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

 

The 2026 Barry Award Nominations

 

The winners of the 2026 Barry Awards will be announced at the Opening Ceremonies of Bouchercon (Calgary, Canada) on October 22, 2026. Congratulations to all those nominated. Deadline for voting: September 15, 2026. Readers of Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine are eligible to vote. One vote per category. Send votes to george@deadlypleasures.com

Best Mystery

THE IMPOSSIBLE THING, Belinda Bauer (Atlantic Monthly)

 CROOKS, Lou Berney (William Morrow)

KING OF ASHES, S. A. Cosby (Flatiron Books)

THE BLACK WOLF, Louise Penny (Minotaur Books)

THE WHITE CROW, Michael Robotham (Scribner)

PRESUMED GUILTY, Scott Turow (Grand Central)

Best First Mystery

LEVERAGE, Amran Gowani (Atria Books)

ALL THE OTHER MOTHERS HATE ME, Sarah Harman (Putnam)

DEAD MONEY, Jakob Kerr (Bantam)

THE VANISHING PLACE, Zoe Rankin (Berkley)

STILLWATER, Tanya Scott (Atlantic Monthly)

JULIE CHAN IS DEAD, Liann Zhang (Atria Books)

Best Paperback Original Mystery

CRIMSON THAW, Bruce Robert Coffin (Severn River)

SPLINTERED JUSTICE, Kim Hays (Seventh Street Books)

MAKING A KILLING, Cara Hunter (William Morrow)

IF TWO ARE DEAD, Rick Mofina (MIRA)

WOLF SIX, Alex Shaw (Boldwood Books)

THE DENTIST, Tim Sullivan (Atlantic Crime)

Best Thriller

WITNESS 8, Steve Cavanagh (Atria Books)

THE OLIGARCH’S DAUGHTER, Joseph Finder (Harper)

MIDNIGHT BLACK, Mark Greaney (Berkley)

CLOWN TOWN, Mick Herron (Soho Crime)

HEAD CASES, John McMahon (Minotaur Books)

THE MAILMAN, Andrew Welsh-Huggins (Mysterious Press)

Thanks to Members of the Barry Award Nominating Committee:

Oline Cogdill

Larry Gandle

Jeff Popple

Ted Hertel

Meredith Anthony

“Mystery” Mike Bursaw

Mike Dillman

Ayo Onatade

George Easter

Ali Karim

Robin Agnew

Craig Sisterson

Hank Wagner

Kevin Burton Smith

 

Procedural or whodunnit?

 

This is a question I’ve been asking myself about recently as I finished writing The Monk the latest in my series of DS Cross novels. I had read a review on Amazon where a reader said he’d guessed correctly the killer in one of my books before the actual reveal and that it wasn’t the first time in one of my books. This was obviously a deficiency for him in the book. But it isn’t for me. As a writer I obviously want to hold onto the identity of my killer for as long as possible, but this is by no means the be-all and end-all for me. It’s simply not the most important thing to achieve or aim for when writing. It doesn’t bother me if the clues my investigator uncovers along the way allow certain readers to guess the identity of the culprit before it is confirmed. (As long as they continue to read till the end of the book obviously!) For me it’s actually a sign of successful and credible plotting if they are able to do so. I myself am not a fan of crime novels where the killer suddenly comes out of nowhere in a surprising fashion. This is a bit of a cop out to me. A con. Anyone can do that bring in a character at the last minute who the reader hasn’t had a chance to know and assess.

I would also hope the reader who is able to divine the identity of a killer early might be imbued with a self-congratulatory sense of satisfaction rather than disappointment. For me describing the path to finding the killer is one of the most enjoyable parts of writing a crime novel. The unique and often left field process by which my literal and idiosyncratic hero George Cross investigates his cases and comes to his conclusions is what I hope my readers respond to. For the case to be plausible the pool of suspects has to be readily available to the reader. This means the reader has every chance to come to their own conclusions, even if a little early, because of the evidence afforded them. My hero George Cross however would never be in such a rush to decide who the guilty party is. He has to be sure to the very last detail, constantly questioning what is in front of him, forever considering other possibilities and not charging a suspect until he is absolutely convinced. Confident that the evidence is solid enough to persuade a judge and jury to convict.

