The Crime Writer’s Association (CWA) holds an annual event where they celebrate crime literature. The annual ceremony gives out the prestigious “Dagger Award” in ten different categories. With the 2016 ceremony drawing near (the award shortlist will be announced on July 28th), we figured the Weekly Bookette is a wonderful place to look back on the award’s history and future.
As mentioned above, the dagger awards exist in 10 different categories, so let us break this post down to each of those categories:
Gold Dagger: the gold dagger award is awarded to the best crime novel of the year. The very first winner in this category was Winston Graham with his novel The Little Walls back in 1955. The most recent win was Life or Death by Michael Robotham.
Steel Dagger: This award has a broader spectrum than the other daggers, the conditions to win this award is as simple as Ian Fleming puts it “one simply has to turn the pages”. This award began in 2002, with a win by John Creed and his book The Serious Crossing. Notable recent wins include Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects (2007), and the most recent winner Cop Town by Karin Slaughter.
New Blood: in memory of the CWA founder, John Creasey, this award is given to first books, written by previously unpublished authors. Personal favorite winners in this category include Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell (1990), and Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson (2011).
International: the award is given to any crime/thriller novel not written in English originally, but translated for UK publishing. Before 2005, international books were eligible to win the Gold Dagger, but the association decided to give international books their own award. This way they can reward both the author and translator of the book. The most recent win is Camille written by Pierre Lemaitre, and translated by Frank Wynne.
Non-fiction: this award is given to any crime related non-fiction title written (or translated to) English. This award was first established in 1978 where The Mystery of the Princes by Audrey Williamson took the prise. The current holder of the award is David Davis and his book In Plain Sight: The Life and Lies of Jimmy Savile.
Library: This award is based on fan suggestions. Every year crime fans from all over the world nominate their favorite authors, and the ten authors with the highest number of nominations compose the longlist for this category. The current holder of this award is Christopher Fowler.
Short Story: As the title suggests, this award is granted to the best short story of the year. Most recent winners include Come Away With Me by Stella Duffy (2013), and current holder Richard Lange and his short Apocrypha.
Debut: For the past 15 years, the CWA holds its Debut Dagger Competition. Unpublished manuscript by previously unpublished authors are submitted, the shortlisted titles are supported by the CWA, and get sent to publishers and book agents alike. The most recent winner is Greg Keen with his book Last of the Soho Legends.
Endeavour Historical: the award given to the best historical crime novels. The award was established in 1999, and it awards crime novels that take place at least 35 years prior to the year the award is given. Andrew Taylor is an author who managed to snag this award three times in the past for his books The Office of the Dead (2001), The American Boy (2003), and The Scent of Death (2013). The most recent win is by S. G. MacLean with her book The Seeker.
Diamond: the last and most certainly not least is the Diamond award, it is awarded to authors who have made an outstanding lifetime’s contribution to the genre. This year’s Diamond Dagger has already been awarded to Peter James for his multiple award winning/Sunday Times bestselling titles.
What do you think dear reader? Are you a fan of the crime genre? Do you follow the CWA awards? Will you be tuning in on July 28th to see the shortlists for 2016? And who do you think will win in what category?
[…] Did you know that crime writers not only have their own association (CWA), they also hold an annual event where they give out the “Dagger Award“? […]
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