Crime readers

The CRA

Our Crime Readers’ Association, set up to both promote crime writing in general and give a platform to our author members, now distributes monthly and bi-monthly communications to around 12,000 subscribers and rising. This total comprises members who are a mixture of readers (the majority) who signed up for the CRA and the writer-focused Debuts (a large minority).

The website contains a blog to which CWA members contribute as well as features such as Read of the Month and Featured Author. There’s also a well-populated events page and a collection of short stories.

The CRA Newsletter is distributed every month and contains short blog-like articles by CWA members together with news of events, including festivals or talks where our members are participating, writing courses and competitions. Commercial news is carried for very reasonable fees, and sometimes offers discounts to readers.

Case Files is a bi-monthly ezine containing news specifically about CWA members’ latest books, together with fun facts and reading guide.

The jewel in the CRA crown is our Find a Book/Author facility, also featured on the main CWA site, which allows crime readers to select their next book by author or by book classification – psychological, police procedural, historical, humorous, cosy or thriller. There’s invaluable information that also provides bios about the author as well as social media, blog and/or website details and links to sales outlets for their books.

National Crime Reading Month

Our annual event, held in June, is a nationwide initiative to draw crime writing to the attention of the reading public and promote CWA members’ work.

It usually manifests in the form of events up and down the country in libraries, bookshops and other venues. In 2020 and 2021 when physical events were prohibited during lockdown, we went online with a series of videos and blogs, and that’s when the short story initiative on the main CRA website was devised too.

We have a dedicated page where readers can, in more normal times, find out what events are taking place where in the country.

CWA anthology

The CWA anthologies are collections of short stories by members of the Crime Writers’ Association and celebrate the best of crime-writing by showcasing both established and emerging talent.

The next anthology is Music of the Night, edited by Martin Edwards and to be published by Flame Tree Publishing in February 2022. We’ll publish full details nearer the time.

The last anthology, edited by Martin Edwards, was published in association with Flame Tree Publishing in August 2020 and celebrated members’ work over the years. Titled Vintage Crime, it’s unusual in being the republication of stories originally published in CWA anthologies – but some time ago. Given the current fascination for crime writing from the 20th century, we expect readers will clamour for the book, containing wonderful stories as it does from writers of the past – and the present – and on the way showing how the crime story has evolved during the existence of the CWA, a span of well over half a century.

Stories include little gems from John Dickson Carr, Julian Symons and HRF Keating, as well as from authors very much of today, such as Andrew Taylor, Kate Ellis and Mick Herron.

See this page for more details, and visit Flame Tree Publishing to order Vintage Crime – available in hardback, paperback and ebook.

Events

We’re delighted to promote crime-writing events in which CWA members are participating, via our websites, our communication channels such as the CRA Newsletter and across our social media platforms.

If you’re not a member, send us details with as much notice as possible and we’ll see what we can do! CWA members will find a form to complete in the members’ section of the website.

Festivals

If you’re running a writing festival and crime books are a part, do get in touch by emailing secretary@thecwa.co.uk. We can help find you participants where necessary, and help promote the event. We are happy to partner with festivals by offering reciprocal marketing both through the CWA and the CRA, with its strong database of readers.

We currently work with CrimeFest, the international crime-writing festival that takes place in May in Bristol, and are very open to working with other crime-writing festivals large and small.