CrimeFest Announce 2024 Featured Guests

 

 

Laura Lippman and Denise Mina have been announced as the Featured Guests at one of Europe’s biggest crime fiction conventions in the spring.

CrimeFest, sponsored by Specsavers, is hosted from 9 to 12 May 2024 at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel. The biggest event of its kind in the UK, up to 150 authors will descend on Bristol appearing in over 50 panels. It attracts regular delegates from as far as Australia, the Far East, Canada, the United States and mainland Europe.

The Scottish novelist Denise Mina won the CWA John Creasy Dagger for Best First Crime Novel for her debut, Garnethill, published in 1998. Now, she is a seminal and multi-award-winning author, known for her DI Alex Morrow books, as well as adapting Steig Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy as graphic novels. Denise has made several TV and radio documentaries, as well as frequent media appearances. She is also the first woman asked to write a new novel featuring Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlow; the paperback of The Second Murderer is out April 24. Denise last headlined CrimeFest in 2013, alongside the late admired Scottish author, William McIllvanney.

The acclaimed American author Laura Lippman and former reporter on The Baltimore Sun is best known for her novels set in Baltimore featuring reporter turned investigator, Tess Monaghan. She is a two-time CrimeFest eDunnit Award winner for Wild Lake (2017) and Sunburn (2019) and has won the Agatha, Anthony, and Edgar awards. Her novel, Every Secret Thing, was adapted into a 2014 film, starring Diane Lane, and Lady in the Lake was adapted into a series for Apple.

As a convention, CrimeFest is open to all published authors and known for its inclusive approach. The event is run by Adrian Muller, co-host Donna Moore, and a small team of committed volunteers.

The convention began in 2008 and attracts readers, fans, editors, publishers, and reviewers, and features the annual CrimeFest Awards.

Director and co-founder of CrimeFest, Adrian Muller, said: “It’s a real honour to be welcoming Laura and Denise to CrimeFest next year. They are both remarkable writers who generate huge amounts of respect and acclaim, in the publishing industry and with readers alike. We can’t wait to welcome them to Bristol.”

Canadian mystery writer Cathy Ace will be the Gala Dinner’s 'Leader of Toasts', toasting the authors nominated for the 2024 CrimeFest awards. Cathy's Cait Morgan Mysteries have been optioned for TV by the production company, Free@LastTV, which is behind the hit series, Agatha Raisin.

The convention has also announced a homage to PD James, the creator of Adam Dalgliesh, known as the Queen of crime fiction. The Ghost of Honour panel will feature the award-winning crime writer and lawyer, Frances Fyfield, the Sunday Times chief fiction critic, Peter Kemp, and the author, playwright, and writer and producer for TV and radio, Simon Brett.

Other acclaimed authors confirmed include chair of the Crime Writers’ Association, Vaseem Khan, the author of two award-winning crime series set in India. It also welcomes the award-winning Janice Hallett, best known for her phenomenally successful debut thriller, The Appeal.

Bristol will see some of the genre’s most established names descend, including the author, critic, and historian Martin Edwards, who returns to host one of CrimeFest’s most popular panels: Authors Remembered.

The convention also welcomes some of the newest talent, such as Abigail Dean, whose first novel Girl A in 2021 took the book world by storm. Donna Moore will be moderating a panel showcasing debut authors. 

Specsavers is the long-running sponsor of the convention. Dame Mary Perkins, who founded the national and international chain of opticians in Bristol, said: “I am an avid reader and fan of the genre, and I always look forward to CrimeFest, which is so friendly it feels like all who go are welcomed as part of a big family, connected by a love of books and reading. We are proud sponsors of the convention.”

Donna Moore, co-founder of CrimeFest, said: “Generally, the crime writing community is a very friendly one, and CrimeFest has always been a down to earth, welcoming convention open to all. We continue to work hard at creating an inclusive energy.”

First introduced in 2022, CrimeFest's bursary for a crime fiction author of colour returns for a third year. The bursary covers the costs of a weekend pass to the convention, with a night’s accommodation and panel appearance. Previous recipients were Saima Mir and Elizabeth Chakrabarty.

The convention also continues its Community Outreach Programme. In partnership with the independent Max Minerva’s Bookshop and participating publishers, CrimeFest gifts thousands of pounds of crime fiction books for children and young adults to school libraries.

Also, with thanks to Specsavers, librarians, students, and those on benefits are offered significantly discounted tickets.

 

https://www.crimefest.com/

Back From The Dead: The Golden Age Revival by Tom Mead

In a field as diverse as crime fiction, “Golden Age” means different things to different people. To some, it’s an intractable term for murder mysteries written between the World Wars. Agatha Christie, Anthony Berkeley, John Dickson Carr, E.C.R. Lorac, Christianna Brand, et al are all exemplars of the Golden Age crime novel. But to others – myself included – it is in fact a considerably looser term which refers to a certain style of murder mystery, and one which has been enjoying a well-deserved renaissance in recent years. 

To me, the Golden Age is synonymous with the puzzle mystery, where a detective is tasked with identifying a criminal through the use of logic and deduction. There are bonus points, too, if the reader is able to play along and have a crack at solving the case themselves. 

