2026 McIlvanney Prize Longlist

 

Bloody Scotland today reveals the longlist for the 2026 McIlvanney Prize which will be judged by author and broadcaster, Sally Magnusson, radio and podcast presenter, Nicola Meighan and crime blogger, Gordon McGhie.

The 2026 longlist includes last year’s winner, Tariq Ashkanani and last year’s debut winner David Goodman. It also includes two other former McIlvanney Prize winners, Chris Brookmyre and Callum McSorley and FOUR of the five women crime writers who have been shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize 2026:

The Hollow Boys by Tariq Ashkanani (Viper)

138 Main Street by Gavin Bell (S&S)

Quite Ugly One Evening by Chris Brookmyre (Abacus)

A Bab, Bad, Place by Frances Crawford (Bantam)

Unknown by Heather Critchlow (Canelo Crime)

Solitary Agents by David Goodman (Headline)

We Know What We Did by Kirsty Lockwood (Orion)

Rat Race by Callum McSorley (Pushkin Vertigo)

The Diaries of Lies by Philip Miller (Polygon)

The Pinnacle by Abir Mukherjee (Harvill)

The Vanishing Place by Zoe Rankin (Viper)

Liar Thief by May Rinaldi (Black Spring Crime)

The list features eight authors who have been or are currently shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize, indicative of the important role the Debut Prize plays in developing the careers of new Scottish writers. The longlist is rounded out by Abir Mukherjee, winner of last year’s British Book Awards Crime Thriller of the Year, the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and shortlisted for the 2026 CWA Dagger in the Library; Heather Critchlow on the list for the second year in a row; Gavin Bell writing under his own name having previously been longlisted as Mason Cross and Philip Miller who previously won a major crime writing award in the US but has never appeared on the McIlvanney longlist.

Festival Director Bob McDevitt said:

“I’ve been hugely enjoying reading my way through the books that were submitted for the prizes this year and I’m excited to see that some of my favourites have made the longlist. It’s also great to see smaller independent publishers holding their own against the big guns of London.”

The McIlvanney longlist and the Bloody Scotland shortlist will be promoted in bookshops throughout Scotland in the period between the announcement and the presentation on Friday 18 September. The winner will be announced in the Church of the Holy Rude on the opening night of the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival and interviewed on stage by BBC presenter, Bryan Burnett. They will then lead a procession to the Albert Halls alongside guest programmer, Denise Mina.

Kirsty Nicholson, Marketing Director at Glencairn – sponsors of The McIlvanney Prize with the Glencairn Glass, the official glass for whisky, said:

“It’s fantastic to see four of the five women shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize also recognised on this year’s McIlvanney Prize longlist alongside some of the biggest names in crime fiction. Congratulations to all the authors who have made the longlist – it’s a tremendous achievement and we look forward to celebrating this year’s winner.”

2026 Fingerprint Awards Announced

 

                  
                                                      

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

Crime Writers’ Association Announce 2026 Dagger Awards Shortlist

 

The shortlist for the Crime Writers’ Association’s prestigious Dagger awards has been announced.

Created in 1955, the world-famous CWA Daggers are the oldest awards in the genre and have been synonymous with quality crime writing for over half a century.

This year’s shortlists showcase the range and depth of the genre, from historical fiction to thrillers and classic whodunnits.

As well as championing established authors of the genre, it also provides a platform for debut and emerging talent.

Nadine Matheson, Chair of the CWA, said: "This year’s shortlist is a fantastic reflection of the extraordinary breadth and diversity of crime fiction today, and a celebration of authors from debuts to established names, whose creative talents ensure that the genre continues to grow from strength to strength.”

The coveted KAA Gold Dagger, sponsored by Kevin Anderson & Associates, is awarded for the best crime novel of the year.

Shortlisted novels are S.A Cosby with King of Ashes, Abigail Dean’s The Death of Us, Holly Jackson with Not Quite Dead Yet, Vaseem Khan’s The Girl in Cell A, Ariel Lawhon with The Frozen and Lara Shepherd-Robinson’s The Art of a Lie, a novel that also makes the Historical Dagger shortlist.

S.A. Cosby is the only author to be shortlisted for an unprecedented three Dagger awards. As well as Gold, the American author of “Southern noir” is also in contention for the Short Story Dagger and the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, which honours the best thriller of the year.

