Catherine Hendricks
Hardways
Debut Dagger
This year's winner
Shelley Burr
Wake
About Wake
Mina McCreery has grown up in the shadow of her twin sister Evelyn’s disappearance twenty years ago. The impossible case of a girl who vanished from her bed on a remote property in New South Wales has long obsessed the press, amateur sleuths and conspiracy theorists. A popular theory is that Mina herself killed Evelyn. When private investigator Lane Holland reopens the case, the answer seems closer than ever before. But Lane has a dangerous agenda of his own.
About Shelley Burr
Shelley Burr is a writer and public servant from Canberra, Australia. Wake is her first novel.
A competition for the opening of a crime novel by an uncontracted writer.
Highly commended
Shortlist
Shelley Burr
Wake
Jerry Krause
The Mourning Light
Catherine Hendricks
Hardways
David Smith
The Firefly
Fran Smith
A Thin Sharp Blade
The judges
Leigh Russell
Leigh Russell has sold over a million books in her Geraldine Steel crime series which has been translated into several languages, including Chinese. Leigh has been shortlisted for two CWA Dagger Awards, and has twice been a finalist for The People’s Book Prize. She serves on the board of the Crime Writers’ Association, co-ordinates their Criminal Critiques service, and chairs the Debut Dagger judges. She is a Royal Literary Fellow.
Stephanie Glencross
Stephanie is an Editor at Gregory and Company Authors’ Agents, which is now part of David Higham Associates. Stephanie works with clients on their manuscripts before they are submitted to publishers and also looks for new talent. Clients include Val McDermid and Belinda Bauer.
Katherine Armstrong
Katherine Armstrong is Editorial Director for crime & thrillers at Bonnier Zaffre, part of Bonnier Books UK. She has worked in publishing since 2005, first at Faber and Faber and then at Sphere (Little, Brown), before joining Bonnier Zaffre in 2016. She is also one of the co-founders of the First Monday crime nights in London.
Oli Munson
Oli Munson is a director at literary agency A.M. Heath & Co. His list includes award-winning writers of crime, thrillers and suspense.
2019 Longlist
| Title | Author |
| Wake | Shelley Burr |
| Self-Help for Serial Killers: Let Your Creativity Bloom | Mairi Campbell-Jack |
| The Mourning Light | Jerry Krause |
| The Fruits of Rashness | Michael Fleming |
| Down the Well | Carol Glaser |
| Hardways | Catherine Hendricks |
| The Right Man | Anna Maloney |
| The Firefly | David Smith |
| A Thin Sharp Blade | Fran Smith |
| In Wolf’s Clothing | Matthew Smith |