The Crime Writers’ Association

2019 shortlisted story

Slipher’s Rail - Sherry Rankin One summer in Arkansas, I fell in love with my cousin. When I first told Marta, she said, “How original” in that dry, measured tone of hers. “That’s a disgusting stereotype with absolutely no basis in...


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...


CWA Announce New Chair

Maxim Jakubowski, a long-standing and influential figure in the publishing world, is announced as the new Chair of the world-famous Crime Writers’ Association (CWA). Maxim’s career has encompassed every aspect of publishing as an editor, translat...


CWA Daggers Announced

Chris Whitaker, Clare Mackintosh, Michael Robotham, Vaseem Khan and Peter May win 2021 CWA Daggers. The winners of the 2021 CWA Daggers, which honour the very best in the crime writing genre, have been announced. The prestigious Crime Write...


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...


Emerging Authors

Emerging Authors Join the Crime Writers' Association as an Emerging Author - A new type of membership for tomorrow's writers. This category encourages new crime writers in their quest to become published authors by welcoming them into the com...


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