The prize was created to celebrate “excellence, originality, and the very best in crime fiction from UK and Irish authors” whose novels were published in paperback during the eligibility period. The winner receives £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakstons Brewery.
Also “Highly Commended” was The Locked Room byElly Griffiths (Quercus).
Ann Cleeves received the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award.
The prize was created to celebrate “excellence, originality, and the very best in crime fiction from UK and Irish authors” whose novels were published in paperback during the eligibility period.
The winner receives £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakston Old Peculier.
The public are now invited to vote for the winners here; voting closes July 8. The prize winner will be revealed July 21.
The shortlist:
• The Botanist by M.W. Craven (Little, Brown Book Group; Constable) • Into The Dark by Fiona Cummins (Pan Macmillan; Macmillan/Pan) • The Locked Room byElly Griffiths (Quercus) • Black Hearts by Doug Johnstone (Orenda Books) • Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister (Penguin Random House; Michael Joseph) • The It Girl by Ruth Ware (Simon & Schuster)
The prize was created to celebrate “excellence, originality, and the very best in crime fiction from UK and Irish authors” whose novels were published in paperback during the eligibility period.
The winner receives £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakston Old Peculier.
The public are now invited to vote for a shortlist of six titles here; voting for that closes May 18. Then the shortlist will be posted and winner voting will open June 15. The prize winner will be revealed July 20.
The Longlist in full:
The Murder Book by Mark Billingham (Little, Brown Book Group; Little Brown)
The Botanist by M.W. Craven (Little, Brown Book Group; Constable)
Into The Dark by Fiona Cummins (Pan Macmillan; Macmillan/Pan)
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley (HarperCollins; HarperFiction)
The Locked Room by Elly Griffiths (Quercus)
The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett (Profile Books; Viper)
Bad Actors by Mick Herron (John Murray Press; Baskerville)
The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell (Cornerstone; Century Fiction)
Black Hearts by Doug Johnstone (Orenda Books)
The Lost Man of Bombay by Vaseem Khan (Hodder & Stoughton)
The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh (Little, Brown Book Group; Sphere)
All I Said Was True by Imran Mahmood (Bloomsbury Publishing; Raven Books)
Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister (Penguin Random House; Michael Joseph)
1989 by Val McDermid (Little, Brown Book Group; Little Brown)
The Heretic by Liam McIlvanney (HarperCollins; HarperFiction)
Blue Water by Leonora Nattrass (Profile Books; Viper)
May God Forgive by Alan Parks (Canongate Books)
Truly Darkly Deeply by Victoria Selman (Quercus)
Reputation by Sarah Vaughan (Simon & Schuster)
The It Girl by Ruth Ware (Simon & Schuster)
2023 CWA DAGGER AWARDS
The Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) of the United Kingdom announced the longlist for the 2023 CWA Dagger Awards on April 22.
GOLD DAGGER
This award is for the best crime novel by an author of any nationality.
Oxblood by Tom Benn
Shoot the Moonlight Out by William Boyle
The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith
The Kingdoms of the Savannah by George Dawes Green
The Lost Man of Bombay by Vaseem Khan
The Bookseller of Inverness by SG Maclean
A Killing in November by Simon Mason
The Clockwork Girl by Anna Mazzola
The Winter Guest by William Ryan
A Killing Rain by Faye Snowdon
The Bone Road by NE Solomons
The Silent Brother by Simon Van der Velde
IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER
Eligible books in this category are thrillers set in any period and include, but are not limited to, spy fiction, psychological thrillers and action/adventure stories.
Opera by Julie Anderson
A Kiss After Dying by Ashok Banker
Take Your Breath Away by Linwood Barclay
Seventeen by John Brownlow
The Match by Harlan Coben
The Botanist by MW Craven
Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith
Alias Emma by Ava Glass
A Loyal Traitor by Tim Glister
Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
May God Forgive by Alan Parks
JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD) DAGGER
This award is for the best crime novel by a first-time author of any nationality.
A Good Day to Die by Amen Alonge
Better the Blood by Michael Bennett
Breaking by Amanda Cassidy
Don’t Know Tough by Eli Cranor
The Local by Joey Hartstone
The Truth Will Out by Rosemary Hennigan
London in Black by Jack Lutz
Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor
No Country for Girls by Emma Styles
Nobody But Us by Laure Van Rensburg
Outback by Patricia Wolf
The Partisan by Patrick Worrall
HISTORICAL DAGGER
This award is for the best historical crime novel, set in any period up to 50 years prior to the year in which the award will be made.
