CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger 2025

The British Crime Writers’ Association awarded the 2025 Cartier Diamond Dagger to Mick Herron. Congratulations, Mick!

Mick Herron is the author of the Slough House series and other mystery and thriller novels.

A CWA press release explains that this prize “recognises authors whose crime writing careers have been marked by sustained excellence, and who have made a significant contribution to the genre.” Herron is quoted as saying: “I’ve spent the best part of my life—not the majority of it; just the best part—in the crime writers’ community, and to receive this accolade from these friends and colleagues is both a career highlight and a personal joy. I’m touched and thrilled beyond measure, and will try to live up to the honour.” 

Past Diamond Dagger honorees include Ian Rankin, Lynda La Plante, Walter Mosley, Ann Cleeves, Andrew Taylor, Lindsey Davis, Michael Connelly, Val McDermid, and John le Carré.

HT: The Rap Sheet

CRIME WRITERS ASSOCIATION (UK) DAGGER WINNERS

The Crime Writers' Association Daggers 2024 Dagger Winners
The ILP Creasey (New Blood) Dagger Winner:

Jo Callaghan for In the Blink of An Eye (Simon & Schuster UK)

The Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Winner:

Jordan Harper for Everybody Knows (Faber & Faber)

The CWA Gold Dagger Winner:

Una Mannion for And Tell Me What I Am

The CWA Historical Dagger Winner: 

Jake Lamar for Viper's Dream

The CWA Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger Winner:

Maud Ventura, Emma Ramadan for My Husband

The CWA ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction Winner:

Nicholas Shakespeare's Ian Fleming: The Complete Man

The CWA Dagger in the Library Winner:

Anthony Horowitz for Close to Death

Twisted & Whodunnit Daggers added to CWA Awards

Two new Dagger Categories have been added to the Crime Writers’ Association’s (CWA) awards for crime, mystery and thriller writers. Entries for the new categories will open in early 2024.

From The Bookseller

The Twisted Dagger award is aimed at psychological thrillers set in any period, as well as suspense thrillers and domestic noir. According to the prize organisers, the prize will celebrate "dark and twisty tales that often feature unreliable narrators, disturbed emotions, a healthy dose of moral ambiguity, and a sting in the tail".

Meanwhile, the Whodunnit Dagger covers cosy crime, including the "modern cosy", traditional crime, and "Golden Age mysteries". The entries in this category will focus on the "intellectual challenge at the heart of a good mystery, and revolve around often quirky characters".

Read more here. 

CWA Dagger Awards 2022: Crime Writers' Association

Crime Writers' Association (UK) announced the Winners of the 2022 Daggers tonight in London. Congratulations to all and thanks to Ayo Onatade for the news!

 

The Dagger in the Library

Mark Billingham

 

The Dagger for the Best Crime & Mystery Publisher 

Faber & Faber 

The CWA Short Story Dagger

Flesh of a Fancy Woman by Paul Magrs 

 

The Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger

Hotel Cartagena by Simone Buchholz (transl. Rachel Ward) 

 

The ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction

The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey by Julia Laite

 

The CWA Historical Dagger

Sunset Swing by Ray Celestin

The CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger

The Appeal by Janice Hallett

 

The Ian Fleming Steel Dagger

Dead Ground by M W Craven

The CWA Gold Dagger

Sunset Swing by Ray Celestin: Sunset Swing 

HT: ShotsMag

CWA DAGGERS LONGLISTS 2022

Crime Writer's Association (UK) announced the  Longlists for the 2022 Daggers!

 

The Dagger in the Library

Ben Aaronovitch

Lin Anderson

Mark Billingham

Susan Hill

Edward Marston

Kate Rhodes

Cath Staincliffe

Rebecca Tope

Sara Sheridan

 

The Dagger for the Best Crime & Mystery Publisher 

Faber & Faber 

Harper Fiction 

Mantle 

Michael Joseph 

Point Blank 

Pushkin Vertigo 

Quercus 

Raven Books 

Thomas & Mercer 

Titan Books 

Viper

The CWA Short Story Dagger

The Clifton Vampire by T E Kinsey

With the Others by T M Logan 

When I Grow Up by Robert Scragg

New Tricks by Matt Wesolowski

All from ‘Afraid of the Shadows’ 

London by Jo Nesbø 

From ‘The Jealousy Man and Other Stories’

The Way Of All Flesh by Raven Dane

Blindsided by Caroline England

The Victim by Awais Khan 

Flesh of a Fancy Woman by Paul Magrs 

Changeling by Bryony Pearce

All from ‘Criminal Pursuits: Crime Through Time’

 

The Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger

Girls Who Lie by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir (trans Victoria Cribb)

