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

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.

Capital Crime 2026 - Headliners Announced

CAPITAL CRIME ANNOUNCES 2026 HEADLINERS, INCLUDING GLOBAL SENSATIONS LEE AND ANDREW CHILD, JANE HARPER, CLAIRE DOUGLAS, ANDREA MARA AND COMEDY WRITING TALENTS ARDAL O’HANLON AND ANDI OSHO

Capital Crime Festival 2025

The 2026 festival to return to the Leonardo Royal Hotel, St Paul’s, on 18th-20th June.

Partnership with The Reading Agency announced, in the National Year of Reading

Founder David Headley heralds crime as ‘one of the most engaging and accessible genres, and the perfect way to help people rediscover a love of reading’

Fingerprint Awards to return on 18th June, presented by radio and TV broadcaster, and host of The Bookshelf Podcast Ryan Tubridy

Capital Crime, the celebrated crime and thriller festival led by Goldsboro Books’ co-founder and managing director David Headley, has announced its first confirmed headlining authors, attending in June 2026. The programme features authors at all stages of their careers, from much anticipated debut novelists to global sensations from around the world.

Capital Crime will also be Going All In on the National Year of Reading, a nationwide campaign designed to help people rediscover the joy of reading, and the biggest reading initiative the UK has ever seen. The festival has agreed a partnership with The Reading Agency, a UK charity that inspires social and personal change through the proven power of reading, and the organisation behind Quick Reads. This partnership will be a step change for Capital Crime’s Social Outreach initiative, a cornerstone of the festival since it launched in 2019, which has seen schoolchildren from all around London invited to meet, hear and engage with publishing representatives and authors, in order to demystify the industry; encourage a diverse range of people to consider a future career in books; and grow its community of readers by inspiring a lifelong love of reading. As part of the partnership, Capital Crime will host a panel with Quick Reads authors from 2026 and previous years, chaired by Debbie Hicks MBE, a founding member of The Reading Agency. Goldsboro Books and Capital Crime have been committed to creating reader communities since the bookshop’s inception, and the team firmly believes that crime fiction can be the most brilliantly accessible route into a lifelong love of reading.

The festival returns to the Leonardo Royal Hotel in St Paul’s, and confirmed authors and speakers so far include: 

• Lee Child, creator of the globally famous Jack Reacher novels, and his brother Andrew, who has taken up the baton, will be in conversation with author and journalist Stig Abell
• Jane Harper, the international #1 bestselling Australian author of The Dry
• Andrea Mara, million copy bestselling author of All Her Fault
• Actor, comedian and novelist Ardal O’Hanlon
• Bestselling creator of Maeve Kerrigan Jane Casey
• Award-winning psychological suspense writer Liz Nugent

Also confirmed to be taking part are Sunday Times bestselling thriller writer Claire Douglas; Andi Osho, stand-up comedian and thriller writer; multi-award-winning bestseller Clare Mackintosh; creator of Roy Grace Peter James; bestselling creator of The Guest List and The Paris Apartment Lucy Foley; and the author of Reece’s Book Club selected Broken Countries, Clare Leslie Hall.

Audiences will also hear from CWA Gold Dagger-winning author of Wyndham and Bannerjee novels Abir Mukherjee; Sunday Times bestselling Anatomy of a Scandal writer Sarah Vaughan; Sophie Hannah, #1 bestselling author of Poirot continuations; former barrister and Traitors star Harriet Tyce; and Lucy Rose, author of 2025’s debut sensation The Lamb.

The festival will also be welcoming some of the most critically acclaimed and eagerly anticipated debut novelists of 2026, including Yemi Dipeolu, launching psychological thriller Kiss Marry Kill; Ellie Levenson, author of the heart-stopping suspense Room 706; and renowned wine writer Olly Smith, launching the first in The Bottle Bank Mysteries series.

Also returning are the Fingerprint Awards, this year to be presented on Thursday 18th by Ryan Tubridy, and sponsored by the festival’s official international cultural partner, the Sharjah International Book Fair. This year the shortlist in each category will be chosen by the Capital Crime Tastemakers – an independent committee of bloggers, journalists and readers. The award winners will, as always, be voted for by the readers and fans who make this genre the best in the world.

Last year the eagerly anticipated awards received over 6,000 votes from the public and winners included bestsellers Vaseem Khan and M.W. Craven, for the Historical Book of the Year and the Overall Best Crime Book of the Year respectively.

Finally, on Thursday 18th, Capital Crime is thrilled to open its doors to aspiring, unpublished writers ready to take the next step towards securing literary representation. Agents from DHH Literary Agency who are actively searching for the next standout voice in crime fiction will be available for an open afternoon with all ticketholders. If you’ve written a gripping thriller, a twist-filled mystery, or a page-turning police procedural, this could be your opportunity to get your work in front of top industry talent. Festival ticketholders will be invited to submit ahead of the festival, and will be given a meeting slot with their agent of choice.

Capital Crime co-founder and Goldsboro Books managing director David Headley, said:

“I set up Capital Crime because I wanted to create a festival that brought together crime writers, readers, and industry professionals in a way that was welcoming to both established and emerging authors. It has been a joy to see the festival go from strength to strength, and our community of crime fans and writers grow. In this, the National Year of Reading, I’m delighted to announce our partnership with The Reading Agency. Crime is one of the most engaging and accessible genres of writing, and the perfect way to help people rediscover a love of reading. As well as our Quick Reads panel, we have panels for every reader, from discussions about AI to ‘property noir’, and courtroom dramas to comedy in crime.”

Capital Crime Festival Director Lizzie Curle, said:

“I’m thrilled with how our programme is shaping up, with some of the best crime writers in the world joining us, such as international sensations Lee Child, Jane Harper and comedy legend Ardal O’Hanlon and fan favourites like Lisa Jewell and Peter James. As always, I’m also delighted by the extremely exciting new voices we’ll be welcoming this year, including Lucy Rose, Olly Smith, Yemi Dipeolu and Ellie Levenson.”

The full line-up will be announced at the end of March.

Headley and his team at Goldsboro Books have helped launch the careers of so many authors since it opened over 25 years ago, by uniting incredible writing with their loyal, ever-growing community of passionate readers. Capital Crime is a brilliant extension of that vision, having become an unmissable fixture in the literary calendar, one of the largest crime fiction festivals in the UK, and the only one to be owned by an independent bookshop. With a line-up which fully reflects the vibrant and culturally diverse city that it calls home, Capital Crime’s goal is to create a year-round home for crime and thriller readers and authors, celebrating books and stories, and nurturing the next generation of talent and book enthusiasts. The festival attracts authors from around the world, to create a unique, innovative and entertaining programme, pairing debuts with household names. The festival welcomes more than 1,000 attendees, the majority purchasing full weekend passes, and previous attendees have included Ian Rankin, Irvine Welsh, Dorothy Koomson, Abir Mukherjee and Kate Atkinson.