CWA Dagger Awards and Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2013

Mike Stotter, Ayo Onatade & Ali Karim

The Shots team of Mike Stotter, Ayo Onatade and Ali Karim joined fellow crime writers, that included nominated authors such as Stuart Neville, Andrew Taylor, Malcolm McKay, Lauren Beukes, Belinda Bauers, Mick Herron, Derek B Miller and Christopher Fowler (to name a few), Lee Child, Peter James, Ian Rankin, Alison Joseph, Len Tyler, Mark Billingham, CWA judges and members of stage and screen at the Grosvenor Hotel Ballroom in London for the presentation of the CWA Daggers and the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards.

 

The formal press release can be read below! 

David Tennant and Olivia Colman led ITV’s Broadchurch to four gongs at the star-studded Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2013, held at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel. 

Celebrity guests including Idris Elba, Kara Tointon, Lee Child, Peter James, Ruth Wilson, Mark Billingham and Anna Maxwell Martin gathered on the black carpet before celebrating the UK’s most wanted crime fiction and drama at the dazzling ceremony, hosted by Bradley Walsh.

L-R Ayo Onatade, Stuart Neville & Mike Stotter

The glittering event, organised by Cactus TV and ITV3 in partnership with the Crime Writers’ Association, saw ITV’s top-rating murder mystery Broadchurch pocket a quartet of awards, including the TV Dagger for the production itself, with the latest gongs rounding off a successful year for the show. 

Winners included:

●        David Tennant of Broadchurch in the Best Actor Dagger

●        Olivia Colman of Broadchurch in the Best Actress Dagger

●        Andrew Buchan of Broadchurch in the Best Supporting Actor Dagger

●        Amelia Bullmore of Scott & Bailey in the Best Supporting Actress Dagger

●        The Killing III in the International TV Dagger

●        Skyfall in the Film Dagger

●        Malcolm MacKay for the Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read

●        Mick Herron for the CWA Goldsboro Gold Dagger

●        Derek B Miller for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger

●        Roger Hobbs for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller of the Year

The ceremony will be shown on ITV3 at 9pm on Sunday October 27, and a full list of winners is below

The awards, now in their sixth year, marked the culmination of ITV3’s six-week prime time series, The Crime Thriller Club which included a crime thriller version of the successful TV Book Club. 

‘Living legends’ Martina Cole and Wilbur Smith were inducted into the CWA Hall of Fame at the awards ceremony in recognition of their contributions to the genre. 

In a brand new award for 2013, The Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read was awarded to Malcolm MacKay for The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter. Chosen as The Crime Thriller Book Club book of the series by a group of independent publishing experts from the Crime Thriller Awards Academy, The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter beat titles by Linwood Barclay, Megan Abbott, Christopher Fowler, Diana Bretherick and Andrew Taylor.
Malcolm MacKay said: “It’s a huge honour and thrill to win. To be included in such a strong list of nominees is a wonderful thing for any young writer.”

This year’s CWA Goldsboro Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel of the Year was won by Mick Herron for Dead Lions, a tale of secrets which refuse to die in the shady world of Cold War spooks. Herron’s book fought off intense competition from Belinda Bauer’s Rubbernecker, Lauren Beukes’s The Shining Girls and Becky Masterman’s Rage Against The Dying to take the accolade.

Mick Herron commented: "My shelves are crammed with Gold Dagger-winning novels of the past - The Mermaids Singing, Black and Blue, Bones and Silence. I can't quite believe I get to put my own book next to them."

The CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger for Best New Crime Writer of the Year was awarded to Derek B Miller for his debut novel Norwegian by Night. In a boon year for debut crime fiction Norwegian by Night and its 82-year-old ex-Marine protagonist squared up against Hanna Jameson’s Something You Are, Malcolm Mackay’s The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter and Thomas Mogford’s Shadow of the Rock to nab the top spot.

Derek B. Miller said: “My sincere thanks to the judges and the Crime Writers' Association. This award feels less like a victory than a wonderful form of encouragement. And I appreciate that, deeply, because no one has ever encouraged me to write before. Tolerated me writing … sure. But encouraged me? Not as much. So thank you.”

The CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller of the Year went to Roger Hobbs for Ghostman. This distinctive thriller slugged it out against impressive enemies Stuart Neville for Ratlines, Mark Oldfield for The Sentinel and Robert Wilson for Capital Punishment to secure victory.