Also shortlisted for the Steel Dagger is the standalone thriller by BookTok sensation Noelle W Ihli, Such Quiet Girls inspired by the real-life 1976 Chowchilla kidnapping. She’s up against the global bestselling author Karin Slaughter for We Are All Guilty Here, Tariq Ashkanani’s The Midnight King, Robert Crais with The Big Empty, Mark Ezra’s A Sting in her Tale and Liam McIlvanney’s The Good Father.

Joining Laura Shepherd-Robinson, authors Nina Allan, Rob McInroy, Donna Moore, Alan Parks and Sally Smith make the Historical Dagger shortlist. The historical novels span 18th century London to 1920s Glasgow, from stories inspired by gritty true crimes to a cosy Christmas mystery.

The Twisted Dagger for psychological suspense shortlist features Sarah Pinborough, the author behind the New York Times bestselling breakout novel (and hit Netflix show) Behind Her Eyes with a haunting Gothic novel, We Live Here Now. She’s up against Kia Abdullah, Nicci Cloke, Fiona Cummins, Carole Hailey and Sam Lloyd.

The Whodunnit Dagger for books with an intellectual challenge at the heart of a good mystery, sees Alexandra Benedict, Victoria Goldman, Anna Fitzgerald Healy, Robert Holtom, Mel Pennant and CJ Wray in the running.

The global reach of the genre is showcased in the Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger.

International authors include two German writers - Karsten Dusse with his bestselling dark comedy series, Murder Mindfully and Leonie Swann with her mystery novel, Big Bad Wool, the anticipated follow-up to her breakout hit, Three Bags Full that follows a flock of sheep as they try to solve a murder.

The shortlist also sees Norway’s Jørn Lier Horst, the Croatian writer and journalist Jurica Pavicic, Finland’s Antti Tuomainen, and Strange Pictures – a novel from the Japanese YouTuber and writer, Uketsu.

Their translators are also recognised in the award, which is sponsored in honour of Dolores Jakubowski.

The ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction includes The Spy in the Archive by Gordon Corera and Shaun Walker’s The Illegals, profiling Russia’s most audacious spies, reflecting the enduring fascination with espionage and true crime, alongside Shadow of The Bridge by Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee, John Curran’s The Murder Game, Caroline Fraser’s Murderland, and Susannah Stapleton with That Dark Spring.

The Short Story Dagger features S.A. Cosby, alongside the acclaimed Scottish author Denise Mina and the bestselling Abir Mukherjee. The Daggers are one of the few high-profile awards celebrating short-form storytelling.

The Dagger in the Library, voted for by librarians, recognises authors whose bodies of work have resonated with readers over time. On this year’s shortlist are Paula Hawkins, best known for her huge hit, Girl on the Train alongside JD Kirk, Clare Mackintosh, Freida McFadden, Abir Mukherjee and Tim Sullivan.

The CWA Daggers are also known for providing a platform for emerging talent, with the much-anticipated ILP John Creasey First Novel Dagger and the Emerging Author Dagger competition, sponsored by Fiction Feedback; over two dozen past winners and shortlisted debut authors have signed publishing deals to date.

The Best Crime and Mystery Publisher category recognises the publishers behind the genre’s success, with leading imprints including Faber & Faber, Pan Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster shortlisted against Bitter Lemon Press, No Exit Press and Viper.

The CWA Diamond Dagger, sponsored by Karen Baugh Menuhin, is awarded to an author whose crime-writing career has been marked by sustained excellence, is announced in early spring and in 2026 was awarded to Mark Billingham.

The winners are announced at the CWA gala dinner awards night in July.

The shortlists in full:                

CWA KAA Gold Dagger

King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby (Headline)        

The Death of Us by Abigail Dean (HarperCollins/Hemlock Press)

Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson (Penguin Random House/Michael Joseph)

The Girl in Cell A by Vaseem Khan (Hodder Fiction).

