Wednesday, July 17, 2013

CWA announces the winners of its prestigious daggers


Some two hundred agents, publishers and authors joined an awards dinner at Kings Place, London, to hear who had been chosen as recipients of the 2013 CWA Daggers.

Alison Joseph, Chair of the CWA said:

The announcement of the Daggers Awards is always an exciting moment in the CWA's calendar.  For months our judges have been reading all the entries, in all the categories, and once again their shortlists show their care, discernment and thoughtfulness.  The awards dinner is the culmination of all their hard work. It is an opportunity to celebrate the best of our genre, to award our most talented authors and, most important of all, to introduce our ever-growing readership to more books they will enjoy.

CWA INTERNATIONAL DAGGER

For the first time the judges divided the CWA International Dagger between two books: Ghost Riders of Ordebec by Fred Vargas, translated by Siân Reynolds, and Alex by Pierre Lemaitre, translated by Frank Wynne.

Alison Joseph said:

“The International Dagger came about because the CWA became aware that international crime writing was developing its own momentum, becoming something worth celebrating on its own terms.  To try to judge international crime fiction when jumbled in with UK publications simply didn't do justice to the richness of the genre when explored within different cultures and different viewpoints. This year's winners have borne that out. This year's Dagger is shared between two extraordinary talents, so extraordinary that they have had to share the glory. The crime fiction emerging from France is very exciting - so exciting, that the CWA is planning to establish a French Chapter in the near future.”

CWA NON-FICTION DAGGER

The CWA Non-Fiction dagger was awarded to Paul French for Midnight in Peking with the judges praising the way he brilliantly evoked the uneasy atmosphere of China’s capital 80 years ago, and the sordid exploits of the Anglophone expat community. Richard Hoskin’s The Boy in the River was also highly commended by judges.

CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY

The CWA Dagger in the Library, sponsored by Dead Good (The Random House Group) was awarded to Belinda Bauer who had impressed the judges with her fourth novel Rubbernecker. Belinda’s first novel, Blacklands, won the CWA Gold Dagger in 2010 and she was also shortlisted for the CWA Dagger in the Library Award in 2012.

CWA SHORT STORY DAGGER

Come Away with Me by Stella Duffy has won the 2013 CWA Short Story Dagger. Stella was presented with her Dagger by Ayo Onatade with the comment that the judges had found this story of a surprise trip to Venice that turned into a complex game of cat and mouse was “haunting and memorable.”

CWA ELLIS PETERS HISTORICAL DAGGER

The CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger was awarded to Andrew Taylor for The Scent of Death, published by HarperCollins. This is the third time that Taylor has won this prize, having triumphed in 2001 (The Office of the Dead) and 2003 (The American Boy)

CWA DEBUT DAGGER

Finn Clarke was presented with the CWA Debut Dagger for her story Call Time which the judges said was tense, with an unexpected twist in the plot.

Alison Joseph said 'To read the submissions for the debut dagger is to be reminded, once again, how successful the genre of crime fiction is. Many of the submissions are from people who have come to writing as readers, and their enthusiasm for the genre is palpable in their own work.  The successful submissions show how our genre can endlessly re-create itself, with works that push against the boundaries, that find new ways of telling their story.  Past winners of the Debut Dagger have gone on to become very successful crime authors, and I am sure that this year will prove no exception.'


CWA DIAMOND DAGGER

The final dagger of the evening was the CWA Diamond Dagger – which is voted for by members of the CWA and celebrates an author with an outstanding body of work in crime fiction. This was presented to Lee Child by Frederick Forsyth, who was the recipient of this award in 2012. Past winners include Val McDermid, Ian Rankin and Elmore Leonard.

Joseph continued: 'Lee Child's stories are large-scale, heart-stopping thrillers, roaming across wide-open global spaces in the cause of thwarting evil. In Jack Reacher,  Lee has created a hero like no other, beloved of millions of readers around the world. And his creator is just as well-loved. He is a delight to work with; loyal, straightforward, generous to readers and to new writers.  He combines a successful philosophy about what it is to write best sellers with a huge amount of talent.  We are delighted to award him the 2013 CWA Diamond Dagger.'

Alison Joseph concludes:

“There were so many exciting things about the evening that I don't know where to start.  It was a celebration from start to finish. A celebration of our genre, of its continuing popularity in what we know are difficult times for publishing; a celebration of the talent of crime and thriller writers, both established authors continuing to tell extraordinary and compelling tales, and also of emerging authors, beginning to find their own story-telling voice;  a celebration of the publishers who continue to support our genre, who  make sure that our work reaches the readers who (rightly) love it so. It was an opportunity to thank our sponsors, to thank the behind-the-scenes workers, the CWA committee who put in so much hard work, the judges who work tirelessly to read all the submissions in all the different categories, and who reach their conclusions with thoughtfulness and discernment, and also Lucy Santos, our Director, without whom none of it would have happened at all. It was an opportunity to meet new writers, to greet old friends, to  dig out one of my lovely evening dresses and find that the moth hadn't got to it - in fact, a success in every way.”

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