The Darkest Sin by DV Bishop
Blackstone Fell by Martin Edwards
Two Storm Wood by Philip Gray
The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys by Jack Jewers
The Bookseller of Inverness by SG MacLean
The Clockwork Girl by Anna Mazzola
Death at the Dolphin by Gretta Mulrooney
The Homes by JB Mylet
The Bangalore Detectives Club by Harini Nagendra
Blue Water by Leonora Nattrass
Hear No Evil by Sarah Smith
The Mushroom Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu
ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION
This award is for any non-fiction work on a crime-related theme by an author of any nationality.
The Poisonous Solicitor by Stephen Bates
Dead in the Water by Matthew Campbell & Kit Chellel
What We Fear Most by Ben Cave
Scandal at Dolphin Square by Simon Danczuk & Daniel Smith
The Life of Crime by Martin Edwards
Unlawful Killings by Wendy Joseph
Tremors In The Blood by Amit Katwala
To Hunt a Killer by Julie Mackay & Robert Murphy
The Real Special Relationship by Michael Smith
The Life Inside by Andy West
About A Son by David Whitehouse
Stitched Up by Shahed Yousaf
CRIME FICTION IN TRANSLATION DAGGER
This award is for a crime novel not originally written in English and which has been translated into English for UK publication.
Good Reasons to Die, by Morgan Audic (tr Sam Taylor)
The Red Notebook, by Michel Bussi (tr Vineet Lal)
Even the Darkest Night by Javier Cercas (tr Anne Mclean)
Bad Kids by Zijin Chen, (tr Michelle Deeter)
Impossible, by Erri De Luca (tr NS Thompson)
Femicide by Pascal Engman (tr Michael Gallagher)
The Bleeding by Johana Gustawsson (tr David Warriner)
The Corpse Flower by Anne Mette Hancock (tr Tara Chace)
The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier (tr Adriana Hunter)
The Dark Flood by Deon Meyer (tr KL Seggers)
The Tattoo Murder by Akimitsu Takagi (tr Deborah Boehm)
Lady Joker by Kaoru Takamura (tr Allison Markin Powell & Marie Iida)
SHORT STORY DAGGER
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.
The Disappearance by Leigh Bardugo – In ‘Marple’
The Tears of Venus by Victoria and Delilah Dowd – In ‘Unlocked’
Strawberry Moon by John Grisham – In ‘Sparring Partners’
Clout Chaser by Rachel Howzell Hall
The Beautiful Game by Sanjida Kay
Paradise Lost by Abir Mukherjee
Death In Darjeeling by Vaseem Khan – In ‘The Perfect Crime’
Just One More by Laura Lippman – In ‘Seasonal Work & Other Killer Stories’
Auld Bride by Judith O’Reilly – In ‘Gone’
The Lake House by Ferdinand von Schirach – In ‘Punishment’ (tr: Katharina Hall)
Runaway Blues by C J Tudor – In ‘A Sliver of Darkness’
Cast A Long Shadow by Hazell Ward – In ‘Cast A Long Shadow’
PUBLISHERS’ DAGGER
This prestigious Dagger is awarded annually to the Best Crime and Mystery Publisher of the Year.
Bitter Lemon Press
Bookouture
Canelo
Harper Fiction
Hodder & Stoughton
Mantle
Michael Joseph
Raven
Pushkin Vertigo
Quercus
Simon & Schuster
Viper
DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY
The Dagger in the Library is a prize for a body of work by an established crime writer who has long been popular with borrowers from libraries, and who has supported libraries and their users.
Ben Aaronovitch
Sophie Hannah
Mick Herron
Erin Kelly
Angela Marsons
Brian McGilloway
Tim Weaver
DIAMOND DAGGER
Awarded every year to an author whose crime-writing career has been marked by sustained excellence, and who has made a significant contribution to the genre. Votes from CWA members go forward to be deliberated on by an independent panel. This year’s recipient is:
The international competition is open to short stories of up to 3,500 words that have not been previously published anywhere, or shortlisted for this competition.
Off the Rails – Cailey Barker
The Mitcham Manor Inquiry – Antony M Brown
The Note – Tim Butterworth
Confession – Ajay Chowdhury
Unlucky for Some – Charlie Cochrane
The Key – Christine Curran
The Midwinter Murders – Robert Grossmith
How to Catch a Bullet in a Plate – Judith O’Reilly
The prize was created to celebrate “excellence, originality, and the very best in crime fiction from UK and Irish authors” whose novels were published in paperback during the eligibility period. The winner receives £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakstons Brewery.
