirts of an isolated country town, two young brothers discover a wheelie bin, partly submerged beneath a fallen tree. Curious, the older brother goes closer to investigate. He steps carefully across the tree’s smooth trunk, ...


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 ...


CWA Conference 2023 – Booking Form

CWA Conference 2023 - Booking Form York Conference 2023 - gala dinner is FULL! Although a month before registration deadline, our annual get together - this year in York - has proved hugely popular. As a result, places for our Saturday night gala d...


Byte the Book: How Can We Sell More Books Through Non-Traditional Retail Channels?

Date: Monday 14th November 2016 Time: 18:30 to 21:00 Location: The Groucho Club, London Not specifically aimed at crime writers, but interetsing for writers in general. Byte the Book asks: as sales channels for books become increasingly polarised,...


Social media guide

Social media guide Between Twitter and Facebook the CWA has close to 30,000 social media followers, and also runs a Facebook group with more than 2,000 members. We encourage all members to take advantage of this reach! Twitter The CWA accoun...


Murder By the Book

Crime fiction is the UK's most read, bought and borrowed genre. Cambridge University Library draws on its world-leading collections of British crime fiction to stage a murderously good exhibition! Bringing together literature, culture and heritag...


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