But it’s an interesting question and I think readers are interested in the process as opposed to just the procedure. This explains the current popularity of true crime alongside crime fiction. The fact that more often than not the viewer or reader will know who the killer is and doesn’t impede their interest or enjoyment is testament to this. They are more intrigued by the when and how rather than just the who. Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood is of course the classic example of this, where the reader knows before they open the first page who the killers are. It is the examination of the circumstances, the characters and the timeline that draws the reader in and holds their attention.

 In a sense the idea that crime fiction is some kind of game between the writer and reader to keep the identity of the killer secret right until the end is quite old fashioned. It harks back to the closed room plots of the Golden Age nowadays reflected in the popular TV series Death in Paradise. The entire object of this kind of murder mystery is solely to guess the killer and the job of the writer to mislead the reader with red herrings and tangents.

I myself don’t write this way. I am more interested in the character and the method. To an extent the crimes in the Cross series are unsensational because I believe that is closer to the truth of murder in this country. The minor details that can so often be overlooked, that seem trivial, but often lead to a life taken, are what grip me. That’s why George Cross is obsessed with people’s routines and the patterns of their lives. When he sees these routines broken, patterns changed is often when he cracks a case.

 For me crime fiction is more than just a literary version of Where’s Wally or Spot the Ball. In The Monk the first question everyone asks is “Who would do this to a monk?” For Cross this is the wrong question. For him the most important first question is “Why?” and I think this must in some way be a reflection on my priorities when it comes to writing crime. It’s about the why, which in the end leads to the who.

The Monk by Tim Sullivan (Head of Zeus) Out Now

The Detective DS George Cross has always wondered why his mother left him when he was a child. Now she is back in his life, he suddenly has answers. But this unexpected reunion is not anything he's used to dealing with. When a disturbing case lands on his desk, he is almost thankful for the return to normality. The Question - The body of a monk is found savagely beaten to death in a woodland near Bristol. Nothing is known about Brother Dominic's past, which makes investigating difficult. How can Cross unpick a crime when they don't know anything about the victim? And why would someone want to harm a monk? The Past - Discovering who Brother Dominic once was only makes the picture more puzzling. He was a much-loved and respected friend, brother, son - he had no enemies. Or, at least, none that are obvious. But looking into his past reveals that he was a very wealthy man, that he sacrificed it all for his faith. For a man who has nothing, it seems strange that greed could be the motive for his murder. But greed is a sin after all... 

Books from Head of Zeus

February 2023 

1936, London. A celebrity psychiatrist is discovered dead in his locked study. There seems to be no way a killer could have escaped unseen. There are no clues, no witnesses, and no evidence of the murder weapon. Stumped by the confounding scene, Inspector Flint, the Scotland Yard detective on the case, calls on retired stage magician turned part-time sleuth Joseph Spector. Spector has a knack for explaining the inexplicable, but even he finds that there is more to this mystery than meets the eye. As he and the Inspector interview the colourful cast of suspects, they uncover no shortage of dark secrets... or motives for murder. And when a second murder occurs, this time in an impenetrable elevator, they realise the crime wave will become even more deadly unless they can catch the culprit soon. Death and the Conjuror is by Tom Mead.

No Place to Hide is by JS Monroe. Adam lives a picture-perfect life: happy marriage, two young children, and a flourishing career as a doctor. But Adam also lives with a secret. Hospital CCTV, strangers' mobile phones, city traffic cameras - he is convinced that they are all watching him, recording his every move. All because of something terrible that happened at a drunken party when he was a medical student. Only two other people knew what happened that night. Two people he's long left behind. Until one of them, Clio - Adam's great unrequited love - turns up on his doorstep, and reignites a sinister pact twenty-four years in the making...