Hotel Cartagena by Simone Buchholz (trans Rachel Ward) 

Riccardino by Andrea Camilleri, (trans Stephen Sartarelli) 

Seat 7a by Sebastian Fitzek (trans Steve Anderson)

Bullet Train by Kōtarō Isaka (trans Sam Malissa): 

Heatwave by Victor Jestin (trans Sam Taylor) 

Oxygen by Sacha Naspini (trans Clarissa Botsford)

People Like Them by Samira Sedira (trans Lara Vergnaud) 

The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen, (trans David Hackston) 

The Scorpion's Head by Hilde Vandermeeren (trans Laura Watkinson)

 

The ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction

The Devil You Know by Gwen Adshead & Eileen Horne:

The Jigsaw Murders by Jeremy Craddock

What Lies Buried by Kerry Daynes

The Good Girls by Sonia Faleiro

We Are Bellingcat by Eliot Higgins

The Irish Assassins by Julie Kavanagh

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey by Julia Laite

The Unusual Suspect by Ben Machell

The Dublin Railway Murder by Thomas Morris

The Seven Ages of Death by Richard Shepherd

 

The CWA Historical Dagger

April in Spain by John Banville

City of Vengeance by DV Bishop

Sunset Swing by Ray Celestin

Crow Court by Andy Charman

Not One Of Us by Alis Hawkins

The Drowned City by KJ Maitland

Where God Does Not Walk by Luke McCallin

Edge of the Grave by Robbie Morrison

A Corruption of Blood by Ambrose Parry

Blackout by Simon Scarrow

The Royal Secret by Andrew Taylor

The Cannonball Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu

The CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger

Welcome to Cooper by Tariq Ashkanani

Sixteen Horses by Greg Buchanan

Repentance by Eloísa Díaz

Hunted by Antony Dunford

The Mash House by Alan Gillespie

Raft of Stars by Andrew J Graff

The Appeal by Janice Hallett

Falling by TJ Newman

Where Ravens Roost by Karin Nordin

The Stoning by Peter Papathanasiou

How to Kidnap the Rich by Rahul Raina

The Death of Kirti Kadakia by Meeti Shroff-Shah

The Source by Sarah Sultoon

Waking the Tiger by Mark Wightman

 

The Ian Fleming Steel Dagger

A Man Named Doll by Jonathan Ames

Find You First by Linwood Barclay 

Exit by Belinda Bauer

The Pact by Sharon Bolton

The Devil’s Advocate by Steve Cavanagh 

Sunset Swing by Ray Celestin

Razorblade Tears by S A Cosby

Dead Ground by M W Craven

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Dream Girl by Laura Lippman

Rizzio by Denise Mina 

The Lonely Ones by Håkan Nesser

The CWA Gold Dagger

Next of Kin by Kia Abdullah

The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict

Rabbit Hole by Mark Billingham: 

City of Vengeance by DV Bishop: 

Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz

Sunset Swing by Ray Celestin: Sunset Swing 

Razorblade Tears by SA Cosby

The Last Thing to Burn by Will Dean 

The House Uptown by Melissa Ginsburg

The Unwilling by John Hart

A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins

Lightseekers by Femi Kayode

I Know What I Saw by Imran Mahmood:

The Shadows of Men by Abir Mukherjee

The Killing Hills by Chris Offutt 

The Stoning by Peter Papathanasiou: 

The Trawlerman by William Shaw

Daughters of Night by Laura Shepherd-Robinson: 

A Beginner's Guide to Murder by Rosalind Stopps

Brazilian Psycho by Joe Thomas 

HT: Shots: Crime & Thriller Ezine

CWA DIAMOND DAGGER GOES TO CJ SANSOM

CJ Sansom is the recipient of the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Diamond Dagger. Congratulations!

One of Britain’s bestselling historical novelists, Christopher John Sansom was born in 1952 in Edinburgh. He was educated at Birmingham University with a BA and then a PhD in history. After working in a variety of jobs, he retrained as a solicitor and practised in Sussex, until becoming a full-time writer.

He combined both history and law in his debut novel Dissolution – a darkly fascinating novel of monastic murder and politics.

CJ Sansom said: “I feel so honoured to be awarded this year’s Diamond Dagger, and my heartfelt thanks to the CWA members and committee. Wonderful to think I now join such a distinguished group of authors. To think it all started with the idea that a novel set around Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries might make a good story. Thank you.”

Maxim Jakubowski, Chair of the CWA, said: “C J Sansom has proven himself to be the modern master of the historical thriller, regardless of periods. Equally at ease evoking sixteenth century England, Spain in the aftermath of its Civil War or even an alternate post-WW2 Britain, he weaves a web of compelling reality around his characters and brings the past to life like no other, making him a splendid and deserved addition to the prestigious ranks of Diamond Dagger winners.”

