The Bully
Jeffery Deaver
Titan Books
CWA Short Story Dagger
This Year's Winner
#Me Too
Lauren Henderson
Titan Books
Film producer Jared Van Stratten has been getting away with degrading young actresses for years, enabled by his fearsome PA, until she decides that enough is enough. A thought-provoking and insightful exploration of power and exploitation.
Invisible Blood is edited by Maxim Jakubowski.
This award is for any crime short story first published in the UK in English in a publication that pays for contributions, or broadcast in the UK in return for payment, during the Judging Period. The term short story refers to a work of fiction no shorter than 1,000 and no longer than 15,000 words.
Shortlist
The New Lad
Paul Finch
Titan Books
The Washing
Christopher Fowler
Titan Books
#Me Too
Lauren Henderson
Titan Books
The Recipe
Louise Jensen
Titan Books
Easily Made
Syd Moore
Point Blank Press
The Judges 2021
Sophie Goodfellow (Chair)
Sophie has been a publicist for almost 10 years, joining FMC Associates in 2017, where she promotes books of all genres, as well as festivals, prizes and cultural initiatives. An avid reader, she can be found tweeting about her latest reads on @sophieglorita.
Mike Linane
Mike Linane is a publisher at Williams & Whiting Publishing and also an event organiser currently organising Bodies From The Library (a one-day conference about the Golden Age of Crime Writing) held annually at the British Library and has previously organised events such as Deal Noir and Morecambe & Vice.
Chris Simmons
Chris Simmons is the online editor of his brainchild, Crimesquad.com – a crime review website, running since March 2005. Chris is a past judge for the John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger, which has highlighted the debuts of authors such as Louise Penny (John Creasey Dagger winner), S J Watson, Sarah Hilary, James Oswald and two-time Dagger winner, Wiley Cash.
2020 Shortlist
| Story | Anthology | Author | Editor | Publisher |
| Easily Made | 12 Strange Days of Christmas | Syd Moore | Point Blank Press | |
| #Me Too | Invisible Blood | Lauren Henderson | Maxim Jakubowski | Titan Books |
| The Recipe | Exit Wounds | Louise Jensen | Paul B Kane and Marie O’Regan | Titan Books |
| The New Lad | Exit Wounds | Paul Finch | Paul B Kane and Marie O’Regan | Titan Books |
| The Bully | Exit Wounds | Jeffery Deaver | Paul B Kane and Marie O’Regan | Titan Books |
| The Washing | Invisible Blood | Christopher Fowler | Maxim Jakubowski | Titan Books |
2020 Longlist
| Story | Anthology | Author | Editor | Publisher |
| Easily Made | 12 Strange Days of Christmas | Syd Moore | Point Blank Press | |
| #Me Too | Invisible Blood | Lauren Henderson | Maxim Jakubowski | Titan Books |
| The Recipe | Exit Wounds | Louise Jensen | Paul B Kane and Marie O’Regan | Titan Books |
| Connecting the Dots | Invisible Blood | Jeffery Deaver | Maxim Jakubowski | Titan Books |
| The New Lad | Exit Wounds | Paul Finch | Paul B Kane and Marie O’Regan | Titan Books |
| Dead Weight | Exit Wounds | Fiona Cummins | Paul B Kane and Marie O’Regan | Titan Books |
| The Bully | Exit Wounds | Jeffery Deaver | Paul B Kane and Marie O’Regan | Titan Books |
| The Washing | Invisible Blood | Christopher Fowler | Maxim Jakubowski | Titan Books |
| Bryant and May and The Devil’s Triangle | Bryant and May: England’s Finest | Christopher Fowler | Doubleday | |
| Kittens | Exit Wounds | Dean Koontz | Paul B Kane and Marie O’Regan | Titan Books |