Even after the Golden Age officially ended, this type of mystery did not go away. Throughout the latter decades of the twentieth century, several high-profile authors produced numerous works that fall within that category. For example, Simon Brett’s Fethering mysteries feature amateur sleuths in a village setting – thematically speaking, pure Agatha Christie. Meanwhile, Paul Doherty’s mysteries are set hundreds or even thousands of years in the past, but nonetheless employ classic Golden Age plotting techniques, such as the “closed circle” of suspects, the sifting of alibis, and the “impossible crime.”

Other authors have interpolated Golden Age-style puzzle plotting in contemporary police procedurals. Think of Peter Lovesey’s Peter Diamond series, Martin Edwards’s Lake District mysteries, or Kate Ellis’s Wesley Peterson series. All of these bear the deductive hallmark of the Golden Age, albeit subtly. 

As for my own experience, I grew up in a house full of Agatha Christie novels; they were among the first "grown up" books I actually read. So the Golden Age was a constant presence throughout my formative years, both in book form and on TV thanks to the ITV Poirot adaptations, plus the frequent repeats of films like Murder on the Orient Express. But when I went to university and studied English lit and creative writing, there was a tendency to lean away from "genre" fiction and toward the more overtly literary. 

However, the Golden Age has a funny way of creeping back into your conscious mind. Inevitably, I delved into the past, and returned to the authors I’d loved when I was younger. To my surprise and delight, I found that I enjoyed them more, not less. But not only that; there were heaps of “new” authors (new to me, anyway) whose works had been out-of-print for almost a century but were now enjoying posthumous rediscovery. Authors I’d never heard of before, like John Bude and J. Jefferson Farjeon. 

This boom in Golden Age reissues over the last ten years or so has been largely spearheaded by Martin Edwards’s British Library Crime Classics series and Otto Penzler’s American Mystery Classics series. Coupled with certain high-profile critical reassessments by genre scholars like Edwards himself (The Golden Age of Murder), John Curran (The Hooded Gunman), Curtis Evans (Masters of the “Humdrum” Mystery), and Jeffrey Marks (Anthony Boucher: A Biobibliography) – not to mention A-list Hollywood movies like Knives Out – it’s fair to say the Golden Age whodunit is back with a vengeance. 

Anthony Horowitz, for instance, has recently commenced a wonderful new series which is not only Golden Age in style, but about the Golden Age. I’m talking about Magpie Murders, where a vintage mystery pastiche is coupled with a present-day murder plot, perfectly encapsulating the spirit of the revival. Meanwhile, authors like Janice Hallett and Vaseem Khan write complex puzzle mysteries which offer the same level of reader satisfaction as the classics. Pleasingly, the trend appears to be global, with authors such as Sulari Gentill (Australia) and Ovidia Yu (Singapore) combining the puzzle plot and the historical fiction milieu to excellent effect. Additionally, the way in which the Golden Age style is evoked can be startlingly diverse – ranging from the cosy crime of Robert Thorogood to the Scandi-noir of Ragnar Jonasson.

Whichever way you look at it, there is a steadily growing crowd of authors who are endeavouring to recapture the style, the distinctive characters, the period detail, and the great plots that made the Golden Age golden. My own books Death and the Conjuror and The Murder Wheel are my attempts to engage with this revival. As both a writer and a reader, I’m eager to see where we go from here. 

The Murder Wheel by Tom Mead (Head of Zeus) Out of Now

In London, 1938, young and idealistic lawyer Edmund Ibbs is trying to find any shred of evidence that his client Carla Dean wasn’t the one who shot her husband dead at the top of a Ferris Wheel. But the deeper he digs, the more complex the case becomes, and Edmund soon finds himself drawn into a nightmarish web of conspiracy and murder. Before long he himself is implicated in not one but two seemingly impossible crimes.

First, a corpse appears out of thin air during a performance by famed illusionist “Professor Paolini” in front of a packed auditorium at the Pomegranate Theatre. Then a second victim is shot dead in a locked dressing room along one of the theatre’s winding backstage corridors. Edmund is in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time, and attracts the suspicion of Scotland Yard inspector George Flint. Luckily, conjuror-turned-detective Joseph Spector is on the scene. Only Spector’s uniquely logical perspective can pierce the veil of deceit in a world of illusion and misdirection, where seeing is not always believing.

The Murder Wheel by Tom Mead is published by Head of Zeus on 12th October at £20

More information about Tom Mead and his work can be found on his website. You can also find him on Facebook and on X @TomMeadAuthor and on Instagram @tommeadauthor

Richard and Judy Autumn Book Club Books Announced

Six books, including ones by Janice Hallett, Dinah Jefferies and Greg Hurwitz, have been chosen as Richard and Judy picks for the autumn Book Club, exclusive to W H Smith.

The selection of novels has been curated by Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan and range from adventure and thriller to comedy. 

Mystery writer Hallett’s The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels (Viper) features on the list. The book, which Finnegan describes as “creepy and  complicated”, lays out a new story in the author’s “inimitable cosy style of dossiers, emails, texts and recorded phone calls".

Jefferies historical novel Night Train to Marrakech (HarperCollins) has also been picked, making this the author’s third appearance in the Richard and Judy Book Club. The book is set in 1960s Morocco, and Madeley has praised Jeffries for capturing the atmosphere of Marrakech “better than anyone else I have ever read".

