Crime Writers’ Association Announce 2026 Dagger Winners

 

The winners of the prestigious 2026 Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Dagger Awards, which honour the very best in the crime-writing genre, have 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.

The awards were announced on 2 July at the CWA gala dinner at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, London.

The coveted KAA Gold Dagger, sponsored by Kevin Anderson & Associates, which is awarded for the best crime novel of the year, went to Abigail Dean for The Death of Us, a haunting literary thriller that examines how a violent crime reverberates through a marriage over decades. Dean transitioned from a successful legal career—including working as a lawyer at Google—to become one of the UK's most acclaimed contemporary thriller writers.

S.A. Cosby, the only author to be shortlisted for an unprecedented three Dagger awards, took home the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, which honours the best thriller of the year, with his book, King of Ashes.

Cosby is one of the most celebrated crime writers working today, regularly praised by Barack Obama in his Books of the Year selections, known for blending fast-paced noir thrillers with sharp explorations of race, class, masculinity, and life in the modern American South. He worked in construction, retail and security, writing on the side, before breaking through with the acclaimed novel, Blacktop Wasteland. 

King of Ashes, is a Southern Gothic crime epic inspired in part by The Godfather. The novel combines family drama, organised crime, revenge, and long-buried secrets.

Nadine Matheson, Chair of the CWA, said: “It is a genuine pleasure to congratulate every winner of this year's Daggers. The range and quality on display are a reminder of just how much vitality there is in crime fiction and how it continues to push at its own boundaries, and this year's winners are leading that charge. Congratulations.”

Nina Allan received the Historical Dagger for A Granite Silence, an atmospheric mystery that uses the disappearance of a young girl in 1930s Aberdeen to explore memory, truth, and the stories communities tell themselves about tragedy. Nina made a name for herself in the Science Fiction genre, but her literary thrillers cross categories and have been highly praised by critics.

The Twisted Dagger for psychological suspense went to Sarah Pinborough, for her haunting Gothic novel, We Live Here Now. Pinborough is best-known for her New York Times bestselling breakout novel (and hit Netflix show) Behind Her Eyes. We Live Here Now was praised for its eerie atmosphere and signature Pinborough-style ending.

The Whodunnit Dagger for books with an intellectual challenge at the heart of a good mystery, sees Mel Pennant take home the award for A Murder for Miss Hortense. 

A playwright, screenwriter, and novelist A Murder for Miss Hortense is Pennant’s breakthrough novel featuring the sharp-witted Jamaican-born retired nurse living in Birmingham who investigates a murder. The book was praised for combining a compelling mystery with a warm portrayal of the Windrush generation and Caribbean-British life.

The global reach of the genre is showcased in the Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger. Finland’s Antti Tuomainen came top in a hotly contended category, with The Winter Job. Tuomainen is one of Finland's most internationally acclaimed crime writers, often described as the "King of Helsinki Noir" and dark comedy. His translator David Hackston, is also recognised in the award, which is sponsored in honour of Dolores Jakubowski.

The ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction was awarded to Susannah Stapleton for That Dark Spring. 

Stapleton is a historian specialising in uncovering forgotten stories from the early twentieth century, particularly women’s stories. That Dark Spring is an absorbing true-crime mystery that reopens the unsolved 1929 death of an eccentric British artist in Provence, revealing a world of secrets, rivalries, and unanswered questions.

The Daggers are one of few high-profile genre awards that celebrate the short story. This year’s recipient of the Short Story Dagger goes to Ambrose Parry for The Apple Falls Not Far. Ambrose Parry is the joint pen name of Scottish crime novelist Chris Brookmyre and his wife, former consultant anaesthetist Marisa Haetzman.

The Dagger in the Library, voted for by librarians, recognises authors whose bodies of work have resonated with readers over time. Tim Sullivan took the accolade in a stellar shortlist that included Paula Hawkins, Clare Mackintosh, Freida McFadden, and Abir Mukherjee.

An accomplished television writer-director, Tim Sullivan reinvented himself as a bestselling crime novelist through the hugely successful DS George Cross mysteries, combining classic detective fiction with a distinctive neurodivergent protagonist.

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 Emerging Author Dagger went to Michael Nikitin for Blind Side of the Sun.

 

Laura McCluskey received the Creasey First Novel Dagger with The Wolf Tree. The Australian writer, editor, actor and filmmaker worked across theatre and film, before becoming a novelist. The Wolf Tree is an atmospheric crime thriller set on the fictional Hebridean island of Eilean Eadar, partly inspired by her Scottish family heritage and research into Scottish folklore.

