The Crime Writers’ Association

Red Herring

The Red Herring Award From its earliest years, right up to the present day, the CWA has benefited enormously from the hard and selfless work of a wide range of people. It’s always been a fundamental part of the CWA’s ethos that contributions of ...


A Detective’s Take on Crime Fiction

CWA Scotland — A Detective's Take on Crime Writing 27 June 2024 at 7 pm with Iain Souter. Iain is a second-generation copper from a crop of three who followed their father into the service in Northern Constabulary… pre-Police Scotland. He...


Emerging Author Dagger Rules

Rules and Submission Guidelines Emerging Author Dagger The Emerging Author Dagger (formerly the Debut Dagger), an international competition for the opening of an adult/YA crime novel and synopsis, is aimed at debut writers. The CWA defines a de...


Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin Named New SOA Chair

Congratulations to Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin, who has been elected new Chair of the Society of Authors. The novelist and founder of writing.ie takes over from Joanne Harris to begin two-year term as Chair of the SoA’s board of directors Vanessa Fo...


Emerging Author Dagger

Emerging Author Dagger The Emerging Author Dagger (formerly the Debut Dagger), sponsored by Fiction Feedback, is an international competition, open to anyone in the world writing in English, for a crime novel opening (max. 3,000 words) and synopsis ...


Libraries

Supporting libraries The places where many of us first discovered a love of books, and the places that for many form the centre of their reading experience, libraries are a national treasure. The CWA does not assume a political role – we leave tha...


The Awards Dinner

The Awards Dinner The 2024 CWA Daggers Awards Dinner was held on 4 July, 2024 at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London City on Cooper's Row....


Dagger in the Library

Dagger in the Library  The Dagger in the Library is a prize for a body of work by an established writer of crime fiction or non-fiction who has long been popular with borrowers from libraries. It also rewards authors who have supported libraries an...


Politics and Prose with Julie Anderson

In an age in which we are all citizen journalists and political commentators on social media and the political blog has found a place in the mainstream media in a way undreamed of thirty years ago, what place does political fiction have? The power s...


CWA York Conference – gala dinner now FULL!

Although a month before registration deadline, our annual members get together - this year in York - has proved hugely popular. As a result, places for our Saturday night gala dinner are now full. However, there are still a few places available for t...


Join the CWA

Become part of a thriving community of successful crime writers with invaluable support, expertise and marketing opportunities for all our members.


Advertise with us