This is also the third Book Club nomination for Hurwitz, whose thriller The Last Orphan (Penguin) has also been selected as a book club pick. Meanwhile, Charlotte Levin’s "heart-warming" story If I Let You Go (Mantle) is also on the autumn list, as is The Traitor (Penguin) by former crime reporter and civil servant Ava Glass and We All Want Impossible Things (Doubleday), Catherine Newman’s debut novel about love and friendship. 

The six recommendations in this series are available in W H Smith stores across the UK and online. Moreover, the Richard and Judy Book Club podcast will also be returning for another series on 28th September, providing an introduction to each of the recommended titles from the authors in conversation with Madeley and Finnegan. 

Murder One, Ireland’s International Crime Writing Festival Returns

After some blockbuster standalone events with international crime-writing stars like Harlan Coben and Karin Slaughter, Murder One, Ireland’s International Crime Writing Festival is back in its weekend format from 6th-8th October in Dun Laoghaire’s stunning dlr LexIcon Library and Cultural Centre, only 30 minutes from Dublin airport and just south of Dublin city.

Former State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, kicks off the festival on Friday 6th.  Once a name synonymous with breaking news of high-profile crime cases, Dr Cassidy has turned her hand to crime fiction and she will be discussing her debut novel, Body of Truth, in conversation with bestselling crime writer, Liz Nugent. The festival will showcase the cream of Irish crime writing talent with Tana French, Jane Casey, Catherine Ryan Howard, Steve Cavanagh, Andrea Mara, Sam Blake, and Catherine Kirwan among those appearing on a range of solo events and hot-topic panels. UK visitors include the hugely popular, Sophie Hannah, 2023 Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year, Tom Benn, Alice Feeney, author of the phenomenally successful Daisy Darker, plus cosy crime specialist, British Book Awards winner Janice Hallett, and highly praised debutante, Alice Bell.

True crime fans can look forward to events with Award-winning political journalist, Harry McGee whose book, The Murderer and the Taoiseach, retraces the extraordinary happenings in Dublin’s notorious Malcolm Macarthur murder case while Northern Irish academics, Elaine Farrell & Leanne McCormick will discuss their bestselling book, Bad Bridget: Crime, Mayhem and the Lives of Irish Emigrant Women.  Aspiring writers can also sign up for workshops with all-star panels of literary agents, and editors on Friday 6th October.

Wherever your tastes in the crime genre lie, you will be gripped by the plot of MURDER ONE as it unfolds across three days at Dun Laoghaire’s stunning LexIcon Library and Cultural Centre. With free access to two 3 x 10 Readings in the Studio events that make the Festival accessible to all visitors, plus an onsite bookshop - MURDER ONE will have you hooked from the moment you enter the building.  With views of the sea and Dun Laoghaire harbour, easy access to the DART and bus routes, plus plenty of parking and restaurant options, Dun Laoghaire will be the perfect place to enjoy your favourite crime writers this autumn.

Crime is one of the biggest-selling genres in the book business and Ireland boasts some of the world’s top crime writers, Uniquely, MURDER ONE is run by crime author Sam Blake, who together with festival director Bert Wright, further aspires to establish MURDER ONE on the Irish festival circuit.

Sam Blake explains, “Murder One is supported by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Libraries and that library connection is true synergy for us – bringing new authors to new readers and new readers to authors is at the heart of both the festival and the library’s mission.”

Bert Wright said, “MURDER ONE has established a huge following among Irish crime fans in a short space of time and in a country that boasts so many successful crime writers, it’s a joy to get fans and writers together on an annual basis in an ideal location like Dun Laoghaire.  We’ve put together a stellar programme and we’re looking forward to sharing it with our loyal supports. It promises to be enormous fun.”

Catherine Gallagher, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Librarian said “we are delighted to be involved again this year with MURDER ONE and to see this festival continue to develop. Connecting readers and authors is a key part of our remit in dlr Libraries and for our readers crime books are consistently popular. We look forward to welcoming audiences old and new to dlr LexIcon in October.”

Tickets were launched on Monday 17th July. Visit www.murderone.ie for booking details or follow @MurderOneFest on Twitter.

Forthcoming books from Profile Books (Incl Serpent's Tail and Viper Books)

 July 2023

Sanderson's Isle is by James Clarke. 1969. Thomas Speake comes to London to look for his father but finds Sanderson instead, a larger-than-life TV presenter who hosts 'midweek madness' parties where the punch is spiked with acid. There Speake meets Marnie and promises to help her find her adoptive child, who has been taken by her birth mother to live off-grid in a hippie commune in the Lake District. Forced to lie low after a violent accident, Speake joins Sanderson on a tour of the Lake District, where he's researching a book to accompany his popular TV series, Sanderson's Isle. Fascinated by local rumours about the hippies, Sanderson joins the search for their whereabouts. Amid the fierce beauty of the mountains, the cult is forming the kind of community that Speake - a drifter who belongs nowhere - is desperate to find but has been sent to betray.

Elliott has never thought of himself as a hero. Until one dark night he meets Rebecca, a scared and vulnerable young woman who needs his help. There's a man harassing her, following her; would he mind pretending to be her boyfriend, just while she walks home, to put him off? And that is that - just a favour for a stranger - until there is a knock at Elliott's door. It's the man who was following Rebecca. He claims he's her ex-boyfriend, but it's clear that he's been stalking her. He's obsessed, dangerously so. He wants Rebecca, and will do anything to have her. When Elliott eventually tries to tell him the truth, the man doesn't believe him. The only way to save himself is to get Rebecca to explain. There's just one problem: Rebecca is nowhere to be found. And now it looks like one good deed will cost Elliott everything. One Good Deed is by David Jackson.