The Best Crime and Mystery Publisher category recognises the publishers behind the genre’s success. The respected independent publisher Bitter Lemon Press beat heavyweights including Faber & Faber, Pan Macmillan, No Exit Press and Simon & Schuster to the award.

Founded in London in 2003 by François and Frédéric von Hurter and Laurence Colchester, Bitter Lemon Press specialises in bringing award-winning crime, noir, mystery, and thriller novels from around the world into English, often through new translations.

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.

Mark Billingham said: “I could not be more thrilled or honoured. To be added to a list that features most of my literary heroes is fantastic.”

The winners in full:    

                                  

CWA KAA Gold Dagger

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

Ian Fleming Steel Dagger 

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

ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction 

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

Historical Dagger

A Granite Silence by Nina Allan (Quercus/riverrun)

Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger

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

Whodunnit Dagger

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

Twisted Dagger

We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough (Orion Fiction)

ILP John Creasey (First Novel) Dagger

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

Short Story Dagger

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

Emerging Author

Blind Side of the Sun by Michael Nikitin

Dagger in the Library

Tim Sullivan  

Best Crime & Mystery Publisher

Bitter Lemon Press

Diamond Dagger

Mark Billingham

 

Forthcoming books from Cannongate

January 2026

The Cut Up is By Louise Welsh. It's hard to be good when living is expensive. And times are tough on the streets these days. Luckily for Rilke at Bowery Auctions the demand for no-questions-asked cash is at an all-time high, and business is booming. When Rilke hears his old acquaintance Les is fresh out of prison, his inclination is to stay well out of his way. Letting sleeping dogs lie is one thing - but when one of Bowery's customers winds up dead on their tarmac, Rilke needs a bit of help from his friends to tidy things up. If only his friends didn't have such a habit of making things worse.

February 2026

On the Greek island of Vidos the past lingers like salt in the air. The inhabitants - former members of MI6 - are sent here to be forgotten. Exiled. Either too damaged or too compromised to be allowed to live freely. For years, residents make the best of their fate - old enemies reconcile, long-lost friends swim together in the warm sea and estranged lovers share a bed once more. But secrets bind tightly. And when one of their own washes up dead, alliances fracture and a tide of suspicion begins to rise. A Stranger in Corfu is by Alex Preston.

June 2026

The Death of Shame is by Ambrose Parry. When you are a prisoner of your secrets, the death of shame is the only path to liberty. Annabel Banks was promised work as a maid with a prestigious Edinburgh family. But on her first day, she's nowhere to be found. Concerned relatives contact Sarah Fisher to help. Sarah might know her way around the city - its light sides and dark - but soon she'll discover the plight of dozens of girls ensnared in its many brothels: lured, abused and left ruined in the eyes of the world. Meanwhile, a prominent society figure throws himself from the Scott Monument. Will Raven is asked to establish whether the death was suicide or if someone else was involved. Drawing upon real historical events, The Death of Shame takes the Raven and Fisher series into a treacherous labyrinth of shame and the pitfalls of a culture obsessed with moral purity.

Longlist for 2025 McIlvanney Prize Scottish Crime Novel of the Year

 

Whispers of the Dead, by Lin Anderson (Macmillan)
The Midnight King, by Tariq Ashkanani (Viper)
The Dying Light, by Daniel Aubrey (HarperNorth)
Carnival of Lies, by D.V. Bishop (Macmillan)
Unsound, by Heather Critchlow (Canelo)
The Moon’s More Feeble Fire, by Allan Gaw (Polygon)
The Good Father, by Liam McIlvanney (Bonnier)
Paperboy, by Callum McSorley (Pushkin Press)
The Good Liar, by Denise Mina (Vintage)
Gunner, by Alan Parks (John Murray)
Death of Shame, by Ambrose Parry (Canongate)
Midnight and Blue, by Ian Rankin (Orion)
A Thief’s Blood, by Douglas Skelton (Canelo

The McIlvanney Prize, named in honor of William McIlvanney, author of the novel Laidlaw, will be presented on Friday, September 12, during this year’s Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival. Previous winners include Chris Brookmyre, Craig Russell, Francine Toon, Peter May, and Charles Cumming.

