The Entry Process
The Entry Process There are four kinds of Dagger, differentiated by how they are nominated. See below for an explanation of the different entry processes, and who may nominate for each Dagger. Please do not hesitate to contact the Dagger Liaison Or...
Dagger in the Library nominations
Dagger in the Library nominations Nominations for the 2024 Dagger in the Library are now closed. The Dagger in the Library is awarded to a UK crime writer every year. This year the names of nominated authors have been supplied by libraries and ...
The Awards Dinner
The Awards Dinner The CWA Daggers awards dinner was held on 6 July at the Leonardo City Hotel on Coopper’s row in London. Speaker was the urbane Charlie Higson, and M/Cs were the brilliant double-act of Imran Mahmood and Victoria Selman. Podcas...
Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition
The Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition The 2024 competition is now closed for entries. The 2025 competition will open in autumn 2024. The Margery Allingham longlist will be announced at the CWA Conference in Brighton and afterwards onl...
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 ...
Diamond Dagger
Diamond Dagger The most prestigious Dagger of all, the Diamond Dagger awards a lifetime contribution to crime writing in the English language, and is nominated by CWA members. Nominations and Judging Process The CWA Diamond Dagger winner is sele...
Gold Dagger
Gold Dagger This award is for the best crime novel by an author of any nationality, originally written in English and first published in the UK during the judging period. The broadest definition of the crime novel applies. Eligible books include thr...
Ian Fleming Steel Dagger
Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Ian Fleming said there was one essential criterion for a good thriller, ‘one simply has to turn the pages’. Eligible books in this category are thrillers set in any period and include, but are not limited to, spy fiction...
ILP John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger
ILP John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger This 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 in English during the judging period. ‘Best crime novel by a first-ti...
Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation
Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation Sponsored in honour of Dolores Jakubowski. This award is for crime novels (defined by the broadest definition to include thrillers, suspense novels and spy fiction) as long as the book was not originally wr...
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