The Crime Writers’ Association

True Crime Book Chat

On 13 June at 7.00PM GMT, join Dr. Angela Buckley, Sarah Bax-Horton, Robin Jarossi, and Dan Smith for an online discussion of true crime books. This online event is free, and you can book your place here....


Sister Sleuths

Come along to this online talk in which Julie Anderson,Alice Castle and Anne Coates discuss personal, political and psychological themes in their books. Is 2023 the year of the female detective? How do you solve a murder while organizing child...


Norfolk Noir

With Harry Brett, Graeme Cameron, Elly Griffiths and Elodie Harper £8 (conc £7 / students £6) Book online https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/spektrix/event-detail/?WebEventId=norfolk-noir18 or call 01603 877177 Noirwich Crime Writing Festi...


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...


CWA Debut Dagger Writing Competition 2021 Now Open for Entries

Aspiring authors are invited to submit the opening of their novel to the coveted Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Debut Dagger competition 2021. The international writing competition opened for entries on October 1. Entrants must send in their firs...


Crime Writers in Residence – at home with Anne Coates

The CRA: Please tell us a little about yourself and the books you write. My work as a journalist and editor working on magazines and national newspapers as well as abridging books for Reader’s Digest has provided plenty of inspiration for my crime...


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...


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...


Marketing your books

Marketing your Books The CWA’s mission is to promote the crime-writing genre, both fiction and non-fiction, and support our membership of professional authors. We offer our members a wide range of promotional outlets, and the help of our Bookselle...


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