The Frozen by Ariel Lawhon (River Swift Press)          

The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (Pan Macmillan/Mantle)

          

Ian Fleming Steel Dagger

The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani (Profile Books/Viper)

King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby (Headline)

The Big Empty by Robert Crais (Simon & Schuster UK)

A Sting in her Tale by Mark Ezra (Bedford Square Publishers/ No Exit Press)

Such Quiet Girls by Noelle W Ihli (Pan Macmillan/ Pan)

The Good Father by Liam McIlvanney (Bonnier Books UK/Zaffre)

We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter (HarperCollins Publishers)

ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction

Shadow of The Bridge: The Delphi Murders and The Dark Side of The American Heartland by Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee (Pegasus Books/Pegasus Crime)          

The Spy in the Archive: How One Man Tried to Kill the KGB by Gordon Corera (HarperCollins/ William Collins)

The Murder Game by John Curran (HarperCollins/Collins Crime Club)

Murderland by Caroline Fraser (Little, Brown Book Group/Fleet)

That Dark Spring by Susannah Stapleton (Pan Macmillan/Picador)

The Illegals by Shaun Walker (Profile Books)

Historical Dagger

A Granite Silence by Nina Allan (Quercus/riverrun)

Barvick Falls by Rob McInroy (Tippermuir Books)

The Devil's Draper by Donna Moore (Fly on the Wall Press)

Gunner by Alan Parks (John Murray Press/Baskerville)

The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (Pan Macmillan/Mangle)

A Case of Life and Limb by Sally Smith (Bloomsbury Publishing/Raven Books)

Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger

Murder Mindfully by Karsten Dusse (Faber) translated by Florian Duijsens

The Lake by Jørn Lier Horst  (Penguin Random House) translated by Anne Bruce

Red Water by Jurica Pavicic (Bitter Lemon Press) translated by Matt Robinson

Big Bad Wool by Leonie Swann (Allison & Busby) translated by Amy Bojang

The Winter Job by Antti Tuomainen (Orenda Books) translated by David Hackston

Strange Pictures by Uketsu (Pushkin Press) translated by Jim Rion

Whodunnit Dagger

The Christmas Cracker Killer by Alexandra Benedict (Simon & Schuster UK)

Little Secrets by Victoria Goldman (Three Crowns Publishing UK/self-published)

Etiquette for Lovers & Killers by Anna Fitzgerald Healy (Little, Brown Book Group/Fleet)

A Queer Case by Robert Holtom (Titan Books)

A Murder for Miss Hortense by Mel Pennant (John Murray Press/Baskerville)

Bad Influence by CJ Wray (Orion Fiction)

Twisted Dagger

What Happens in the Dark by Kia Abdullah  (HarperCollins/HQ Ficiton)

Her Many Faces by Nicci Cloke (Penguin Random House UK/Harvill)

Some of Us are Liars by Fiona Cummins (Pan Macmillan/Macmillan)

Scenes From A Tragedy by Carole Hailey (Atlantic Books/Corvus)

The Bodies by Sam Lloyd (Transworld/Bantam)

We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough (Orion Fiction)         

ILP John Creasey (First Novel) Dagger

The Peak by Sam Guthrie (HarperCollins Publishers)

The Lost Detective by Elspeth Latimer (Story Machine)

The Wolf Tree by Laura McCluskey (HarperCollins/Hemlock Press)

The Vanishing Place by Zoë Rankin (Profile Books/Viper)

Coram House by Bailey Seybolt (Bloomsbury Publishing/Raven Books)

Holy City by Henry Wise (Bedford Square Publishers/No Exit Press)

Short Story Dagger

‘Split Your Silver Tongue’ by SA Cosby in Birds, Strangers and Psychos (No Exit Press)

‘The Karpman Drama Triangle’ by Denise Mina in Birds, Strangers and Psychos (No Exit Press)

‘Full Circle’ by Abir Mukherjee in Playing Dead: Short Stories by Members of the Detection Club (Severn House)

 ‘The Apple Falls Not Far’ by Ambrose Perry (Canongate)

 ‘Strangers on a School Bus’ by Peter Swanson in Birds, Strangers and Psychos (No Exit Press)

 ‘Waiting’ by Michael Wood in Criminal Pursuits: This Is Me (Telos Publishing)

Emerging Author

Ill Met By Murder by Rod Cookson, 

 The Man Who Fit the Case by Sophia Georghiou

Just a Simple Wedding by Kate Koester

The Fixer by Lorna Mathew, 

The Madam of Morningside by Rebecca McFarland

Blind Side of the Sun by Michael Nikitin

The Pattern of Absence by Melisssa Smith

Dagger in the Library

Paula Hawkins   

JD Kirk  

Clare Mackintosh             

Freida McFadden             

Abir Mukherjee 

Tim Sullivan       

Best Crime & Mystery Publisher

Bitter Lemon Press

Faber & Faber

No Exit Press (Bedford Square)