Finalists Revealed for The McIlvanney Prize 2022

Sponsored by The Glencairn Glass

Winners to be presented on Thursday 15 September 2022

In Bloody Scotland’s 10th Anniversary year, the judges are delighted to reveal the finalists for The McIlvanney Prize 2022:

Liam McIlvanney – The Heretic (HarperCollins)

Alan Parks – May God Forgive (Canongate)

Ambrose Parry – A Corruption of Blood (Canongate)

Louise Welsh – The Second Cut (Canongate)

A hat trick for Canongate and indeed for Scottish independent publishing! The McIlvanney Prize judges are Ayo Onatade, winner of the CWA Red Herring Award and freelance crime fiction critic, Ewan Wilson, crime fiction buyer from Waterstones Glasgow and Jacky Collins, otherwise known as the podcaster, Dr Noir and programmer of Newcastle Noir. They were unanimous in their praise for all four finalists:

Liam McIlvanney – The Heretic (HarperCollins) The masterful rendering of a richly layered plot makes you want to read this novel again as soon as you’ve finished it. It’s a warts and all tale with memorable characters and a great setting.

Alan Parks – May God Forgive (Canongate) This expertly handled and morally ambiguous novel paints a dark and mesmerising portrait of 1970s Glasgow. The skillfully written and complex plot builds to a thrilling and highly unconventional denouement.

Ambrose Parry – A Corruption of Blood (Canongate) A real slow burner of a novel which is a marvellous tale of murder and deception in Victorian Edinburgh. It handles some difficult subject matter with sensitivity and care and has a real feeling of authenticity

Louise Welsh – The Second Cut (Canongate) The raw, tight prose of this novel delivers an edgy glimpse into the underbelly of 21st century Glasgow. The novel feature the welcome return of Rilke from Louise’s classic debut The Cutting room in a witty and sometimes sordid tale of a rank outsider.

The winner will be revealed in Stirling on Thursday 15 September. All of the shortlisted authors will be invited to a VIP reception at the Church of the Holy Rude at 7pm and to lead the torchlit procession from Stirling Castle to The Albert Halls where the winner of both the McIlvanney and the Bloody Scotland Debut Prizes will be revealed at approximately 8.30pm. They will then be interviewed on stage by BBC Radio Scotland’s Janice Forsyth.

Bloody Scotland announce the Longlist for the McIlvanney Prize 2022

We are delighted to announce the longlist for the McIlvanney Prize 2022. In Bloody Scotland’s 10th Anniversary year, it seems very fitting that a clear longlist of ten books emerged after the prize readers scores were tallied. Six years ago, the Scottish Crime Book of the Year Award was renamed the McIlvanney Prize in memory of William McIlvanney. The Prize recognises excellence in Scottish crime writing, and includes a prize of £1,000 and nationwide promotion in Waterstones.

The longlisted titles are:
May God Forgive by Alan Parks (Canongate)
The Second Cut by Louise Welsh (Canongate)
A Rattle of Bones by Douglas Skelton (Polygon)
From the Ashes by Deborah Masson (Transworld)
A Matter of Time by Claire Askew (Hodder)
A Corruption of Blood by Ambrose Parry (Canongate)
The Heretic by Liam McIlvanney (Harpercollins)
Rizzio by Denise Mina (Polygon)
The Sound of Sirens by Ewan Gault (Leamington Books)
The Blood Tide by Neil Lancaster (Harpercollins)

The McIlvanney Prize will be judged by Ayo Onatade, winner of the CWA Red Herring Award and freelance crime fiction critic, Janice Forsyth, presenter of the Afternoon Show on BBC Radio Scotland and Ewan Wilson, crime fiction buyer from Waterstones Glasgow. The Glencairn Glass, the world’s favourite whisky glass, is again sponsoring both The McIlvanney Prize and The Bloody Scotland Debut Crime Novel of the Year for 2022.

Finalists for the McIlvanney Prize will be revealed at the beginning of September. The winner will be revealed in Stirling on Thursday 15 September.The McIlvanney Prize recognises excellence in Scottish crime writing, includes a prize of £1000 and nationwide promotion in Waterstones. Previous winners are Craig Russell with Hyde in 2021, Francine Toon with Pine in 2020, Manda Scott with A Treachery of Spies in 2019 (who chose to share her prize with all the finalists), Liam McIlvanney with The Quaker in 2018, Denise Mina with The Long Drop 2017, Chris Brookmyre with Black Widow 2016, Craig Russell with The Ghosts of Altona in 2015, Peter May with Entry Island in 2014, Malcolm Mackay with How A Gunman Says Goodbye in 2013 and Charles Cumming with A Foreign Country in 2012

The initial longlisting is handled by over 100 crime fiction readers from all over Scotland including booksellers, bloggers, librarians and festival-goers and the longlist is then handed to the high-profile team of judges to decide on the eventual winner.