August 2023

When hate runs deep the innocent suffer. Constable Paul Hirschausen's rural beat in the low hills of South Australia is wide. Daybreak to day's end, dirt roads and dust. Every problem that besets small towns and isolated properties, from unlicensed driving to arson. But now, just as Hirsch has begun to feel he knows the fragile communities under his care, the isolation and fear of the pandemic have warped them into something angry and unrecognisable. Hirsch is seeing stresses heightened and social divisions cracking wide open. His own tolerance under strain; people getting close to the edge. Today he's driving an international visitor around: Janne Van Sant, whose backpacker son went missing while the borders were closed. They're checking out his last photo site, his last employer. A feeling that the stories don't quite add up. Then a call comes in: a roadside fire. Nothing much - a suitcase soaked in diesel and set alight - but two noteworthy facts emerge. Janne knows more than Hirsch about forensic evidence. And the body in the suitcase is not her son's. Day's End is by Garry Disher.

I have a gift. I see people as ghosts before they die. Of course, it helps that I'm the one killing them. The night after her father's funeral, Claire meets Lucas in a bar. Lucas doesn't know it, but it's not a chance meeting. One thoughtless mistyped email has put him in the crosshairs of an extremely put-out serial killer. But before they make eye contact, before Claire lets him buy her a drink, even before she takes him home and carves him up into little pieces, something about that night is very wrong. Because someone is watching Claire. Someone who is about to discover her murderous little hobby. The thing is, it's not sensible to tangle with a part-time serial killer, even one who is distracted by attending a weekly bereavement support group and trying to get her art career off the ground. Let the games begin... You'd Look Better as a Ghost is by Joanna Wallace. 

October 2023

Secrecy came naturally to John le Carre, and there were some secrets that he fought fiercely to keep. Adam Sisman's definitive biography, published in 2015, provided a revealing portrait of this fascinating man; yet some aspects of his subject remained hidden. Nowhere was this more so than in his private life. Apparently content in his marriage, the novelist conducted a string of love affairs over five decades. To these relationships he brought much of the tradecraft that he had learned as a spy - cover stories, cut-outs and dead letter boxes. These clandestine operations brought an element of danger to his life, but they also meant deceiving those closest to him. Small wonder that betrayal became a running theme in his work. In trying to manage his biography, the novelist engaged in a succession of skirmishes with his biographer. While he could control what Sisman wrote about him in his lifetime, he accepted that the truth would eventually become known. Following his death in 2020, what had been withheld can now be revealed. The Secret Life of John le Carre by Adam Sisman reveals a hitherto-hidden perspective on the life and work of the spy-turned-author and a fascinating meditation on the complex relationship between biographer and subject. 'Now that he is dead,' Sisman writes, 'we can know him better.'

Scarlet Town is by Leonora Nattrass. A rigged election. A feuding Cornish town. A suspicious death. And a perspicacious pig. Disgraced former Foreign Office clerk Laurence Jago and his larger-than-life employer the journalist William Philpott have escaped America - and Philpott's many creditors - by the skin of their teeth. They return to Laurence's home town of Helston in Cornwall in the hope of rest and recuperation, but instead find themselves in the middle of a tumultuous election that has the inhabitants of the town at one another's throats. Only two men may vote in this rotten borough, and when one of them dies in suspicious circumstances, Laurence is ordered to investigate on behalf of the town's political patron, his old master the Duke of Leeds. Then the second elector is poisoned and suspicion turns on the town doctor, the gentle Pythagoras Jago, Laurence's own cousin. Suddenly Laurence finds himself ensnared in generations of bad blood and petty rivalries, with his cousin's fate in his hands... 

One dead Santa. A town full of suspects. Will you discover the truth? Christmas in Lower Lockwood, and the Fairway Players are busy rehearsing their festive pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk, to raise money for the church roof appeal. But despite the season, goodwill is distinctly lacking amongst the amateur dramatics enthusiasts. Sarah-Jane is fending off threats to her new position as Chair, the fibreglass beanstalk might be full of asbestos, and a someone is intent on ruining the panto even before the curtain goes up. Of course there's also the matter of the dead body. Who could possibly have had the victim on their naughty list? Join lawyers Femi and Charlotte as they read the round robins, examine the emails and pore over the police transcripts. Will the show go on? The Christmas Appeal is by Janice Hallett.

November 2023

No Exit is by Simon Lewis. Inspector Jian and his daughter Weiwei just want to go back to their home in China: but Jian is facing a corruption charge in his absence and risks arrest. Instead he tries to scrape a living on London's meanest streets as an illegal immigrant, reduced to hustling Mah Jiang for cash. A bleak future looks to be growing bleaker still when a triad gang blackmail him into tracking down an unlikely young robber. In No Exit Jian and Weiwei scramble between London's grimiest bedsits and its swankiest penthouses as they penetrate the glittering world of 'princelings' - the rich children of the Chinese elite, who treat the city as their playground. Locked in a desperate struggle, with no way out in sight, It will take all their wiles, as well as some lucky gambles, to come out of this latest venture alive.

