2017 winning story
Box Clever - Sam Hepburn I’ve always been a dreamer – the nerdy kid hunched over his Playstation dreaming of being popular, the geeky teenager in sweaty boxers dreaming of hitting the big time with his latest bit of software, the broke student...
Private: Latest Tips for Winning the Debut Dagger
CWA Coordinator and Debuts maestro Dea Parkin has some top tips for Debut Dagger entrants: You’re going over your Debut Dagger entry in the final days before the deadline. What might you consider revising to make it stand out and shine? Ens...
2016 winning story
A Box-Shaped Mystery - Peter Guttridge ‘The Mystery remains box-shaped, at once a prison and a refuge. Its four walls are, roughly, a Crime, a Mystery, an Enquiry and a Conclusion with an Element of Satisfaction in it.’ Margery Allingham P...
2016 shortlisted story
The Blockage - Ian Cowmeadow Fine drops of rain bloomed on the van’s windscreen. The engine clicked as the heat drifted from it and Shelly Wrench was beginning to feel the cold. Across the street, a strip light flickered behind a frosted window ...
2015 winning story
Game Over - Lesley Mace The feel of the skateboard rumbles up through the bones of his feet. He is enclosed within the sound of wheels. He concentrates on contracting muscles, on making his body into the correct shape to fly over the top of the co...
Bryan Mason on Writing about Serial Killers in Hotwells, Bristol
Bryan Mason will be in conversation with Prof. Leroy White from the University of Exeter about Bryan's debut novel Shaking Hands with the Devil. Bryan will cover areas including the long genesis between drafting and getting published, characterisatio...
2023 winning story
How to Catch a Bullet in a Plate and Other Tricks to Astound - Judith O’Reilly He never performed the trick at a matinee show as he didn’t like to worry the children in the audience. At least there was that, Mrs Conway thought, as the red bloo...
Scotland’s International Crime Writing Festival
Lin Anderson and Alex Gray started the festival in 2012 and now it’s huge. This year’s featured authors include Chris Curran, Val McDermid, Irvine Welsh, Louise Penny, Ann Cleeves, Peter James, Stuart Macbride, Chris Brookmyre, Ragnar Jonasson, M...
Debut Dagger Writing Tips
Here are tips from recent newsletters compiled for you by Dea Parkin, the CWA’s Competitions Coordinator (and professional editor). If you’re at the stage where your entry is finished and you’re into the all-important revision and editing pr...
Killer Women
The third Killer Women Festival is on 21 October in Brown's Courtrooms, Covent Garden, London. Headliners include Mark Billingham, Sophie Hannah, Paula Hawkins and Elly Griffiths. Talks from experts on forensic archaeology, CSI, psychopaths and ge...
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