Pan Macmillan

Simon & Schuster

Viper (Profile Books)

FINGERPRINT Awards Shortlists: Capital Crime Festival

 

The Capital Crime Festival  (London, UK) announced the shortlists for its annual Fingerprint Awards, which champion the very best in crime writing from the past year across the globe, as voted for by readers. The shortlists were selected by the festival’s board members from a longlist curated by the Tastemakers Committee, a panel of leading independent bloggers and reviewers, who championed their standout titles across each category. 

Readers can now vote for their preferred winners in each category on the Capital Crime website through Saturday, May 30th. The winners will be revealed at the Fingerprint Awards on the evening of Thursday, June 18th as part of the Capital Crime event in London at the Royal Leonardo Hotel. Congrats to this year's finalists!

 

Audiobook of the Year

Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell 

King of Ashes by  S A Cosby

We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough 

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

Artificial Wisdom by Thomas R. Weaver

True Crime Book of the Year

Story of a Murder by Hallie Rubenhold 

Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Roberts-Guiffre 

Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser 

A History of Modern Britain in Twenty Murders by Prof. David Wilson 

A Flower Travelled in My Blood by Haley Cohen Gilliland  

Debut Crime Book

Broken by Jón Atli Jónasson

Deadline by  Steph McGovern 

Death at the White Hart by Chris Chibnall

The Day of the Roaring by Nina Bhadreshwar

This is Not A Game by Kelly Mullen

Genre-Busting Book

Kill Them with Kindness by Will Carver 

Little Red Death by A. K. Benedict Book

Blood Like Ours by Stuart Neville

Small Fires by Ronnie Turner

Manhattan Down by Michael Cordy  

Historical Crime Book of the Year

The Art of A Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson 

The Rush by Beth Lewis 

Dangerous by Essie Fox

Burning Grounds by Abir Mukherjee

Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz 

Thriller Book of the Year

The Chemist by A A Dhand

Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell 

Human Remains by Jo Callaghan 

The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North

Some of Us Are Liars by Fiona Cummins

Overall Crime Book of the Year

The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani

The Final Vow by M W Craven

Quantum of Menace by Vaseem Khan

The Good Father by Liam McIlvanney

We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough

The 2026 Fingerprint Shortlist

 

Capital Crime today announced the shortlists for its annual Fingerprint Awards, which champion the very best in crime writing from across the globe, as voted for by readers.

Authors both new and established are represented across the categories, which are Crime Novel of the Year, True Crime Book of the Year, Thriller of the Year, Historical Crime Novel of the Year, Debut Novel of the Year, Audiobook of the Year and Genre-Busting Book of the Year.

The shortlists of five have been selected by the festival’s board members, from a longlist carefully curated by the Tastemakers Committee - a panel of leading independent bloggers and reviewers - who have championed their standout titles across each category. Each selected book had to be first published in English between 1 January and 31 December 2025 to qualify. No fees were charged for selection.

Readers can vote for their preferred winners in each category on the Capital Crime website by Saturday 30th May. The winners will be revealed at the Fingerprint Awards on the evening of Thursday 18th June as part of the Capital Crime festival in London at the Royal Leonardo Hotel, in the shadow of St Paul’s. This year’s Fingerprint Awards ceremony, attended by Capital Crime ticket holders, authors, nominees and leading figures from the publishing industry will be hosted by acclaimed radio and TV broadcaster, and host of The Bookshelf Podcast, Ryan Tubridy.

Leading the overall Crime Book of the Year shortlist are two 2025 Fingerprint winners, M.W. Craven, for The Final Vow, and Vaseem Khan, for Quantum of Menace, featuring the famous Quartermaster from the Bond series. Sunday Times bestseller Sarah Pinborough is shortlisted for We Live Here Now; and they are joined by Liam McIlvanney and Tariq Ashkanani, authors of The Good Father and The Midnight King respectively.

For the Thriller Book of the Year, Lisa Jewell’s Sunday Times bestselling Don’t Let Him In and Virdee creator A.A. Dhand’s The Chemist are up against Human Remains by Jo Callaghan, The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North and Some of Us Are Liars by Fiona Cummins.

