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...


Crime Writers appoint Libraries Champion

The Crime Writers’ Association has appointed its first Libraries Champion, Ruth Dudley Edwards. Ruth and the CWA will work with libraries nationwide to support the public library network, promote the value of reading for people of all ages and from...


June is National Crime Reading Month

Run by the Crime Writers’ Association in partnership with national charity The Reading Agency, NCRM is a festival that takes place throughout June across the UK and Ireland, culminating in the prestigious CWA Daggers ceremony in July. It aims to ...


Awards & competitions

Awards & Competitions The CWA hosts a number of awards and competitions. Many of these are for books nominated by publishers and selected by independent judging panels, while others are awards made by the CWA or other bodies, such as libraries. ...


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...


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