The Crime Writers’ Association

2022 CWA Dagger Awards Announced

Ray Celestin, MW Craven, Janice Hallett and Mark Billingham awarded 2022 CWA Daggers. The winners of the 2022 CWA Daggers, which honour the very best in the crime writing genre, have been announced. [For photos of the event, see: https://thecw...


Crime Cymru online festival is back!

Gŵyl CRIME CYMRU Festival 2022 will be online, free to viewers, and include well-known national and international crime writers as well as featuring Welsh authors to cater to a range of tastes. At the festival, we will be showcasing stars of the ...


Be Novel at Noirwich

Some of the biggest names in crime writing including Ian Rankin, Peter James, Charlie Higson and Sophie Hannah (author of the new Poirot series) are coming to the city for the third international Noirwich Crime Writing Festival, 15-18 September 2016....


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...


Associate membership

Join the CWA - Associate membership Thank you for your interest in joining the CWA. Membership is subject to meeting the membership criteria and completing the application form does not guarantee membership. Please fill in your details below and a m...


Corporate membership

Join the CWA - Corporate membership Thank you for your interest in joining the CWA. Membership is subject to meeting the membership criteria and completing the application form does not guarantee membership. Please fill in your details below and a m...


Join the CWA

Join the CWA Who can join? We offer full membership for those in the UK and overseas who have had published a full length work of crime fiction or non-fiction, and provisional membership for those who have a contract from a recognised publishing ho...


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...


Crime at Catstrand

As part of National Crime Reading Month, crime novelist John Dean is to give a talk at Catstrand Arts Centre in New Galloway, Dumfries and Galloway, followed by a screening of classic crime film Brighton Rock. John, whose books regularly feature in ...


CWA Dagger Shortlists Announced

The 2022 shortlists for the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Dagger awards, which honour the very best in the crime-writing genre, have been announced. Created in 1955, the world-famous CWA Daggers are the oldest awards in the genre ...


Join the CWA

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


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