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,
Ray Celestin (Macmillan;
Mantle)
CWA IAN FLEMING
STEEL DAGGER
Dead Ground, MW Craven (Little, Brown; Constable)
CWA JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD) DAGGER
The Appeal, Janice Hallett (Profile Books; Viper Books)
CWA
HISTORICAL DAGGER
Sunset Swing, 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, Julia Laite (Profile Books)
CWA
CRIME FICTION IN TRANSLATION DAGGER
sponsored in honour of Dolores Jakubowski
Hotel Cartagena, 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
Tess
Stimson is
the British author of ten novels, including top-ten bestseller The
Adultery Club, and two non-fiction books, which between them have been
translated into dozens of languages. Her first "proper" job after
graduating from St Hilda's College, Oxford (where she read English) was as a
news trainee with ITN (Independent Television News). She reported and produced
regional and world stories, travelling to hotspots and war-zones all over the
globe. In 2002, she was appointed Professor of Creative Writing at the
University of South Florida and moved to the US. She now lives and works in
Vermont with her husband, Erik, their three children, and (at the last count)
two cats, three fish, one gerbil and a large number of bats in the attic.