The Crime Writers’ Association

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...


Buxton International Festival – Sarah Ward & Friends

Sarah Ward and Friends, with Elly Griffiths and William Shaw Sarah Ward is a Derbyshire-based crime writer whose detective DC Connie Childs solves crimes within the Peak National Park. Why are the best crime novels reliant on a defined sense of plac...


CWA Dagger Shortlists Announced

The CWA Goldsboro Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel of the Year * The First Rule of Survival by Paul Mendelson (Constable) * How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny (Sphere/Little Brown) * Keep Your Friends Close by Paula Daly (Bantam/Transworld) * This...


CWA 2014 Dagger in the Library Award winner announced

The winner of the CWA’s Dagger in the Library award has been announced at an event at Waterstones Piccadilly. Unlike most other literary prizes, the Dagger in the Library honours an author’s body of work to date rather than a single title, and an...


Bookshop of the Month – April 2022: Reading Matters


Fearful and Wonderful: Alfred Swaine Taylor and 19th century forensic science

  “Fearful and Wonderful: Alfred Swaine Taylor and 19th century forensic science.” In this talk, discover the cases, both well-known and obscure, of leading 19th century forensic scientist Alfred Swaine Taylor (1806-1880). Along the way, f...


Historical Dagger 2021

Shortlisted


Ovidia Yu

The Mimosa Tree Mystery

Little, Brown Book Group


CWA Margery Allingham Short Story Competition

Have you penned one of the murkiest, most deadly crime stories the nation has yet to be intrigued by? We’re looking for the best unpublished stories to send chills up the spines of our judges for this year’s Margery Allingham Short Story Competit...


Robert Goddard to receive CWA Diamond Dagger 2019

The Crime Writers’ Association is delighted to announce that Robert Goddard is to receive the 2019 CWA Diamond Dagger, the highest honour in British crime writing. The Dagger award recognises authors whose crime writing careers have been marked by ...


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...


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