Crimewave Heads to Bristol

 

A crimewave is headed to Bristol as CrimeFest sees more than 150 authors take part in the crime fiction convention this May.

CrimeFest, which is sponsored by Specsavers, has revealed its full line up for the four-day celebration of the UK’s most popular genre, hosted at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel from Thursday 11 to Sunday 14 May, 2023.

Alongside 2023 featured guests - stalwarts of the genre, Mark Billingham and Elly Griffiths – around 50 panels will explore everything from crime fiction set during World War Two, to the crime genre in the digital age.

Panellists include Andrew Child, co-author of the Jack Reacher novels, adapted as Reacher by Amazon Prime, author of the award-winning crime series set in India, Vaseem Khan, and Robert Thorogood, the creator behind the smash-hit BBC One series, Death in Paradise.

As Nielson book data report that sales of crime fiction in 2022 are up 19% pre-pandemic levels, one panel explores today’s ‘New Golden Age’ with the leading authority of the original Golden Age of crime fiction, Martin Edwards, alongside Janice Hallett, best known for her phenomenally successful debut, The Appeal. The panel is chaired by Agatha Christie’s publisher, David Brawn.

Nielson book data also reported an “increased appetite” in ‘cosy crime’ in 2022 book sales. The panel, ‘Keeping it Cosy’ features the former journalist turned mystery writer, Fiona Veitch Smith, and author of the Lady Hardcastle mysteries, T E Kinsey.

Marking the 70th anniversary of the publication of Casino Royale, the first James Bond novel, this year’s Ghost of Honour commemorates Ian Fleming. The panel includes the first female 007 author, Kim Sherwood. She will be joined by Corinne Turner, managing director of Ian Fleming Publications, with panel moderator, Simon Brett.

Also attending from Colorado is the winner of last year’s CrimeFest Specsavers Debut Crime Novel award with Winter Counts, David Heska Wanbli Weiden. The Professor of Native American Studies and Political Science at Metropolitan State University of Denver is an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota nation. He was named by the New York Times as one of “the most critically acclaimed young novelists working now.”

He will feature on a panel with the Icelandic novelist, playwright, and former wife of the Prime Minister of Iceland, Jónína Leósdóttir.

The former police detective turned author, Graham Bartlett appears on the panel, ‘Society: What Crime Fiction Says About Us’. Bartlett has advised some of the biggest names in crime fiction to inject reality into procedurals, and has now turned to crime fiction, with his debut, Bad for Good.

Panellists also include the son of Dick Francis, the crime writer Felix Francis, creator of the Cait Morgan Mysteries Cathy Ace, the international number one bestselling author, Liz Nugent, and Antony Johnston, the New York Times-bestselling creator of Atomic Blonde, the hit movie based on his graphic novel.

Bristol author The Sunday Times bestselling author, C. L. Taylor, who has sold nearly two million copies of her books in the UK alone, also features. As does the multi-million bestselling author Adele Parks, who will be discussing plot twists in ‘A Twist in the Tale’ with her fellow blockbusting author, Lisa Jewell, who has topped the New York Times and Sunday Times charts.

Author, playwright and TV and radio producer Simon Brett features on a panel ‘Partners in Crime’, chaired by Kate Ellis, best known for her series of detective novels which blend history and mystery.

Kia Abdullah, whose novel Take it Back was a Guardian and Telegraph thriller of the year will be on the panel, ‘Protagonists Under Pressure’ with the Scottish author, Caro Ramsay.

Leading minds from the genre include the Financial Times crime fiction reviewer and genre expert, Barry Forshaw, the chair of the Crime Writers’ Association and all-round publishing polymath, Maxim Jakubowski, alongside the President of the Detection Club - the novelist and leading authority on crime fiction, Martin Edwards.

Highlights include the annual Pub Quiz with the journalist and author Peter Guttridge as the Inquisitor; Peter is also the Toastmaster at the annual CrimeFest Awards.

Bristol-born Dame Mary Lesley Perkins DBE co-founded the optician chain and is an avid reader. Dame Mary will attend the CrimeFest gala dinner and awards presentation, which features the CrimeFest Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award. The annual CrimeFest awards are now in their 16th year and honour the best crime books released in 2022 in the UK.

Director and co-founder of CrimeFest, Adrian Muller, said: “The fact that sales of the genre continue to rise, and it now dominates our TV screens shows the remarkable appeal of crime fiction. The line-up this year illustrates the wealth and breadth of topics behind a genre that not only offers escapism and entertainment, but can also give insights and comment on pressing issues in society.”

Donna Moore, co-founder of CrimeFest, added: “CrimeFest is a chance for readers and authors to mingle in a friendly, accessible, and fun setting. We hope people will come along, and be inspired.”

Panel topics explore humour in crime fiction, serial killers, psychological thrillers, and the importance of settings. A Fresh Blood panel will also showcase debut authors.

For those who think it’s a crime to miss Eurovision, CrimeFest will also be screening the Eurovision Final Song Contest on Saturday 13 May in the convention hotel.

CrimeFest runs at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel from 11-14 May, 2023. For details and to book, go to: https://www.crimefest.com/

The British Book Awards shortlists 2023

 

The British Book Awards shortlists have been announced!

The complete shortlists can be found here. 

Crime and Thriller shortlist 

Bamburg by L J Ross

Murder Before Evensong by Reverend Richard Coles

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett

Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

2022 CWA Dagger Awards Announced

 

Ray Celestin, Janice Hallett and Mark Billingham awarded 2022 CWA Daggers.