Published in 2003, Dissolution was an immediate bestseller, and critical success. Inspector Morse creator Colin Dexter called it ‘extraordinarily impressive’, while PD James described it as ‘remarkable’.

This success sparked the bestselling Shardlake series, set in the reign of Henry VIII and following the sixteenth-century lawyer-detective Matthew Shardlake and his assistant Jack Barak.

Now running to well over four million copies in print, it is one of the most successful crime series of all time.

After Dissolution came Dark Fire, which won the 2005 Crime Writers’ Association Historical Dagger.

He has also written a thriller, Winter in Madrid, set in Spain in 1940 in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War.

The CWA Diamond Dagger is selected from nominations provided by CWA members. The award recognises authors whose crime writing careers have been marked by sustained excellence, and who have made a significant contribution to the genre.

CJ Sansom joins icons of the genre who have been recognised with the accolade, including Ruth Rendell, Lee Child, Ann Cleeves, Ian Rankin, PD James, Colin Dexter, Reginald Hill, Lindsey Davis, Peter Lovesey, John Le Carré and Martina Cole.

The Diamond Dagger is announced before the annual CWA Dagger Awards, dubbed the ‘Oscars of the crime genre’, due to be awarded this June.

2021 CWA DAGGER AWARDS SHORTLISTS

The 2021 CWA Dagger Awards Shortlists

The  Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Daggers are the oldest awards in the genre, and have been synonymous with quality crime writing for over half a century. Congratulations to all!

SHORTLISTS

GOLD DAGGER

S A Cosby: Blacktop Wasteland (Headline, Headline Publishing Group)

Ben Creed: City of Ghosts (Welbeck Fiction, Welbeck Publishing Group)

Nicci French: House of Correction (Simon & Schuster)

Robert Galbraith: Troubled Blood (Sphere, Little, Brown Book Group)

Elly Griffiths: The Postscript Murders (Quercus)

Thomas Mullen: Midnight Atlanta (Little, Brown, Little, Brown Book Group)

Chris Whitaker: We Begin at the End (Zaffre, Bonnier)

 

IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER

Robert Galbraith: Troubled Blood (Sphere, Little, Brown Book Group)

Michael Robotham: When She Was Good (Sphere, Little, Brown Book Group)

Catherine Ryan Howard: The Nothing Man (Atlantic Books)

Stuart Turton: The Devil and the Dark Water (Raven Books, Bloomsbury Publishing)

Ruth Ware: One by One (Harvill Secker, Vintage)

Chris Whitaker: We Begin at the End (Zaffre, Bonnier)

 

JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD) DAGGER

Eva Björg Ægisdóttir: The Creak on the Stairs (Orenda)

Ben Creed: City of Ghosts (Welbeck Publishing)

Egan Hughes: The One That Got Away (Little Brown, Sphere)

S W Kane: The Bone Jar (Thomas & Mercer)

Stephen Spotswood: Fortune Favours the Dead (Headline, Wildfire)

John Vercher: Three-Fifths (Pushkin Press)

 

SAPERE BOOKS HISTORICAL DAGGER

John Banville: Snow (Faber)

Vaseem Khan: Midnight at Malabar House (Hodder & Stoughton)

Chris Lloyd: The Unwanted Dead (Orion Fiction, The Orion Publishing Group)

Michael Russell: The City Under Siege (Constable, Little, Brown Book Group)

David S. Stafford: Skelton’s Guide to Domestic Poisons (Allison & Busby)

Ovidia Yu: The Mimosa Tree Mystery (Constable, Little, Brown Book Group)

 

CRIME FICTION IN TRANSLATION DAGGER

Fredrik Backman: Anxious People, translated by Neil Smith (Michael Joseph, Penguin)

Roxanne Bouchard: The Coral Bride, translated by David Warriner (Orenda Books)

Yun Ko-eun: The Disaster Tourist, translated by Lizzie Buehler (Serpent’s Tail)

D A Mishani: Three, translated by Jessica Cohen (Riverrun, Hachette Book Group)

Mikael Niemi: To Cook a Bear, translated by Deborah Bragan-Turner (MacLehose Press, Quercus)

Agnes Ravatn:  The Seven Doors, translated by Rosie Hedger (Orenda Books)

 

SHORT STORY DAGGER

Robert Scragg: ‘A Dog is for Life, Not Just for Christmas’ in Afraid of the Christmas Lights, edited by Robert Scragg (Robert Scragg)

Elle Croft: ‘Deathbed’ in Afraid of the Light, edited by Robert Scragg (Robert Scragg)

