The Crime Writers’ Association is delighted to announce that the 2014 Diamond Dagger will be awarded to Simon Brett.

The Diamond Dagger is voted for by members of the CWA and celebrates an author with an outstanding body of work in crime fiction. Past winners include Val McDermid, Ian Rankin, Frederick Forsyth and Elmore Leonard. In 2013 the award went to Lee Child.

Simon Brett is the author of over ninety books, most of them crime novels, including the Charles Paris, Mrs Pargeter, Fethering and Blotto & Twinks series. His psychological thriller, A Shock to the System, was filmed starring Michael Caine. For radio he wrote No Commitments, Smelling of Roses and After Henry, which was also successful on television.

The diamond-studded Dagger will be awarded to Simon Brett at a gala dinner on the 30th June in London hosted by Lucy Worsley, who recently explored the phenomenon of our fascination with murder in the BBC television series ‘A very British Murder’.

Chair of the CWA, Alison Joseph said:

“I am delighted that the CWA Diamond Dagger for 2014 is to be awarded to Simon Brett. He is a writer of great wit and integrity, and his success over the years has been very well deserved. The Diamond Dagger is awarded not only for a writer’s work but also for their contribution to the genre, and Simon has always been a stalwart supporter of his fellow writers. I am sure I am not alone in feeling that it is entirely appropriate and merited that Simon should be receiving this award.”

The Diamond Dagger recipient is chosen each year by the CWA committee, from a shortlist nominated by the membership. It is very much an honour awarded by the author’s peers and this makes it special. Shortlisted authors must meet two essential criteria: first, their careers must be marked by sustained excellence, and second, they must have made a significant contribution to crime fiction published in the English language, whether originally or in translation. The award is made purely on merit without reference to age, gender or nationality.