Roger Hobbs said: "I'm exceptionally honoured to have won the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. It's a dream come true. This award puts me in the company of so many writers I admire, like Steve Hamilton, Gillian Flynn, and Jeffery Deaver. When I was writing this book in the basement of my college library, scrounging off old pizza and bad coffee, I never imagined I'd end up here. I want to offer my sincerest thanks to all the family, friends, and co-workers who helped me make this dream possible."

Amanda Ross, Managing Director of Cactus TV, who created the Awards for ITV3 said: ‘This is one of the most popular genre of fiction on the screen and in books, so it’s wonderful to be able to have this great celebration of talent courtesy of Specsavers.’

Dame Mary Perkins, Specsavers founder, said: ‘As a personal fan of a blood curdling read, it’s been a pleasure to be a part of the Crime Thriller Awards for the fifth year running. We’re very proud to be involved in this annual showcase of world class writing, acting and production and would like to congratulate all the winners and nominees.’

*ENDS*

SPECSAVERS CRIME THRILLER AWARDS 2013 WINNERS

●     CWA Goldsboro Gold Dagger for the Best Crime Novel of the Year:

Mick Herron, Dead Lions (Soho Press)

●     CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger for the Best New Crime Writer of the Year:

Derek B. Miller, Norwegian by Night (Faber and Faber)

●     CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for the Best Thriller of the Year:

Roger Hobbs, Ghostman (Transworld)

●     The Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read :

Malcolm MacKay, The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter (Pan)

●     The Film Dagger

Skyfall

●     The TV Dagger

Broadchurch

●     The International TV Dagger

The Killing III

●     The Best Supporting Actor Dagger

Andrew Buchan for Broadchurch

●     The Best Supporting Actress Dagger

Amelia Bullmore for Scott & Bailey

●     The Best Actor Dagger

David Tennant for Broadchurch

●     The Best Actress Dagger

Olivia Colman for Broadchurch 

MEDIA ENQUIRIES:

Eleanor Riches at Midas Public Relations on 020 7361 7860 or eleanor.riches@midaspr.co.uk  

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards

The Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2013 took place on Thursday 24^th October at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, and will be televised on ITV3 on the 29^th October at 9pm. The 2013 Awards are the sixth annual event created and produced by Cactus TV for ITV3. The Awards are sponsored by Specsavers and in conjunction with the Crime Writers' Association. Visit http://www.crimethrillerawards.com/ for more information
Specsavers

Specsavers was founded by Doug and Dame Mary Perkins in 1984 and is now the largest privately owned opticians in the world. The couple still run the company, along with their three children. Their eldest son John is joint managing director. Specsavers has almost 1,600 stores throughout the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Spain and Australia. Specsavers was voted Britain’s most trusted brand of opticians for the eleventh year running by Reader’s Digest in 2012. More information can be found at: www.specsavers.co.uk. 

Cactus TV

Cactus TV is a production company run by husband and wife team Simon and Amanda Ross. Productions include Saturday Kitchen for BBC1, The Munch Box for ITV, The Roux Scholarship, Hairy Bikers Food Tour of Britain for BBC2, Rachel Allen, The National Book Awards and 8 years of the Channel 4 Richard & Judy show live from Cactus studios. Amanda’s previous Book Club choices have created many million selling authors.

ITV3

ITV3 is the UK’s second most popular digital channel and its focus on character driven narrative and drama helps the channel attract an upmarket audience. ITV3 is available on Freeview (channel 10), Freesat (115), Sky Digital (119) and Virgin Media (116).

Crime Writers’ Association

The Crime Writers’ Association has a membership of over 500 writers of fiction and non-fiction. Its main aims are to promote the crime genre and to support professional writers. The CWA has been providing social and professional support for its members for more than half a century, as well as administering the prestigious Dagger Awards. The Daggers name and Crossed Daggers logo are registered Trade Marks of the Crime Writers’ Association, and are used under licence. For further information on the CWA: www.thecwa.co.uk or contact info@thecwa.co.uk.

Agile Marketing

Agile Marketing is a publishing-specialist promotions & project management agency. They project manage the Crime Thriller Awards in the book trade, liaising with publishers and retailers to ensure the campaign to raise the profile of Crime Fiction is maximised in store and amongst readers. They also manage the supporting website: www.crimethrillerawards.com

Eleanor Riche

Midas Public Relations
10 Old Court Place, London W8 4PL
T: 020 7361 7876 M: 07825 751 174 E : eleanor.riches@midaspr.co.uk
www.midaspr.co.uk | twitter.com/midaspr

 Pictures © Ayo Onatade