Please note change in time for announcement to 4pm (5pm on this website).

This year’s Debut Dagger longlist will be announced on Thursday 22 April at 4pm (UK time) as part of the ProWritingAid Crime Writer’s Week, a FREE online festival of crime writing. Click on the date for the Zoom link.

Sponsor of the Debut Dagger, ProWritingAid, invites you:

We are thrilled to be partnering with the Crime Writers’ Association this year and sponsoring the Debut Dagger award. ProWritingAid’s primary goal is to help more writers get their stories out into the world, and the Debut Dagger is such an amazing opportunity for new crime writers to get their work in front of people that matter.

This month, we’re hosting our first ever Crime Writer’s Week – and you’re invited. With over 20 free events all focused on writing gripping crime fiction, you will build your skills and find a supportive community of like-minded crime writers. And of course, there will be the big announcement you’ve all been waiting for: the 2021 Debut Dagger Longlist. (Enlarge the schedule at the foot of this post for full legibility!)

During the week, some of the biggest names in crime writing will be there to share their experience, including CWA members Ian Rankin and Peter James, as well as Karin Slaughter, Lisa Gardner, Fiona Cummins and more.

Plus, you will have the chance to learn directly from two of the Debut Dagger judges: Katherine Armstrong and Leigh Russell. Katherine is the Deputy Publishing Director, Crime & Thriller Fiction, at CWA publisher member Simon & Schuster and will share some insider advice about how to get published. Leigh is a bestselling author who will take you through the key elements that are essential in every crime novel.

Fiona Veitch Smith, whose excellent Poppy Denby series was shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger in 2016, will help you learn how to create an authentic setting for your historical crime fiction. Graham Bartlett, retired detective, bestselling author and advisor to over eighty crime novelists and TV writers, will help your WIP ooze authenticity. Plus crime author and book marketing specialist, Nick Stephenson, will help you learn the secrets to finding thousands of new readers.
Participants will also get access to:

• Training sessions, workshops and Q&As specifically curated for crime writers;
• Daily networking events where you can meet other writers;
• Our dedicated closed Facebook group, just for Crime Writer’s Week participants.

Crime Writer’s Week is FREE to join.
Click here to register now.

We can’t wait to see you there!

Warmest wishes,

Lisa Lepki
ProWritingAid

PS The Debut Dagger longlist will also be revealed on the CWA website page at 5pm on Thursday 22 April.

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Key times
Leigh Russell: 5pm Mon 19 April
Graham Bartlett: 5pm Tues 20 & 6pm Fri 23
Katherine Armstrong: 7pm Tues 20
Fiona Veitch Smith: 3pm Wed 21
Ian Rankin: 5pm Wed 21
Debut Dagger Longlist: 4pm Thursday 22
Peter James: 4pm Fri 23

See the poster for a full schedule of events.