The Crime Writers' Association - an organisation formed to promote and support professional authors writing in the crime genre - was created by John Creasey, himself a crime writer. Although Creasey's novels have fallen out of favour with modern audiences, the CWA has become the most important and influential association of its kind, and its annual Dagger Awards are the most prestigious of the genre.
This year is the association's 57th, and as usual competition for the awards is fierce. A victory - or even a nomination - for the crime writer's equivalent of the Booker can make a huge different to book sales for the lucky author. The shortlist for the biggest award - the Gold Dagger - will be announced at a prize ceremony in London on July 15th, when the winners of some of the other Daggers will also be revealed. The shortlists revealed exclusively in The Times this week are for the Dagger in the Library, the International Dagger and the Short Story Dagger.
The CWA Dagger in the Library
This award honours a writer for their work as a whole, rather than any individual book. The nominations are put forward by library users and judged by librarians, and the winner receives £1500. This year's shortlist is:
- Simon Beckett
- Colin Cotterill
- R.J. Ellory
- Ariana Franklin
- Peter James
- Michael Robotham
The CWA International Dagger
This prize honours crime novels that have been translated into English from their original language for British publication, with the author receiving £1000 and the translator getting £500. In the running are:
- Karin Alvtegen, Shadow, translated by McKinley Burnett, (Canongate)
- Arnaldur Indriðason, The Arctic Chill, translated by Bernard Scudder and Victoria Cribb (Harvill Secker)
- Stieg Larsson, The Girl who played with Fire, translated by Reg Keeland (MacLehose Quercus)
- Jo Nesbø, The Redeemer, translated by Don Bartlett (Harvill Secker)
- Johan Theorin, Echoes from the Dead, translated by Marlaine Delargy (Doubleday)
- Fred Vargas, The Chalk Circle Man, translated by Siân Reynolds (Harvill Secker)
This award is a controversial one, with many criticising the decision to exclude crime writing in translation from eligibility for the Gold Dagger Award. Others have pointed out, however, that as the amount of quality crime fiction being produced continues to increase, it is a sensible decision to have two major prizes rather than just one, honouring both English-language works and those wriiten in other tongues.
Full details of other nominees, including the writers of the tales in the running for the CWA Short Story Dagger, can be found on the CWA website.
Elizabeth Gregory - Liz graduated from Manchester University with a BA (Hons) in English Language & Literature, and also holds an MA in Literature from the ...
Join the Conversation