2018 winning story
The Value of Vermin Control - Russell Day I took my hat off and cleared my throat. The young man behind the armour glass and the steel bars didn’t look up, even though I was his only customer. I wasn’t especially surprised. In my experience, p...
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...
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...
Crime Comes to Hastings
As part of the first (ever!) Hastings Literary Festival we’re looking into the world of crime fiction. Sophie Hannah, whose authorized re-imagined Agatha Christie tales sit neatly alongside her own crime novels, will be discussing the joys and chal...
Private: How To Increase Book Sales: 16 Ways
by Brian Feinblum of Media Connect If you want to know how to go about getting a lot of book sales, all that you need to do is write a really good book, that’s better than others in your genre, on a topic that’s not over done or obscure,...
Kate Ellis headlines at Crediton Literary Festival with a crime focus
A one-day Literary Festival on Saturday 5 June presented online via Zoom. Sixteen authors are speaking on a range of genres throughout the day, with a 10pm crime panel, Victoria Dowd at 1.30pm and Kate Ellis headlining in the afternoon. Tickets are f...
Debut Dagger Checklist
Have you followed the rules? This is the easy bit, so don’t risk disqualification by exceeding the word limit (don’t do this, not by even a few words) or forget to take your name off the manuscript. Word count for the entry form is that o...
Crime Writers in Residence – at home with Katherine Stansfield
The CRA: Please tell us a little about yourself and the books you write. I’m originally from Cornwall and now live in Cardiff. Cornwall inspires much of my writing – I’m a bit obsessed with its history and folk tales. I write the historical cr...
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