Also named as “Highly Commended” was True Crime Story by Joseph Knox.
Michael Connelly received the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award.
The prize was created to celebrate “excellence, originality, and the very best in crime fiction from UK and Irish authors” whose novels were published in paperback during the eligibility period.
The winner receives £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakston Old Peculier.
The public are now invited to vote for the winners here; voting closes July 8. The prize winner will be revealed July 21.
The shortlist:
The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths (Quercus Fiction)
True Crime Story by Joseph Knox (Doubleday)
Daughters of Night by Laura Shepherd Robinson (Mantle/Pan)
Slough House by Mick Herron (Baskerville)
Midnight at Malabar House by Vaseem Khan (Hodder & Stoughton)
The Last Thing to Burn by Will Dean (Hodder & Stoughton)
The prize was created to celebrate “excellence, originality, and the very best in crime fiction from UK and Irish authors” whose novels were published in paperback during the eligibility period.
The winner receives £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakston Old Peculier.
The public are now invited to vote for a shortlist of six titles here; voting for that closes May 26. Then the shortlist will be posted and winner voting will open June 14. The prize winner will be revealed July 21.
The Longlist in full:
Girl A by Abigail Dean (HarperFiction)
Tall Bones by Anna Bailey (Doubleday)
The Heron’s Cry by Ann Cleeves (Pan Macmillan)
Blood Ties by Brian McGilloway (Constable)
The Cut by Chris Brookmyre (Little, Brown)
The Less Dead by Denise Mina (Harvill Secker)
The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths (Quercus Fiction)
Watch Her Fall by Erin Kelly (Hodder & Stoughton)
I Know What I Saw by Imran Mahmood (Raven Books)
True Crime Story by Joseph Knox (Doubleday)
Daughters of Night by Laura Shepherd Robinson (Mantle/Pan)
Rabbit Hole by Mark Billingham (Little, Brown)
Slough House by Mick Herron (Baskerville)
Dead Ground by M. W. Craven (Constable)
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton (Raven Books)
Midnight at Malabar House by Vaseem Khan (Hodder & Stoughton)
The Last Thing to Burn by Will Dean (Hodder & Stoughton)
We Begin At The End, a New YorkTimes bestseller, has been optioned for film and is currently in development. Whitaker was interviewed here when his book made the shortlist.
Whitaker’s earlier book Tall Oaks was honored with the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger Award.
The prize was created to celebrate “excellence, originality, and the very best in crime fiction from UK and Irish authors” whose novels were published in paperback during the eligibility period. The winner receives £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakstons Brewery.
The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths (Quercus, Quercus Fiction)
Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton (Penguin Random House UK, Viking)
The Last Crossing by Brian McGilloway (Little, Brown Book Group, Constable)
Death in the Eastby Abir Mukherjee (VINTAGE, Harvill Secker)
We Begin At The End by Chris Whitaker (Bonnier Books UK, Zaffre)
The Man on the Street by Trevor Wood (Quercus, Quercus Fiction)
The public is invited to vote for the winner here. The award will be announced Thursday July 22. The author will receive £3,000, and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakston Old Peculier.
MCILVANNEY PRIZE LONGLIST
The McIlvanney Prize recognizes excellence in Scottish crime writing, and includes a prize of £1,000 and nationwide promotion in Waterstones.. Here is the McIlvanney Prize 2021 longlist:
The Cut, Chris Brookmyre (Little,Brown)
The Silent Daughter, Emma Christie (Wellbeck)
Before the Storm, Alex Gray (Little, Brown)
Dead Man’s Grave, Neil Lancaster (HarperCollins, HQ)
The Coffinmaker’s Garden, Stuart MacBride (HarperCollins)
Still Life, Val McDermid (Little,Brown)
Bad Debt, William McIntyre (Sandstone)
The Less Dead, Denise Mina (Vintage)
How To Survive Everything, Ewan Morrison (Saraband)
Edge of the Grave, Robbie Morrison (Macmillan)
The April Dead, Alan Parks (Canongate)
Hyde, Craig Russell (Constable)
Waking the Tiger, Mark Wightman (Hobeck Books)
MACAVITY AWARDS FINALISTS
Mystery Readers International announced the finalists for the 2021 Macavity Awards on June 1.
The Macavity Award is named for the “mystery cat” of T.S. Eliot (Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats). Each year the members of Mystery Readers International nominate and vote for their favorite mysteries in five categories.