Tackling topics as diverse as Lord Byron, the final days of the British Raj, and the Canadian Gold Rush, the shortlist for Historical Crime Book of the Year sees Anthony Horowitz’s Marble Hall Murders, the latest in his bestselling, BBC adapted Magpie Murders series, up against CWA Dagger-winner Abir Mukherjee, for his latest Wyndham and Banerjee mystery The Burning Grounds. Also shortlisted is The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson; The Rush by Beth Lewis and Dangerous by Essie Fox.

Broadcasters Chris Chibnall and Steph McGovern are both shortlisted for the Debut Crime Novel of the Year, for Death at the White Hart and Deadline, respectively; and are up against Oscar nominated Icelandic screenwriter Jón Atli Jónasson for Broken; Nina Bhadreshwar for The Day of the Roaring and Kelly Mullen for This is Not a Game.

The Genre-Busting Book of the Year shortlist, set up to recognise a book that defies traditional boundaries of crime fiction, and may feature elements of sci-fi, romance or other genres of fiction, sees Kill Them With Kindness by Will Carver and Little Red Death by A.K. Benedict up against Blood Like Ours by Stuart Neville, Small Fires by Ronnie Turner and Manhattan Down by Michael Cordy.

The True Crime Book of the Year shortlist features several books exploring the states of nations through crime, as well as writing intended to recentre the focus on the victims rather than the killers,  including Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a memoir by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s most outspoken victim; and A Flower Travelled in My Blood by Haley Cohen Gilliland, chronicling the harrowing events of Argentina’s Dirty War, which saw hundreds of pregnant women kidnapped and disappeared. They are up against Story of a Murder by prize-winning social historian Hallie Rubenhold, focusing on Cora Crippen, the murdered wife of the infamous Doctor Crippen, and the women who brought him to justice; Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser, which explores whether lead exposure was connected to the explosion of serial killers in the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s and 1980s; and A History of Modern Britain in Twenty Murders by Professor David Wilson, the UK’s leading criminologist.

The Audiobook of the Year sees second nominations for both Lisa Jewell and Sarah Pinborough for, respectively, Don’t Let Him In, narrated by Richard Armitage and Joanne Frogatt, and We Live Here Now, narrated by Helen Baxendale and Jamie Glover. They are up against S. A. Cosby’s King of Ashes, narrated by Adam Lazarre-White; Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney, narrated by Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton; and Artificial Wisdom by Thomas R. Weaver, narrated by Steven Pacey.

In addition, two further categories will be selected solely by the Capital Crime Advisory Board; the Industry Award of the Year – recognising the best marketing campaign, editorial work, or publishing strategy; and the Thalia Proctor Lifetime Achievement Award – marking an outstanding contribution to the crime writing industry.

The shortlist is as follows - 

Audiobook of the Year

 Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell 

King of Ashes by  S A Cosby

We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough 

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

Artificial Wisdom by Thomas R. Weaver

True Crime Book of the Year

Story of a Murder by Hallie Rubenhold 

Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Roberts-Guiffre 

Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser 

A History of Modern Britain in Twenty Murders by Prof. David Wilson 

A Flower Travelled in My Blood by Haley Cohen Gilliland 

Debut Crime Book

Broken by Jón Atli Jónasson

Deadline by  Steph McGovern 

Death at the White Hart by Chris Chibnall

The Day of the Roaring by Nina Bhadreshwar

This is Not A Game by Kelly Mullen

Genre-Busting Book

Kill Them with Kindness by Will Carver 

Little Red Death by A. K. Benedict Book

Blood Like Ours by Stuart Neville

Small Fires by Ronnie Turner

Manhattan Down by Michael Cordy 

Historical Crime Book of the Year

The Art of A Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson 

The Rush by Beth Lewis 

Dangerous by Essie Fox

Burning Grounds by Abir Mukherjee

Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz

Thriller Book of the Year

The Chemist by A A Dhand

Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell 

Human Remains by Jo Callaghan 

The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North

Some of Us Are Liars by Fiona Cummins 

Overall Crime Book of the Year

The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani

The Final Vow by M W Craven

Quantum of Menace by Vaseem Khan

The Good Father by Liam McIlveney

We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough

Congratulations to all the nominate authors.  The winner will be announced on Thursday 18^th June 2026 during the Capital Crime Festival.

