Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Steph McGovern, Lisa Jewell and Abir Mukherjee announced as winners of the 2026 Fingerprint Awards on Capital Crime’s opening night
Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Lisa Jewell, Steph McGovern, Abir Mukherjee, Will Carver and MW Craven announced as winners across seven categories, with Jewell winning both Audiobook of the Year and Thriller of the Year
Jeffrey Archer awarded Lifetime Achievement Award, after a 50-year publishing career
Industry awards recognise Pan Macmillan for The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson for Crime Campaign Publisher of the Year Award and Publishing Director Trisha Jackson for Thalia Proctor Lifetime Achievement Award.
Early bird tickets announced for 2027 festival, with an exciting new venue
Hosted by acclaimed radio and TV broadcaster, and host of The Bookshelf Podcast Ryan Tubridy, the fifth annual Fingerprint Award winners were announced last night (Thursday 18th June), in a ceremony that marked the beginning of Capital Crime 2026.
The Fingerprint Awards reflect Goldsboro Books and Capital Crime’s enduring mission to connect with passionate reading communities, bringing together fans and storytellers through unique events and experiences that celebrate their mutual love of great crime writing. Chosen by readers, the winners are across seven categories: Crime, Thriller, Historical Crime, Debut, True Crime, Genre-Busting and Audiobook of the Year.
The late Virginia Roberts Giuffre received the True Crime award posthumously for Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, a powerful and harrowing account of the abuse she said she suffered at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and others.
Lisa Jewell’s #1 bestseller Don’t Let Him In has won for two categories: Thriller of the Year and Audiobook of the Year. M.W. Craven wins Crime Book of the Year for a second year in row, having won last year for The Mercy Chair, and retains the crown this year with The Final Vow.
Will Carver, whose website describes him as ‘an award-losing writer of 'wildly original' fiction’ has won the Genre-Busting Book of the Year for Kill Them With Kindness.
Broadcaster Steph McGovern won the Debut Book of the Year for Deadline,and CWA Gold Dagger-winning author Abir Mukherjee won the Historical Crime Book of the Year for The Burning Grounds, the latest in his award-winning Wyndham and Bannerjee series set during the Raj.
In addition, global bestseller Jeffrey Archer, who earlier this year announced that his next book Adam and Eve would be his last, was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s The Art of a Lie, which was shortlisted for Historical Crime Book of the Year, took Publishing Campaign of the Year. The award was given to Pan Macmillan for their unmissable campaign, marking ‘a step up for a hugely talented author’ by the Capital Crime Advisory Board, which is made up of leading publishers, editors, booksellers, authors, bloggers and journalists from the crime writing community.
David Headley, co-founder of Capital Crime, presented the Thalia Proctor Lifetime Achievement Award to Trisha Jackson, Publishing Director for Pan Macmillan, commending her passion and ability to nurture and support careers, saying: ‘She believed in David Baldacci before he became a global phenomenon. She championed Kristin Hannah years before her extraordinary success. She has spent a decade supporting Fiona Cummins and countless other writers. She’s amazing.’
The awards launched the first evening of Capital Crime, which sees a star-studded and thought-provoking weekend for lovers of crime-fiction. Welcoming debut authors and crime-writing royalty alike, panels include: The Rebels Behind The Hero with Lee Child & Andrew Child in conversation with Stig Abell; Closed Communities and Secrets That Fester: Jane Casey, Liz Nugent & Ardal O’Hanlon join Brian McGilloway to discuss why Ireland is such fertile ground for crime fiction; and Christie Coded, marking the 50th anniversary of Dame Agatha Christie’s death, with Hazell Ward, Sophie Hannah, Lucy Foley and Kelly Mullen.
Headley and Festival Director Lizzie Curle also revealed that the 2027 event will take place from Friday 28 May to Sunday 30 May 2027 at an impressive new home, The Brewery, near the Barbican. Marking a major milestone in the festival’s growth, the move reflects Capital Crime’s expanding popularity as it outgrows its current venue, with the new space offering an outdoor covered bar area, larger exhibition spaces, discounted hotel rooms and what is set to become the biggest bookshop at any crime fiction festival in the UK. Early Bird weekend tickets are now on sale.
The Fingerprint Award Winners
Crime Book of the Year
The Final Vow by M.W. Craven (Little, Brown)
Thriller Book of the Year
Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell (Penguin)
Historical Crime Book of the Year
The Burning Grounds by Abir Mukherjee (Vintage)
Debut Book of the Year
Deadline by Steph McGovern (Macmillan)
Genre-Busting Book of the Year
Kill Them With Kindness by Will Carver (Orenda Books)
True Crime Book of the Year
Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre (Penguin)
Audiobook of the Year
Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell (Penguin), narrated by Richard Armitage, Joanne Froggatt, Louise Brealey, Gemma Whelan, Tamaryn Payne
Publishing Campaign of the Year
Pan Macmillan for The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
Lifetime Achievement Award
Jeffrey Archer
Thalia Proctor Lifetime Achievement
Trisha Jackson, former Publishing Director at Pan Macmillan
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