The Crime Writers’ Association

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...


Anatomy of a Crime Thriller

Hard on the heels of its most successful Literary Festival ever, in June 2023 the tiny island of Alderney is hosting a unique one-day festival exploring the ‘Anatomy of a Crime Thriller’. Organised by The Alderney Literary Trust and sponsored ...


When the Killing Starts with RC Bridgestock

Best-selling crime duo Bob and Carol Bridgestock write as RC Bridgestock and are hosts of the murder mystery evening mentioned above, as well as a jazz night, tea and scones afternoon and many other events in West Yorkshire during June and July in a ...


The CWA Remembers CJ Sansom

The CWA are deeply saddened to hear of the news of the death of one of our greatest crime writers, C J. Sansom.  Nobody raised the bar for historical crime fiction as high as he did; he wrote with forensic accuracy and passion for the smallest de...


Kemptown Bookshop

Cathy Hayward of Kemptown Bookshop talks to Elly Griffiths Cathy Hayward is only the third owner of Kemptown Bookshop, Brighton’s oldest independent bookstore. She was a long-time fan of the shop, which has been on St George’s Road since 1976,...


CWA Daggers – Shortlists Announced

The Crime Writers’ Association announced the shortlists for this year’s Dagger awards for crime writing at an at an evening drinks reception held at Waterstones Piccadilly on Wednesday 26 July. The CWA Daggers, which are the probably the awards c...


CrimeFest

The hugely successful international crime writing convention returns to Bristol for a 10th year. The team have published an anthology in celebration of this milestone and are looking forward to a fabulous event with Martina Cole as a Featured Author....


Private: Dagger Awards to Carry Cash Prizes and Open to Authors to Self-Nominate from 2023

The CWA Daggers – synonymous with quality crime writing for over half a century – is set to again award cash prizes beginning in 2023, for titles published and nominated in 2022. Detail of the amounts will be announced next year. The CWA is delig...


Exclusive Author Masterclasses: An Evening with Tony Parsons

Working with Book Aid International, we’re thrilled to reveal a one-off series of evening masterclasses with authors keen to offer insight into their novels and the writing process. Thursday 24th May Bloomsbury Publishing, 50 Bedford Square, Londo...


Debut Dagger Success Story by Fiona McPhillips

I had never written a novel before I entered the 2021 Debut Dagger. I was halfway through an MA in Creative Writing and too focused on the rhythm of my prose, the structure and shape of my short stories. A novel felt like a marathon when I’d only e...


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