The winners of the 2022 CWA Daggers, which honour the very best in the crime writing genre, have been announced.

Ray Celestin takes home two Daggers for his novel Sunset Swing. Celestin was awarded the CWA Gold Dagger for the crime novel of the year as well as the Historical Dagger.

Sunset Swing is the closing act of Celestin’s City Blues Quartet set in Los Angeles at the end of 1967. Judges praised the novel for its cast of original characters that mingle with historical figures on a big and ‘evocative canvas’.

Maxim Jakubowski, Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association, said: “This is a book bursting with heart, soul and spirit, at once all-encompassing and intimate, superbly paced and immaculately constructed. It’s a testimony to this book that Ray has scooped not just one, but two CWA Daggers.”

Past winners of the CWA Gold Dagger include John le Carré, Reginald Hill and Ruth Rendell.

The prestigious 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.

The winner of the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger is MW Craven for Dead Ground. Awarded for best thriller, the Dagger is sponsored by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd, the Fleming family-owned company that looks after the James Bond literary brand.

MW Craven credited the CWA Debut Dagger competition in 2013 for opening the door to his career as an author. He went on to win the CWA Gold Dagger in 2019 for The Puppet Show.

Dead Ground was praised by the judges for its complex characters and deftly constructed plot: “Once again Craven proves himself the master in the art of writing suspense and action.”

The anticipated John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger highlights the best debut novels.

This year the accolade goes to Janice Hallet for The Appeal, which was a Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year, praised as a “dazzlingly clever cosy crime novel”.

The ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction goes to Julia Laite for The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey: A True Story of Sex, Crime and the Meaning of Justice, a poignant account of the short life of a New Zealand woman trafficked as part of the burgeoning sex trade at the start of the twentieth century.

This is the first year the Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger has been sponsored by the CWA Chair, Maxim Jakubowski, in honour of his wife Dolores Jakubowski, now suffering from Alzheimer’s, who was a translator and university lecturer, and a great friend to the crime-writing community. Maxim will sponsor the Dagger in her honour in perpetuity.

This year the Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger 2022, sponsored in honour of Dolores Jakubowski, goes to Simone Buchholz for Hotel Cartagena, a tense hostage drama set in a hotel in Hamburg.

The CWA Daggers are one of the few high-profile awards that honour the short story. Paul Magrs scoops the award for ‘Flesh of a Fancy Woman’, praised as “a wonderfully evocative mix of the Dickensian and the Ealing black and white films.”

The Dagger in the Library is voted on exclusively by librarians, chosen for the author’s body of work and support of libraries. This year it goes to Mark Billingham. After a career as an actor and stand-up comedian, Billingham published his first crime novel in 2001. He’s best known for his London-based detective Tom Thorne, which series was adapted by Sky TV starring David Morrissey. His latest book is Rabbit Hole.

This year the chair of the Dagger in the Library judges, Sue Wilkinson MBE, sadly died. At the event the CWA paid tribute to Sue for her passion for reading and her hard work, and thanked Ian Anstice for assuming the role of Acting Chair.

One of the anticipated highlights of the annual Daggers is the Debut Dagger competition, open only to uncontracted writers. The competition can lead to securing representation and a publishing contract – corporate and associate members of the CWA can access the shortlisted entries and often go on to make offers to the writers.

This year, the winner of the Debut Dagger 2022 sponsored by ProWritingAid is Anna Maloney, who has written for TV and works as a script consultant. Her novel, The 10:12, is about a train hijacking and the woman who leads a counter attack, and the aftermath.

The Dagger for the Best Crime and Mystery Publisher, which celebrates publishers and imprints demonstrating excellence and diversity in crime writing, goes to Faber & Faber. The shortlist is selected by a representative group of leading book reviewers, booksellers, agents and journalists.

The CWA’s Red Herring, for services to crime writing and the CWA, was awarded posthumously in memory of Thalia Proctor, who died this year aged 51, and was highly regarded in publishing circles. Maxim said: “Thalia endeared herself to everyone and will be sadly missed.” Her family were present to collect the award.

The CWA Diamond Dagger, awarded to an author whose crime-writing career has been marked by sustained excellence, is announced in early spring each year and in 2022 it was awarded to CJ Sansom, author of the acclaimed Matthew Shardlake series set in Tudor times, as well as standalones such as alternative history Dominion.

On the night, the previous two winners of the Diamond Dagger, Martina Cole in 2021 and Martin Edwards in 2020, were also celebrated after the hiatus of the pandemic.

The winners were announced at a Gala Dinner at the Leonardo City Hotel on Cooper’s Row in London on Wednesday 29 June. The ceremony was compered by genre expert and author, Barry Forshaw, and bestselling author Victoria Selman. CWA Booksellers Champion and bestselling author Elly Griffiths was the after-dinner speaker.

Maxim said: “It’s always an honour to be part of the annual Dagger awards. This year feels extra special as it’s the first time we’ve gathered to celebrate the best in crime writing since 2019. I’d like to congratulate not only all the winners, but also all those shortlisted. It’s a terrific achievement.”

One of the UK’s most prominent societies, the CWA was founded in 1953 by John Creasey; the awards started in 1955 with its first award going to Winston Graham, best known for Poldark.

