The Crime Writers’ Association

The Entry Process

The Entry Process There are four kinds of Dagger, differentiated by how they are nominated. See below for an explanation of the different entry processes, and who may nominate for each Dagger. Please do not hesitate to contact the Dagger Liaison Or...


Debut Dagger Longlist Announcement

Each year, the Crime Writers' Association hosts the Daggers, our crime writing awards, which include the Debut Dagger. The award aims to support, promote, and celebrate crime writers of all kinds—both fiction and non-fiction—and of all ages, abil...


Bookshop of the Month – May 2022: Beccles Books

In conversation with Elly Griffiths  Beccles Books 1 Exchange House, Exchange Square, Beccles, Suffolk NR34 9HH Tel: 01502 716806 https://www.facebook.com/becclesbooks/ It’s 11 years since Lee Mason founded Beccles Books. He had been work...


Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition

The Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition The winner will be announced on Friday 10 May in early evening at the Daggers shortlist reception at CrimeFest The 2025 competition will open in autumn 2024. All announcements will also appear ...


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...


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 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival

This popular festival returns to the Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate on the 20th-23rd July 2017, to mark the 15th annual celebration of the genre. 2017’s Programming Chair Elly Griffiths, the current holder of the CWA Dagger in the Library, has put toge...


Tell us about an event

Tell us about your event Do you have an event – whether in-person, or online – coming up soon? Tell us about it here, and we’ll list it in our public Events section. Please tell us as much as you can about the event. The more you can tell u...


Liverpool Noir with Kate Ellis and Barry Forshaw

Join us for an evening discussing Liverpool-Noir in the company of some of Liverpool's finest crime writers. Hosting the evening is author, broadcaster and journalist Barry Forshaw who we are thrilled to welcome back to his home city. Barry will be j...


Reporter sleuths & crime fiction

Reporter Sleuths in Crime Fiction: Join crime author Fiona Veitch Smith in conversation with Warwickshire Libraries, Newcastle Libraries and the British Library. Warwickshire Libraries, in partnership with Newcastle Libraries and the British Libra...


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