Crime Writers’ Association Announces 2026 Dagger Awards Longlists

 The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) reveal the longlists for the prestigious 2026 Dagger Awards, celebrating the very best in crime writing.

Created in 1955, the world-famous CWA Daggers are the oldest awards in the genre and have been synonymous with quality crime writing for over half a century.

This year’s longlists showcase the breadth of talent from internationally bestselling authors to emerging debuts.

Nadine Matheson, Chair of the CWA, said: “Congratulations to every author who appears on this year’s Dagger Awards longlist. A longlist recognition is no small thing and speaks to the dedication, craft, and ambition that goes into every book. This year's longlist also reflects something that excites me deeply as Chair of the CWA; the extraordinary range and evolution of crime writing today. The genre continues to grow in breadth, in voice, and in ambition, and this longlist is a testament to that.”

The coveted KAA Gold Dagger, sponsored by Kevin Anderson & Associates, is awarded for the best crime novel of the year. The longlist includes Abigail Dean, longlisted for The Death of Us, a powerful psychological novel also longlisted in the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and Twisted Dagger categories.

Also longlisted are British crime writers Vaseem Khan with Quantum of Menace, and Laura Shepherd-Robinson for The Art of a Lie, alongside international authors, James Lee Burke, and the late Martin Cruz Smith.

The Ian Fleming Steel Dagger honours the best thriller of the year. The longlist includes global bestseller Karin Slaughter, alongside Robert Crais and Julie Clark. The Historical Dagger features acclaimed writers such as Graeme Macrae Burnet and Ariel Lawhon on the 2026 longlist.

The Twisted Dagger for psychological suspense longlists bestselling authors Lisa Jewell, Alice Feeney, and Sarah Pinborough. The Whodunnit Dagger for books with an intellectual challenge at the heart of a good mystery, sees SJ Bennett, Clare Mackintosh and Guy Morpuss in the running.

The global reach of the genre is showcased in the Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger. International authors longlisted include Antti Tuomainen and Kotaro Isaka. Their translators are also recognised in the award, which is sponsored in honour of Dolores Jakubowski.

Maxim Jakubowski, Chair of the CWA Daggers’ committee, said: "Once again the Daggers longlists come up with a tasty menu full of surprise inclusions and omissions, established authors and a diversity of newcomers, evidence yet again of the independence of thought of our various juries."

The ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction includes The CIA Book Club by Charlie English and The Spy in the Archive by Gordon Corera, reflecting the enduring fascination with espionage and true crime.

The Short Story Dagger features crime-writing heavyweights such as Denise Mina and Peter Swanson and is one of the few high-profile awards celebrating short-form storytelling.

The Dagger in the Library, voted for by librarians, recognises authors whose bodies of work have resonated with readers over time. This year’s longlist includes bestselling names such as the Death in Paradise creator Robert Thorogood, Paula Hawkins, Reverend Richard Coles, and Abir Mukherjee.

The CWA Daggers are also known for providing a platform for emerging talent, with the much-anticipated ILP John Creasey First Novel Dagger and the Emerging Author Dagger competition, sponsored by Fiction Feedback; over two dozen past winners and shortlisted debut authors have signed publishing deals to date.

The Best Crime and Mystery Publisher category recognises the publishers behind the genre’s success, with leading imprints including Faber & Faber, Pan Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster among those longlisted.

The CWA Diamond Dagger, sponsored by Karen Baugh Menuhin, is awarded to an author whose crime-writing career has been marked by sustained excellence, is announced in early spring and in 2026 was awarded to Mark Billingham.

The shortlists will be released on 28 May, and the winners announced at the CWA gala dinner awards night in July.