Dagger Winners 2022

CWA GOLD DAGGER

Sunset Swing by Ray Celestin (Macmillan; Mantle)

CWA IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER

Dead Ground by MW Craven (Little, Brown; Constable)

CWA JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD) DAGGER

The Appeal by Janice Hallett (Profile Books; Viper Books)

CWA HISTORICAL DAGGER

Sunset Swing, by Ray Celestin (Pan Macmillan; Mantle)

CWA ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION

The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey: A True Story of Sex, Crime and the Meaning of Justice by Julia Laite (Profile Books)

CWA CRIME FICTION IN TRANSLATION DAGGER sponsored in honour of Dolores Jakubowski

Hotel Cartagena by Simone Buchholz and translated by Rachel Ward (Orenda Books)

CWA SHORT STORY DAGGER

‘Flesh of a Fancy Woman’ by Paul Magrs in Criminal Pursuits: Crime Through Time edited by Samantha Lee Howe (Telos Publishing)

CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY

Mark Billingham

CWA PUBLISHERS DAGGER

Faber & Faber

CWA DEBUT DAGGER sponsored by ProWritingAid

The 10:12 by Anna Maloney

THE CWA RED HERRING for services to crime writing and the CWA

In memory of Thalia Proctor

CWA Dagger Award Shortlists Announced

The 2022 shortlists for the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Dagger awards, which honour the very best in the crime-writing genre, have been announced.

Created in 1955, the world-famous CWA Daggers are the oldest awards in the genre and have been synonymous with quality crime writing for over half a century.

The Gold Dagger, which recognises the crime novel of the year, sees debut author Jacqueline Bublitz on the shortlist of six. Before You Knew My Name was called “extraordinary” by the CWA judges. Also in contention are Abir Mukherjee, a previous winner of the CWA Historical Dagger for The Shadows of Men praised for its “intricate plotting”, and the bestselling ‘Southern noir’ crime writer, SA Cosby, for Razorblade Tears.

Razorblade Tears, a dynamic revenge thriller that “pulls at the heartstrings” also makes it onto the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger shortlist. Sponsored by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd, the Fleming family-owned company that looks after the James Bond literary brand, this award celebrates the thriller of the year. Cosby is up against past CWA Gold Dagger winner, MW Craven, who is in contention with Dead Ground, alongside established names including Laura Lippman and Linwood Barclay.

The anticipated John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger is awarded to the best debut novel of the year. Among the rising stars is Janice Hallett, shortlisted with her debut The Appeal, which was a Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year, praised as a “dazzlingly clever cosy crime novel”. Also on the shortlist is How to Kidnap the Rich by Rahul Raina, described by The Times as a “joyous love/hate letter to contemporary Delhi.”

Booker Prize winner John Banville is a heavyweight contender on the Historical Dagger shortlist. The prizewinning novelist and literary polymath is in the running for April in Spain. Banville is up against Ray Celestin whose novel set in 1960s Los Angeles, Sunset Swing, is also up for the Gold Dagger.

The Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger sees the award-winning Finnish author Antti Tuomainen make the shortlist with The Rabbit Factor translated by David Hackston. It follows the quirky story of a statistical mathematician, who finds himself mixed up with shady businessmen. He’s up against the high-profile Bullet Train by Kōtarō Isaka, translated by Sam Malissa, which is set to hit cinemas starring Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock.

Maxim Jakubowski, Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association, said: “So many good titles and authors appeared on our long lists, but in a year of such overall excellence, to reach the shortlist is a terrific achievement. Congratulations to all the nominees, writers both established and new, publishers large and small; a diversity of quality demonstrating the independence of our judges.”

The CWA Daggers are one of the few high-profile awards that honour the short story. This year sees the bestselling Norwegian juggernaut Jo Nesbø on the shortlist with his story “London” from his first book of short stories, The Jealousy Man. Novelists Caroline England and Bryony Pearce are other names on the list.

The ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction shortlist includes the “absorbing” account of a trafficked New Zealand woman in The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey by Julia Laite. Also, Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe makes the list with his account of the Sackler family, who exploited America’s pain industry, fuelling the opioid epidemic. Judges praised it as a “tribute to investigative journalism”.

The Dagger in the Library is voted on exclusively by librarians, chosen for the author’s body of work and support of libraries. This year sees firm favourites from the genre on the shortlist: Cath Staincliffe, Edward Marston, Lin Anderson, Mark Billingham and Susan Hill.

The Best Crime and Mystery Publisher of the Year Dagger, which celebrates publishers and imprints demonstrating excellence and diversity in crime writing, sees publishing goliath HarperCollins on the list with its imprint Harper Fiction, as well as independent publisher Titan Books, part of the Titan Entertainment Group, which began life in the Forbidden Planet store in London.

The Daggers also celebrate unpublished authors with its annual competition for aspiring crime novelists. The competition to find the best new voices in the genre has been going for over 20 years. The winner will receive £500 as well as the attention of leading agents and top editors; over two dozen past winners and shortlisted Debut Dagger authors have been signed to date.

The CWA Diamond Dagger, awarded to an author whose crime-writing career has been marked by sustained excellence, is announced in early spring each year and in 2022 it was awarded to CJ Sansom.

The CWA Dagger shortlists were announced on 13 May at a reception hosted at CrimeFest.

