IS THIS A DAGGER I SEE BEFORE ME?

I was amongst the 100 people attending the 2008 CWA Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award dinner last night. It turned into an evening full of surprises and emotional speeches. Yes, Frances Fyfield?



And the runners and riders are:

Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award: Blood from Stone, by Frances Fyfield (Little, Brown)

Also nominated: The Tin Roof Blowdown, by James Lee Burke (Orion); The Coroner’s Lunch, by Colin Cotterill (Quercus); Night Work, by Steve Hamilton (Orion); What the Dead Know, by Laura Lippman (Orion); and A Vengeful Longing, by R.N. Morris (Faber & Faber)

Duncan Lawrie International Dagger: Lorraine Connection, by Dominique Manotti, translated by Amanda Hopkinson and Ros Schwartz (EuroCrime, Arcadia Books)

Also nominated: The Patience of the Spider, by Andrea Camilleri, translated by Stephen Sartarelli (Picador, Macmillan); The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson, translated by Reg Keeland (MacLehose Press, Quercus); A Deal with the Devil, by Martin Suter, translated by Peter Millar (EuroCrime, Arcadia Books); and This Night’s Foul Work, by Fred Vargas, translated by Sîan Reynolds (Harvill Secker, Random House)

CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger: Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith (Simon & Schuster)

Highly recommended: The Echelon Vendetta, by David Stone (Penguin)

Also nominated: Ritual, by Mo Hayder (Transworld); I See You (aka The Crime Writer), by Gregg Hurwitz (Little, Brown); and Shatter, by Michael Robotham (Sphere/Little, Brown)

CWA Gold Dagger for Non-fiction: Nationality: Wog--The Hounding of David Oluwale, by Kester Aspden (Jonathan Cape, Random House)

Also nominated: The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed Bishop Gerardi, by Francisco Goldman (Atlantic Books); Violation, by David Rose (HarperPress); The Lost Boy, by Duncan Staff (Bantam Press); The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, or The Murder at Road Hill House, by Kate Summerscale (Bloomsbury); and Into the Darkness, by Peter Zimonjic (Vintage Books, Random House)

CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger: The Bethlehem Murders (American title: The Collaborator of Bethlehem), by Matt (Beynon) Rees (Atlantic Books)

Also nominated: The Night of the Mi’raj (American title: Finding Nouf), by Zoë Ferraris (Little, Brown); Die with Me, by Elena Forbes (Quercus); Absolution, by Caro Ramsay (Michael Joseph, Penguin); and Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith (Simon & Schuster)

CWA Dagger in the Library (awarded each year to “the author of crime fiction whose work is currently giving the greatest enjoyment to library users”): Craig Russell

Highly commended: C.J. Sansom

Also nominated: Elizabeth Corley, Andrew Martin, Denise Mina, and Chris Simms

CWA Short Story Dagger: “The Bookbinder’s Apprentice,” by Martin Edwards (from The Mammoth Book of Best British Mysteries, edited by Maxim Jakubowkski; Constable Robinson)

Highly commended: “Glazed,” by Danuta Reah (from Getting Even: Revenge Stories, edited by Mitzi Szereto; Serpent’s Tail)

Also nominated: “Provenance,” by Robert Barnard (from The Mammoth Book of Best British Mysteries); “One Dollar Jackpot,” by Michael Connelly (from Dead Man’s Hand, edited by Otto Penzler; Quercus); and “One True Love,” by Laura Lippman (from Best American Mystery Stories 2007, edited by Otto Penzler and Carl Hiaasen; Quercus)

CWA Debut Dagger (for unpublished work): Western Fringes, by Amer Anwar (UK)

Highly commended: Blacklands, by Belinda Bauer (UK)

Also nominated: Desert Storm, by Russell Colman (Canada); The Eclipse of Lilith, by Peter Dewar (UK); Nite Lite, by Bill Harrison (Canada); The Stench of Lilies, by Alison Marlow (UK); The Book of Souls, by James Oswald (UK); Wearing the Spider, by Susan Schaab (USA); Devils and Disciples, by Ian Simpson (UK); and All the Wrong People, by P.J. Watson (USA)