Cause UK has been working with the esteemed Crime Writers’ Association to build their profile.
The world-famous Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Daggers, which honour the very best in crime writing, are the oldest awards in the genre. Created in 1955, the CWA Daggers have been synonymous with quality crime writing for over half a century.
2019’s Daggers were announced on 24 October at an awards ceremony in London.
Winners included M.W. Craven who received the CWA Gold Dagger for his novel The Puppet Show.
Writer Barry Forshaw, MC for the Dagger Awards evening, said: “The Daggers are the ultimate celebration of the fact that crime fiction remains an evergreen area of modern publishing, with fresh trends continually appearing, and traditional forms undergoing constant reinvigoration.”
The CWA Dagger announcement was covered in Book Brunch and The Bookseller, with the Jewish Chronicle writing a feature on Dov Alfon, the Israeli author who won the International Dagger. The story was also picked up on influential blogs such as Eurocrime and Shotsmag.
The Winners
CWA GOLD DAGGER: M. W. Craven: The Puppet Show (Constable / Little Brown)
CWA JOHN CREASEY NEW BLOOD: Chris Hammer: Scrublands (Wildfire)
CWA ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION: Ben Macintyre: The Spy and the Traitor (Viking)
CWA IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER: Holly Watt: To The Lions (Raven Books)
CWA INTERNATIONAL DAGGER: Dov Alfon: A Long Night in Paris, tr Daniella Zamir (MacLehose Press)
CWA SAPERE BOOKS HISTORICAL DAGGER: S.G. MacLean: Destroying Angel (Quercus Fiction)
CWA SHORT STORY DAGGER: Danuta Kot writing as Danuta Reah: ‘The Dummies’ Guide to Serial Killing’ in The Dummies’ Guide to Serial Killing and other Fantastic Female Fables (Fantastic Books)
Highly commended: Teresa Solana: ‘I Detest Mozart’ in The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and Other Stories by Teresa Solana (Bitter Lemon Press)
CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY: Kate Ellis
CWA DEBUT DAGGER: Shelley Burr: Wake
BEST CRIME AND MYSTERY PUBLISHER: No Exit Press
On the night, Robert Goddard was also presented with the 2019 Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement, the highest honour in British crime writing.