The Dagger awards ceremony will be held at he Leonardo City hotel in London on 29 June, coinciding with National Crime Reading Month, which takes place throughout June. Tickets are available now from the CWA.

The Shortlists in Full:

GOLD DAGGER

Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz (Little, Brown; Sphere)

Sunset Swing by Ray Celestin (Pan Macmillan; Mantle)

Razorblade Tears by SA Cosby (Headline Publishing Group; Headline)

The Unwilling by John Hart (Bonnier Books UK Ltd; Zaffre)

The Shadows of Men by Abir Mukherjee (Penguin Random House; Harvill Secker)

The Trawlerman by William Shaw (Quercus; Riverrun)

IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER

Find You First by Linwood Barclay (HarperCollins; HQ)

The Pact by Sharon Bolton (Orion)

The Devil’s Advocate by Steve Cavanagh (Orion)

Razorblade Tears by SA Cosby (Headline Publishing Group)

Dead Ground by MW Craven (Little, Brown; Constable)

Dream Girl by Laura Lippman (Faber)

JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD) DAGGER

Welcome to Cooper by Tariq Ashkanani (Thomas & Mercer)

Repentance by Eloísa Díaz (Orion Publishing Group; Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

The Mash House by Alan Gillespie (Unbound; Unbound Digital)

The Appeal by Janice Hallett (Profile Books; Viper Books)

Where Ravens Roost by Karin Nordin (HarperCollins; HQ)

How to Kidnap the Rich by Rahul Raina (Little, Brown)

Waking the Tiger by Mark Wightman (Hobeck Books)

HISTORICAL DAGGER

April in Spain by John Banville (Faber)

Sunset Swing  by Ray Celestin (Pan Macmillan; Mantle)

Crow Court by Andy Charman (Unbound)

Not One of Us by Alis Hawkins (Canelo)

Edge of the Grave by Robbie Morrison (Pan Macmillan; Macmillan)

A Corruption of Blood by Ambrose Parry (Canongate Books)

CRIME FICTION IN TRANSLATION DAGGER

Hotel Cartagena by Simone Buchholz translated by Rachel Ward (Orenda Books)

Bullet Train by Kōtarō Isaka translated by Sam Malissa (Penguin Random House; Harvill Secker)

Oxygen by Sacha Naspini translated by Clarissa Botsford (Europa Editions UK Ltd; Europa Editions)

People Like Them by Samira Sedira translated by Lara Vergnaud (Bloomsbury Publishing; Raven Books)

The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen translated by David Hackston (Orenda Books)

SHORT STORY DAGGER

‘Blindsided’ by Caroline England in Criminal Pursuits: Crime Through Time edited by Samantha Lee Howe (Telos Publishing)

‘London’ in The Jealousy Man and other stories by Jo Nesbⱷ edited by Robert Ferguson (Penguin Random House; Harvill Secker)

‘With the Others’ by TM Logan in Afraid of the Shadows edited by Miranda Jewess (Criminal Minds)

‘Flesh of a Fancy Woman’ by Paul Magrs in Criminal Pursuits: Crime Through Time edited by Samantha Lee Howe (Telos Publishing)

‘Changeling’ by Bryony Pearce in Criminal Pursuits: Crime Through Time edited by Samantha Lee Howe (Telos Publishing)

‘When I Grow Up’ by Robert Scragg in Afraid of the Shadows edited by Miranda Jewess (Criminal Minds)

ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION

The Devil You Know: Stories of Human Cruelty and Compassion by Dr Gwen Adshead & Eileen Horne (Faber)

The Dublin Railway Murder by Thomas Morris (Penguin Random House; Harvill Secker)

The Unusual Suspect by Ben Machell (Canongate Books)

The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey: A true story of sex, crime and the meaning of justice, by Julia Laite (Profile Books)

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe (Pan Macmillan; Picador)

The Irish Assassins: Conspiracy, Revenge and the Murders that Stunned an Empire by Julie Kavanagh (Atlantic Books; Grove Press UK)

DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY

Cath Staincliffe

Edward Marston

Lin Anderson

Mark Billingham

Susan Hill

PUBLISHERS’ DAGGER

Faber & Faber

HarperCollins; Harper Fiction

Penguin Random House; Michael Joseph

Pushkin Press; Pushkin Vertigo

Titan Books

Profile Books; Viper

DEBUT DAGGER Sponsored by ProWritingAid

Henry’s Bomb by Kevin Bartlett

Holloway Castle by Laura Ashton Hill

The 10:12 by Anna Maloney

The Dead of Egypt by David Smith

The Dieppe Letters by Liz Rachel Walker

CWA Daggers – The Categories

GOLD DAGGER

This award is for the best crime novel by an author of any nationality. It was originally created in 1955, under the name of the Crossed Red Herrings Award. It was renamed the Gold Dagger in 1960.

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.

JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD) DAGGER

This award is for the best crime novel by a first-time author of any nationality.

CRIME FICTION IN TRANSLATION

This award is for a crime novel not originally written in English and which has been translated into English for UK publication.

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.

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.

CWA 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.

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.

DEBUT DAGGER sponsored by ProWritingAid

A competition for the opening of a crime novel and synopsis, chosen by judges.

PUBLISHERS’ DAGGER

This prestigious Dagger is awarded annually to the Best Crime and Mystery Publisher of the Year.

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.