Locked Up Festival 2 Programme

 

Thu 8 April

2:30pm – 3:30pm - Write What You Know - SJ Watson, Jane Casey, Kia Abdullah and Mark Edwards

4:00pm – 5:00pm - Legal Issues - Steve Cavanagh, Imran Mahmood, Nadine Matheson and Tony Kent

6:30pm – 7:30pm – The Worst Book Events (Stuart Neville, Erin Kelly, Shari Lapena and Doug Johnstone

8:00pm – 9:00pm – In Conversation – Val McDermid, Liam McIlvanney and Louise Fairbairn

9:30pm – 10:30pm – Am In The A**ehole? - Sarah Hilary, Abir Mukherjee and Jenny Blackhurst

Friday 9 April 

2:30pm – 3:30pm – Scary Campfire Stories – Luca Veste, Alex North, C J Tudor and Catriona Ward

4:00pm – 5:00pm – Truth is Sranger Than Fiction – Caroline Mitchell, Joseph Knox, Denise Mina and Alex Knight

6:30pm – 7:30pm – High Concepts - Ruth Ware, Dorothy Koomson, Linwood Barclay and Lesley Kara

8:00pm – 9:00pm – In Conversation – Michael Connelly, Titus Welliver, Mark Billingham, David Morrisey and Phil Williams

9:30pm – 10:30pm – Locked Up Quiz – Craig Robertson, Mark Billingham, Laura Shepherd-Robinson, Luca Veste, Steve Cavanagh and Ambrose Parry (Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman)

Saturday 10 April

2:30pm – 3:30pm – Writers at Home – Mark Billingham, C L Taylor, Martyn Waite and Fiona Cummins

4:00pm – 5:00pm – Private Eyes – Tim Weaver, Lisa Gray, Chris Brookmyre and Elly Griffiths

6:30pm – 7:30pm Google Streetview – Will Dean, Adrian McKinty, SJI Holiday and Lara Dearman

8:00pm – 9:00pm – In Conversation – Ian Rankin, John Connolly and Brian McGilloway

9:30pm – 11:00pm – Two Crime Writers Live – The Final Event!

Bloody Scotland McIlvanney Prize Finalists revealed

BLOODY SCOTLAND INTERNATIONAL CRIME WRITING FESTIVAL REVEALS FOUR FINALISTS FOR THE MCILVANNEY PRIZE 2020

sponsored by The Glencairn Glass with match funding from Culture & Business Fund Scotland

The annual McIlvanney judges lunch was a virtual Bank Holiday breakfast this year with Karen Robinson in London, Stuart Cosgrove in Glasgow and James Crawford in Edinburgh.

All were impressed by the variety and diversity of the finalists, with titles of dark humour, historical research, ambitious and innovative writing which demonstrate the sheer range of the crime genre and continuing strength of Scottish crime writing.

The list includes two who were finalists / bemused winners last year when Manda Scott announced that she was sharing the prize (Ambrose Parry & Doug Johnstone); an author who is also shortlisted for the 2020 Bloody Scotland Debut Prize (Francine Toon) and someone who provided and operated the audio, lighting and staging for the first Bloody Scotland Festivals and only started writing three years ago (Andrew James Greig). When he heard he was a finalist he said: “As a sound engineer I pinned a lapel mic on William McIlvanney at what was to be his last appearance at Bloody Scotland in 2014. I never imagined that in six years time I’d become a writer myself and be a finalist for the prize that bears his name."

The Shortlist for the McIlvanney Prize 2020 are

Whirligig by Andrew James Greig (Fledgling Press)

A Dark Matter by Doug Johnstone (Orenda)

The Art of Dying by Ambrose Parry (Cannongate Books)

Pine by Francine Toon (Transworld)

The judges praised Whirligig by Andrew James Greig (Fledgling Press) for an ‘ambitious, innovative concept and the most intricate modus operandi for killing the victims of any book this year..... a real page turner'

They described Pine by Francine Toon (Transworld) as ‘an impressive and atmospheric novel, with a portrait of remote rural Scotland, bringing in issues of school bullying, mental health and alcoholism. Very readable and engaging, It's also beautifully written.’

It’s the third time in five years that Doug Johnstone has been a McIlvanney Finalist. A perennial favourite at the Festival his latest book, A Dark Matter (Orenda) was described by the judges as ‘a brilliant idea, a heartwarming portrait of a family with three generations of women set in an undertakers. A confident, entertaining novel with dark humour, pace and energy'.