Best Mystery Novel:
Caroline B. Cooney:Before She Was Helen (Ecco)
S.A. Cosby:Blacktop Wasteland (Flatiron Books)
Matt Coyle:Blind Vigil (Oceanview Publishing)
Louise Penny:All the Devils Are Here (Minotaur)
Ivy Pochoda:These Women (Poisoned Pen Press)
Michael Robotham:When She Was Good (Scribner)
Best First Mystery:
Deepa Anappara:Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line (Random House)
Nev March:Murder in Old Bombay (Minotaur)
Richard Osman:The Thursday Murder Club (Pamela Dorman Books)
Art Taylor: “The Boy Detective & The Summer of ‘74” (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Jan/Feb 2020)
Gabriel Valjan: “Elysian Fields” (California Schemin’: The 2020 Bouchercon Anthology, edited by Art Taylor; Wildside Press)
Elaine Viets: “Dog Eat Dog” (The Beat of Black Wings:Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Joni Mitchell, edited by Josh Pachter; Untreed Reads Publishing)
James W. Ziskin: “The Twenty-Five Year Engagement” (In League with Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Sherlock Holmes Canon, edited by Laurie R. King; Pegasus Crime)
Best Mystery Critical/Biographical:
Leslie Brody:Sometimes You Have to Lie: The Life and Times of Louise Fitzhugh, Renegade Author of Harriet the Spy (Seal Press)
Martin Edwards, editor: Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club (HarperCollins)
Erin E. MacDonald:Ian Rankin: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction (McFarland)
Sheila Mitchell:H.R.F. Keating: A Life of Crime (Level Best Books)
Craig Sisterson:Southern Cross Crime: The Pocket Essential Guide to the Crime Fiction, Film & TV of Australia and New Zealand (Oldcastle Books)
Sue Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Mystery:
Rhys Bowen:The Last Mrs. Summers (Berkeley)
Elsa Hart:The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne (Minotaur)
The prize was created to celebrate “excellence, originality, and the very best in crime fiction from UK and Irish authors” whose novels were published in paperback during the eligibility period.
The winner receives £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakston Old Peculier.
The longlist was selected by an academy of crime writing authors, agents, editors, reviewers, members of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival Programming Committee, and representatives from T&R Theakston Ltd, the Express, and WHSmith.
The public are now invited to vote for a shortlist of six titles here, which will be announced in June.
The Longlist in Full:
Cry Baby by Mark Billingham (Little, Brown Book Group, Sphere)
The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish (Simon & Schuster)
The Cutting Place by Jane Casey (HarperCollins, HarperFiction)
Fifty Fiftyby Steve Cavanagh (The Orion Publishing Group, Orion Fiction)
Black River by Will Dean (Oneworld Publications, Point Blank)
Between Two Evils by Eva Dolan (Bloomsbury Publishing, Raven Books)
The Guest List by Lucy Foley (HarperCollins, HarperFiction)
The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths (Quercus, Quercus Fiction)
The Big Chill by Doug Johnstone (Orenda Books)
Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton (Penguin Random House UK, Viking)
Still Life by Val McDermid (Little, Brown Book Group, Sphere)
The Last Crossing by Brian McGilloway (Little, Brown Book Group, Constable)
Death in the East by Abir Mukherjee (VINTAGE, Harvill Secker)
Our Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent (Penguin, Sandycove)
A Song For The Dark Times by Ian Rankin (Orion, Orion Fiction)
Remain Silent by Susie Steiner (HarperCollins Publishers, The Borough Press)
We Begin At The End by Chris Whitaker (Bonnier Books UK, Zaffre)
The Man on the Street by Trevor Wood (Quercus, Quercus Fiction)
The winner of the 2020 Theakston old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award is Belfast-born Adrian McKinty for his thriller The Chain, that sees parents forced to abduct children to save the lives of their own. The prize celebrates the very best in crime fiction and is open to UK and Irish crime authors whose novels were published in paperback during the eligibility period.
McKinty said: “I am gobsmacked and delighted to win this award. Two years ago, I had given up on writing altogether and was working in a bar and driving an uber, and so to go from that to this is just amazing. People think that you write a book and it will be an immediate bestseller. For twelve books, my experience was quite the opposite, but then I started this one. It was deliberately high concept, deliberately different to everything else I had written – and I was still convinced it wouldn’t go anywhere… but now look at this. It has been completely life changing.”
The news was revealed in a virtual awards ceremony on what would have been the opening night of Harrogate’s legendary Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, which was cancelled due to the pandemic. Instead, the announcement marked the launch of the HIF Weekender, Harrogate International Festival’s free virtual festival.
The winner receives £3,000, and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakston Old Peculier.