Dominic Nolan: ‘Daddy Dearest’ in Afraid of the Light, edited by Robert Scragg (Robert Scragg)

Victoria Selman: ‘Hunted’ in Afraid of the Christmas Lights, edited by Robert Scragg (Robert Scragg)

Clare Mackintosh: ‘Monsters’ in First Edition: Celebrating 21 Years of Goldsboro Books (The Dome Press)

James Delargy: ‘Planting Nan’ in Afraid of the Light, edited by Robert Scragg (Robert Scragg) 

 

ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION

Sue Black: Written in Bone (Doubleday, Penguin)

Becky Cooper: We Keep the Dead Close (William Heinemann, Penguin)

Andrew Harding: These Are Not Gentle People (MacLehose, Quercus)

Debora Harding: Dancing with the Octopus (Profile Books Limited)

Nick Hayes: The Book of Trespass (Bloomsbury Circus, Bloomsbury Publishing)

Ben MacIntyre: Agent Sonya (Viking, Penguin)

 

DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY

Lisa Jewell

Peter May

Denise Mina

James Oswald

L J Ross

C L Taylor      

 

PUBLISHERS’ DAGGER

Faber & Faber

Head of Zeus

Michael Joseph

No Exit Press

Raven

Viper

 

CWA (British Crime Writers) Dagger Nominees

The British Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) shortlists of nominees for six different Dagger Awards.

The CWA International Dagger:
• Alex, by Pierre Lemaitre, translated by Frank Wynne (Quercus)
• The Missing File, by D.A. Mishani, translated by Steven Cohen (Quercus)
• Two Soldiers, by Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström, translated by Kari Dickson (Quercus)
• Ghost Riders of Ordebec, by Fred Vargas, translated by Siân Reynolds (Harvill Secker)
• Death in Sardinia, by Marco Vichi, translated by Stephen Sartarelli (Hodder & Stoughton)
• The Collini Case, by Ferdinand von Schirach, translated by Anthea Bell (Michael Joseph)

The CWA Non-Fiction Dagger:
• Midnight in Peking, by Paul French (Penguin Viking)
• The Boy in the River, by Richard Hoskins (Pan Macmillan)
• Against a Tide of Evil, by Mukesh Kapila, with Damien Lewis (Mainstream)
• A Fine Day for a Hanging, by Carol Ann Lee (Mainstream)
• Injustice, by Clive Stafford Smith (Random House)
• Murder at Wrotham Hill, by Diana Souhami (Quercus)

The CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger:
• The Heretics, by Rory Clements (John Murray)
• Pilgrim Soul, by Gordon Ferris (Corvus)
• The Paris Winter, by Imogen Robertson (Headline)
• Dead Men and Broken Hearts, by Craig Russell (Quercus)
• The Twelfth Department, by William Ryan (Mantle)
• The Scent of Death, by Andrew Taylor (HarperCollins)

The CWA Short Story Dagger:
• “Method Murder,” by Simon Brett (from The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime, Volume 10, edited by Maxim Jakubowski; Constable)
• “Stairway C,” by Piero Colaprico (from Outsiders, edited by Ben Faccini; MacLehose Press)
• “Come Away with Me,” by Stella Duffy (from The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime, Volume 10)
• “The Case of Death and Honey,” by Neil Gaiman (from The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime, Volume 10)
• “Ferengi,” by Carlo Lucarelli (from Outsiders)
• “Lost and Found,” by Zoë Sharp (from Vengeance, edited by Lee Child; Corvus)

The CWA Dagger in the Library:
• Belinda Bauer
• Alison Bruce
• Gordon Ferris
• Christopher Fowler
• Elly Griffiths
• Michael Ridpath

The CWA Debut Dagger:
• Aine Oomhnaill (Ireland), The Assassin’s Keeper
• Finn Clarke (UK), Call Time
• Sue Dawes (UK), TAG
• Alex Sweeney (UK), Working in Unison
• Marie Hannan-Mandel (USA), Lesson Plan for Murder
• Ron Puckering (UK), Honour or Justice
• David Evans (UK), Torment
• Jayne Barnard (Canada), When the Bow Breaks
• D.B. Carew (Canada), Fighting Darkness: The Killer Trail
• Mike Craven (UK), Born in a Burial Gown
• Emma Melville (UK), The Journeyman
• Joanna Dodd (UK), A Cure for All Evils

The winners will be announced during on July 15 in London. Also included on July 15 will be the presentation, to Lee Child, of this year’s Diamond Dagger and the announcement of CWA’s Gold, Steel, and John Creasey Daggers Nominees.


HT: The Rap Sheet