The Art of Dying is the second collaboration by husband and wife team, Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman. Chris won the McIlvanney Prize in 2016 with Black Widow and as Ambrose Parry they were finalists for the McIlvanney Prize last year. The judges loved the ‘original setting in Victorian Edinburgh’ and praised the ‘fascinating medical research’ and the ‘implicit love affair building between the two main characters – the medically trained man, and the untrained women (who is clearly the smarter of the two).’

The winner will be revealed from Stirling on Friday 18 September at 7pm and all the finalists are involved over the festival weekend. Andrew James Greig is on The Never-Ending Panel as is Doug Johnstone and Ambrose Parry; Chris Brookmyre (50% of Ambrose Parry) and Doug will also be participating in The Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers – Behind the Music and Crime at the Coo Online and Francine Toon has contributed to the debut short story in association with new sponsors of the two prizes, the Glencairn Glass.

Marisa Haetzman (the other 50% of Ambrose Parry) summed it up when she said “It’s little surprise to say that this is the best news we’ve had all year.”

Shortlisted authors for the Debut Prize 2020 are:-

Hold your Tongue by Deborah Masson (Transworld)

The Crown Agent by Stephen O'Rourke (Sandstone)

See Them Run by Marion Todd (Canelo)

Pine by Francine Toon (Doubleday)

The authors shortlisted for the Debut Prize will collaborate on a short story to be co-ordinated by author and board member, Gordon Brown aka Morgan Cry, in association with The Glencairn Glass.

Bloody Scotland Debut Shortlist and McIlvanney Long List announced.

SHORTLIST FOR THE BLOODY SCOTLAND DEBUT SCOTTISH CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 & LONGLIST ANNOUNCED FOR THE McILVANNEY PRIZE 2020

Winners to be presented on Friday 18 September 2020
 

Four years ago the Scottish Crime Book of the Year Award was renamed the McIlvanney Prize in memory of William McIlvanney who is often described as the Godfather of Tartan Noir. Last year Bloody Scotland also introduced a prize for The Bloody Scotland Debut Scottish Crime Book of the Year. This year both are sponsored by the Glencairn Glass. At a time when debut writers have suffered more than anyone else due to bookshop closures the debut prize is more important than ever:

Shortlisted authors are:

Hold Your Tongue by Deborah Masson (Transworld)

The Crown Agent by Stephen O’Rourke (Sandstone),

See Them Run by Marion Todd (Canelo)
Pine by Francine Toon (Doubleday)

One, Francine Toon, is also longlisted for the McIlvanney Prize which includes:
Time for the Dead by Lin Anderson (Macmillan)
Bad Memory by Lisa Gray (Thomas & Mercer)
Whirligig by Andrew James Greig (Fledgling)
A Dark Matter by Doug Johnstone (Orenda)
How the Dead Speak by Val McDermid (Little, Brown)
The Island by Ben McPherson (HarperCollins)
Bury Them Deep by James Oswald (Headline)
The Art of Dying by Ambrose Parry (Canongate) aka Chris Broomyre and Marisa Haetzman
The Inheritance of Solomon Farthing by Mary Paulson-Ellis (Mantle)
The Red, Red Snow by  Caro Ramsay (Severn House)
Watch Him Die by Craig Robertson (Simon & Schuster)
Pine by Francine Toon (Doubleday)

Finalists for the McIlvanney Prize will be revealed at the beginning of September and the winner of both prizes will be revealed on Friday 18 September.

The Bloody Scotland Debut Prize will be judged by a panel including crime writer and founding director of Bloody Scotland Lin Anderson and representatives from Waterstones and the Glencairn Glass.

The McIlvanney Prize will be judged by Stuart Cosgrove, writer and broadcaster, James Crawford, chair of Publishing Scotland and presenter of BBC series Scotland from the Sky and Karen Robinson, Editor of The Times Crime Club.

The McIlvanney award recognises excellence in Scottish crime writing, includes a prize of £1000 and nationwide promotion in Waterstones. The 2020 longlist features established crime writers and debuts, corporates and indies. Previous winners are Manda Scott with A Treachery of Spies in 2019 (who chose to share her prize with all the finalists), Liam McIlvanney with The Quaker in 2018, Denise Mina with The Long Drop in 2017, Chris Brookmyre with Black Widow in 2016, Craig Russell with The Ghosts of Altona in 2015, Peter May with Entry Island in 2014, Malcolm Mackay with How A Gunman Says Goodbye in 2013 and Charles Cumming with A Foreign Country in 2012. The inaugural Bloody Scotland Debut Prize 2019 was won by Claire Askew with All The Hidden Truths.