The Crime Writers’ Association

CWA 2024 Conference, Brighton

CWA CONFERENCE 2024, BRIGHTON 19-21 APRIL This year’s conference takes place in beautiful Brighton and brings together our CWA community for a weekend of learning-centred activity in one of the UK’s most visited tourist hotspots. The 2024 con...


Countdown to the Daggers

The countdown is on for the world-famous Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Daggers, which honour the very best in crime writing. Tickets are now available for the Dagger Awards gala dinner, which takes place from 6.30pm at the Leonardo Royal Hotel L...


New Chair for the CWA

At the CWA AGM on the 28th March 2015 L C Tyler was voted in as new Chair of the CWA. L C (Len) Tyler is a British writer of comic crime fiction. His Elsie and Ethelred mysteries feature Ethelred Tressider, a crime writer, and Elsie Thirkettle, his l...


Tickets Now On Sale for CWA Daggers Dinner on 25 October

All ten winners of this year’s CWA Daggers will be presented at a glittering black-tie occasion at the Grange City Hotel in Cooper’s Row, London at 6.30pm for 7pm on October 25. Everyone is welcome and many of the crime writing world’s most no...


Tell us about a new book

Tell us about a new book Fill out this form to tell us about your upcoming book, for inclusion in Red Herrings’ Hot Off the Press feature and our social media ‘Publication Day’ posts. Submit your book at least one week before its publicat...


ILP John Creasey First Novel Dagger

ILP John Creasey First Novel Dagger The ILP John Creasey First Novel Dagger (formerly the ILP John Creasey New Blood Dagger) is for the best crime novel by a first-time author of any nationality with their first novel of any kind published in the UK...


New Frontiers in Forensics, Crime and Security: Forensic Outreach Conference

Royal Institution, Oct 18 Open to everyone, this event by Forensic Outreach is one the CWA is pleased to promote to crime writers and readers alike. Meet pioneering forensic scientists and detectives – the real-life versions of the characters yo...


CWA Announce Longlists for Prestigious Crime Writing Daggers

The Crime Writers’ Association announced the much anticipated longlists for the annual CWA Dagger awards for the best of the year’s crime writing at a reception during international convention CrimeFest in Bristol on the evening of Friday 10 May....


Notes on Word Count for CWA Writing Competitions

Different competitions have different rules – and different levels of rigour in the way they apply them. For the Debut Dagger we are super-strict. We ask for entries not to exceed 3,000 words (1,500 words for the synopsis) by even a word. The ti...


Notes on Word Count for CWA Writing Competitions

Different competitions have different rules – and different levels of rigour in the way they apply them. For the Debut Dagger we are super-strict. We ask for entries not to exceed 3,000 words (1,500 words for the synopsis) by even a word. The ti...


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