The longlists in full:                                     

CWA KAA Gold Dagger

Carnival of Lies by D.V. Bishop (Pan Macmillan/Macmillan)

Don't Forget Me, Little Bessie by James Lee Burke (Orion Fiction/Orion Fiction)

King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby (Headline)        

The Death of Us by Abigail Dean (HarperCollins/Hemlock Press)

Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson (Penguin Random House/Michael Joseph)

Quantum of Menace by Vaseem Khan (Bonnier Books UK/Zaffre)

The Frozen by Ariel Lawhon (River Swift Press)          

The Rush by Beth Lewis (Profile Books/Viper)

A Voice in The Night by Simon Mason (Quercus/riverrun)

The Good Father by Liam McIlvanney (Bonnier Books UK/Zaffre)

Hotel Ukraine by Martin Cruz Smith (Simon & Schuster UK) 

The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (Pan Macmillan/Mantle)

A Case of Life and Limb by Sally Smith (Bloomsbury Publishing/Raven Books)

Ian Fleming Steel Dagger

The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani (Profile Books/Viper)

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark (Bonnier Books UK/Zaffre)

King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby (Headline)

The Big Empty by Robert Crais (Simon & Schuster UK)

The Death of Us by Abigail Dean (HarperCollins/Hemlock Press)

The Chemist by A A Dhand (HarperCollins/HQ Fiction)

A Dead Draw by Robert Dugoni (Amazon Publishing/ Thomas & Mercer)

A Sting in her Tale by Mark Ezra (Bedford Square Publishers/ No Exit Press)

Burying Jericho by William Hussey (Bonnier Books UK/ Zaffre)

Such Quiet Girls by Noelle Ihli (Pan Macmillan/ Pan)

The Good Father by Liam McIlvanney (Bonnier Books UK/Zaffre)

We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter (HarperCollins Publishers)

ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction

The Devil Takes Bitcoin by Jake Adelstein (Scribe)      

Shadow of The Bridge: The Delphi Murders and The Dark Side of The American Heartland by Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee (Pegasus Books/Pegasus Crime)

Saffie by David Collins (Silvertail Books)        

The Spy in the Archive: How One Man Tried to Kill the KGB by Gordon Corera (HarperCollins/ William Collins)

The Murder Game by John Curran (HarperCollins/Collins Crime Club)

The CIA Book Club: The Best-Kept Secret of the Cold War by Charlie English (HarperCollins/ William Collins)

Murderland by Caroline Fraser (Little, Brown Book Group/Fleet)

The Einstein Vendetta: Hitler, Mussolini, And A True Story of Murder by Thomas Harding (Penguin/ Michael Joseph)

A Spy in the Family by Paul Henderson and David Gardner (Mirror Books)     

The Cleveland Street Scandal by Neil Root (The History Press)            

That Dark Spring by Susannah Stapleton (Pan Macmillan/Picador)

The Illegals by Shaun Walker (Profile Books)

Historical Dagger

A Granite Silence by Nina Allan (Quercus/riverrun)

Spoiler's Prey by Robin Blake (Severn House)

Benecula by Graeme Macrae Burnet (Birlinn Ltd/ Polygon)

The Mourning Necklace by Kate Foster (Pan Macmillan/Mantle)

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (Swift Press)

The Rush by Beth Lewis (Profile Books/Viper)

Barvick Falls by Rob McInroy (Tippermuir Books)

The Devil's Draper by Donna Moore (Fly on the Wall Press)

Gunner by Alan Parks (John Murray Press/Baskerville)

Cairo Gambit by SW Perry (Atlantic Books/Corvus)

The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (Pan Macmillan/Mangle)

A Case of Life and Limb by Sally Smith (Bloomsbury Publishing/Raven Books)

 

Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger

Home Before Dark by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir (Orenda Books) translated by Victoria Cribb

Murder Mindfully by Karsten Dusse (Faber) translated by Florian Duijsens

Scars of Silence by Johana Gustawsson (Orenda Books) translated by David Warriner

The Lake by Jørn Lier Horst (Penguin Random House) translated by Anne Bruce

Seesaw Monster by Kotaro Isaka (Penguin Random House) translated by Sam Malissa

Red Water by Jurica Pavicic (Bitter Lemon Press) translated by Matt Robinson

The Grave in the Ice by Satu Rämö (Bonnier Books UK) translated by Kristian London

Big Bad Wool by Leonie Swann (Allison & Busby) translated by Amy Bojang

The Winter Job by Antti Tuomainen (Orenda Books) translated by David Hackston

Strange Pictures by Uketsu (Pushkin Press) translated by Jim Rion

Whodunnit Dagger

The Christmas Cracker Killer by Alexandra Benedict (Simon & Schuster UK)

The Queen Who Came in from the Cold by SJ Bennett (Bonnier Books UK/ Zaffre)

