THE SPECSAVERS CRIME THRILLER AWARDS 2009 CUT TO THE HEART OF FILM, TV AND BOOKS
London, 1st September, 2009—Specsavers, Cactus TV and ITV3 in partnership with the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) are pleased to announce they will join forces to celebrate the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2009. Following the success of last year’s inaugural event on ITV3, the 2009 event will be merged with the Crime Writers’ Association Daggers and the new combined “Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards on ITV3” will take place on Wednesday, 21st October, 2009.
The exciting new partnership is a 3 year deal between the four parties. The initiative has the support of leading publishers and highstreet retailers and will have posters and stickered books in shops and supermarkets and coverage in the press, reinforcing the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards as a major industry event.
The culmination of a six-week season of ITV3 crime and drama programming, the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards (“Daggers”) will be a glittering occasion at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel. The awards ceremony will celebrate the crème de la crème of Crime & Thriller fiction with awards focusing on the best of British and International crime thriller novels.
Literary Awards presented will include the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year, the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for best thriller, the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger for a new author of note, and the Hall Of Fame Dagger, which honours the achievements of the genre’s greatest exponents, past and present. In addition, the evening will introduce a brand new award – the ITV3 Bestseller Dagger, sponsored by Specsavers – voted for by ITV3 viewers.
The Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards will also celebrate crime fiction off the page with awards focusing on the greatest crime and thriller films and TV dramas of the year – along with the actors who brought the characters to life. Each award of the evening will be presented by celebrity faces with a connection to the world of crime fiction – last year’s presenter’s included Dame Helen Mirren and Ricky Gervais.
Crime Writers’ Association Chair Margaret Murphy comments: “The Crime Writers’ Association Daggers have been synonymous with quality crime writing for over fifty years. This exciting partnership with Cactus TV and ITV3 will enable us to create a mass media platform for the Crime Writers’ Association’s proud heritage in recognising great crime writing talent. We are delighted that the CWA Gold Dagger, Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, and John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger will benefit from this increased exposure and we look forward to reaching a new audience for what is already publishing’s most popular genre.”
Specsavers have been appointed as event sponsor and are keen to pursue an involvement with the audience for crime writing, whether it be readers, TV viewers or film goers. The 3 year partnership between Specsavers, Cactus TV, ITV3 and the Crime Writers’ Association represents a serious move into entertainment and arts sponsorship for the UK’s market-leading optician.
Specsavers marketing director, Richard Holmes, says: “The Specsavers brand has a wonderful fit with both reading and books. To have an association married so neatly through the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards is a great opportunity not just for Spescavers but also the publishing and book retail industries as we work together to lift the profile of the awards.”
In the run-up to the glittering awards, ITV3 will broadcast weekly documentaries, profiling six of the greatest crime writers working today: Colin Dexter, Ian Rankin, P D James, Lynda La Plante, Val McDermid and Ruth Rendell. In 2008, the series reached 3.12m viewers. These documentaries will also highlight the shortlists for the new literary awards as well as interviews with the shortlisted writers for the the ITV3 Bestseller Dagger, sponsored by Specsavers.
The Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards are commissioned by Claire Zolkwer, Commissioning Editor, Entertainment on behalf of Emma Tennant, Controller ITV Digital Channels. The Executive Producer for Cactus TV is Amanda Ross.
Claire Zolkwer said: “Last year’s Crime Thriller Season showcased the wonderful assets we have in crime and thriller drama while also giving us the opportunity to introduce the author talent behind some of the best loved series on television. ITV3 is delighted to be working with Cactus TV once again on this popular project and playing our part in bringing the illustrious ‘Daggers’ into the nation’s sitting rooms.”
Amanda Ross, Managing Director Cactus TV, adds: “We are delighted to have a new 3-year partnership with the Crime Writers’ Association to ensure the future of the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards and to establish it as a major event in the awards calendar. This is an extremely popular fiction genre and we will ensure that its creators and performers get the recognition they richly deserve.”
The televised ceremony which will transmit on ITV3 later in October will combine the Crime Writers’ Association’s most prestigious awards with the major categories featured in 2009’s Crime Thriller Awards:
· The CWA Gold Dagger for the best Crime Novel of the year.
· The CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger – for first books by previously unpublished writers, awarded in memory of CWA founder John Creasey.
· The CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger – for the year’s best thriller.
· The ITV3 Bestseller Dagger, sponsored by Specsavers – voted for by ITV3 viewers.
· The Hall of Fame – honouring the achievements of the genre’s greatest exponents, past and present.
· The Film Dagger – for the best big-screen crime thriller story.
· The TV Dagger – for the best small-screen crime thriller drama.
· The International TV Dagger – for the best TV crime thriller drama from around the world.
· The Best Actress Dagger – for the female star of a crime thriller drama.
· The Best Actor Dagger - for the male star of a crime thriller drama.
The shortlists for each of these award categories will be announced to the public on 4th September, 2009.
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