Etiquette for Lovers & Killers by Anna Fitzgerald Healy (Little, Brown Book Group/Fleet)

Little Secrets by Victoria Goldman (Three Crowns Publishing UK/self-published)

A Queer Case by Robert Holtom (Titan Books)

The Margaret Code by Richard Hooton (Little, Brown Book Group/Sphere)

A Cinnamon Falls Mystery by RL Killmore (Simon & Schuster UK)

Other People's Houses by Clare Mackintosh (Little, Brown Book Group/Sphere)

Not Another Bloody Christmas by Jo Middleton (HarperCollins/Avon)

A Trial in Three Acts by Guy Morpuss (Profile Books/Viper)

A Murder for Miss Hortense by Mel Pennant (John Murray Press/Baskerville)

Bad Influence by CJ Wray (Orion Fiction)

Twisted Dagger

What Happens in the Dark by Kia Abdullah (HarperCollins/HQ Fiction)

Her Many Faces by Nicci Cloke (Penguin Random House UK/Harvill)

Some of Us are Liars by Fiona Cummins (Pan Macmillan/Macmillan)

The House of Water by Fflur Dafydd (Hodder & Stoughton/Hodder Fiction)

The Death of Us by Abigail Dean (HarperCollins/Hemlock Press)

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney (Pan Macmillan/Macmillan)

Scenes From A Tragedy by Carole Hailey (Atlantic Books/Corvus)

Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell (Penguin Random House/Century)

The Bodies by Sam Lloyd (Transworld/Bantam)

The Good Father by Liam McIlvanney (Bonnier Books UK/Zaffre)

We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough (Orion Fiction)         

59 Minutes by Holly Seddon (Orion Publishing Group/ Orion Fiction)

ILP John Creasey (First Novel) Dagger

The Malt Whiskey Murders by Natalie Jayne Clark (Birlinn Ltd/Polygon)

Etiquette for Lovers and Killers by Anna Fitzgerald Healy (Little, Brown Book Group/Fleet)

The Peak by Sam Guthrie (HarperCollins Publishers)

The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenberg (Little, Brown Book Group/ Sphere)

The Lost Detective by Elspeth Latimer (Story Machine)

The Wolf Tree by Laura   McCluskey (HarperCollins/Hemlock Press)

The Vanishing Place by Zoë Rankin (Profile Books/Viper)

Coram House by Bailey Seybolt (Bloomsbury Publishing/Raven Books)

A Beautiful Family by Jennifer Trevelyan (Pan Macmillan/Mantle)

Holy City by Henry Wise (Bedford Square Publishers/No Exit Press)

Short Story Dagger

 ‘Arlene’ by William Boyle in Birds, Strangers and Psychos (No Exit Press)

 ‘Split Your Silver Tongue’ by SA Cosby in Birds, Strangers and Psychos (No Exit Press)

‘Chest’ in Birds, by Ragnar Jónasson Strangers and Psychos (No Exit Press)

‘The Karpman Drama Triangle’ by Denise Mina in Birds, Strangers and Psychos (No Exit Press)

 ‘Full Circle’ by Abir Mukherjee in Playing Dead: Short Stories by Members of the Detection Club (Severn House)

‘The Apple Falls Not Far’ by Ambrose Perry (Canongate)

‘Once Upon a Time in New Jersey‘ by Zoë Sharp and John Lawton in CrimeFest: Leaving the Scene Celebrating 16 Years (No Exit Press)

 ‘Strangers on a School Bus’ by Peter Swanson in Birds, Strangers and Psychos (No Exit Press)

 ‘Waiting’ by Michael Wood in Criminal Pursuits: This Is Me (Telos Publishing)

Dagger in the Library

Ben Aaronovitch              

Damien Boyd     

Reverend Richard Coles 

Rhys Dylan         

Paula Hawkins   

JD Kirk  

Clare Mackintosh             

Freida McFadden             

Abir Mukherjee 

Tim Sullivan       

Robert Thorogood           

Best Crime & Mystery Publisher

Allison & Busby

Baskerville (John Murray/Hachette)

Bitter Lemon Press

Constable (Little, Brown)

Faber & Faber

Harvill Vintage (Penguin Random House)

Muswell Press

No Exit Press (Bedford Square)

Pan Macmillan

Polygon (Birlinn)

Simon & Schuster

Viper (Profile Books)