Storm Watch is by C J Box. When a prominent University of Wyoming professor goes missing, authorities are stumped. That is, until Game Warden Joe Pickett makes two surprising discoveries in his district. First, Joe finds the professor's vehicle parked on a remote mountainside. Then he finds the professor's frozen and mutilated body. When he attempts to learn more, Joe's investigation is obstructed by Federal agents, extreme environmentalists, and Governor Colter Allen. Meanwhile, Joe's associate, falconer Nate Romanowski, is approached by a shadowy group of local militant activists who are gaining in power and influence, and demanding that Wyoming join other western states in seceding from the Union - by force, if necessary. They ask Nate to throw in his lot with them, but should he trust them, or is he being set up? As a storm of peril gathers around them, Joe and Nate confront it in different ways - and maybe, for the first time, on opposite sides.

We live with our history, but it can kill us. Faces from the past appear from nowhere at a family funeral, and Will Flemyng, spy-turned-ambassador, is drawn into twin mysteries that threaten everything he holds dear. From Washington, he's pitched back into the Troubles in Northern Ireland and an explosive secret hidden deep in the most dangerous but fulfilling friendship he has known. And while he confronts shadowy adversaries in American streets, and looks for solace at home in the Scottish Highlands, he discovers that his government's most precious Cold War agent is in mortal danger and needs his help to survive.In an electric story of courage and betrayal, Flemyng learns the truth that his life has left him a man with many friends, but still alone. The Spy Across the Water is by James Naughtie.

March 2023

She says he's a victim. They say he's a killer. When an armed man massacres several people in central London, Claudine witnesses the whole thing. To her horror, one of the victims is her brother, Jethro. Driven by grief, Claudine retreats to the family home in the Fens, which is where the police find her. She is left reeling when they tell her Jethro orchestrated the attack. Why would a gentle, if troubled, middle-aged man cause such bloodshed - and why would he include himself in the list of victims? The truth could lie in Jethro's research on a mediaeval cult. If Claudine can't solve the mystery in time, more people will die... and the darkness will claim her too. Twist of Fate is by D L Mark.

What Have We Done is by Alex Finlay. The foster children of Savior House never knew the peace of a normal childhood. Raised in an institution, a group of four friends from the home have now grown and gone their separate ways. They haven't seen one another since they left those abusive foster-home halls, until, twenty-five years later, they are reunited for a single, inescapable reason: someone is trying to kill them. To save their lives, the group will have to revisit the nightmares of their childhoods and confront their past: a past that holds the key to everything.

Robert Ludlum's The Treadstone Rendition is by Joshua Hood. Adam Hayes has stepped away from the field for the very last time. He's promised his wife that he won't put his life on the line any more, and nothing will make him break that promise. Well... almost nothing. With America withdrawing from Afghanistan and the Taliban closing in, Abdul Nassir reaches out to his old partner, Hayes. Ten years ago, Nassir saved the American's life, and the time has come for repayment. Nassir is desperate to get his family out of the country. He is scared of the Taliban... but he can't trust the Americans either: his daughter witnessed a massacre committed by rogue CIA contractors. That only leaves one man who can get them out of the country: Adam Hayes.

April 2023

A mid-air collision in the Alaskan wilderness between two small aircraft leaves ten people dead. Was it a bird strike, pilot error... or premeditated murder? Then an eleventh body is found in the wreckage: a man shot gangland style, twice in the chest and once in the head. In an investigation that reaches to the highest levels of government, justice may not be served, but Kate Shugak is determined that the truth will out, even at the risk of her life and the lives of those she loves most. Not The Ones Dead is by Dana Stabenow.

Death Comes to Costa Del Sol is by M H Ecclestone. Amateur sleuth Astrid Swift swaps the sporting summer in England for a British expat enclave in Spain, where everyone has a mysterious reason for leaving the UK. The sunniest days, the deadliest nights. It's the end of the summer season in the harbour town of Estepona. The holiday makers are heading home, leaving the British expats to reclaim their little corner of paradise. Among them is art restorer Astrid Swift's estranged father. She's sailed into town to reunite with him but has instead been tasked with catching an internet troll who's been threatening his wife online. Soon Astrid is entwined in the lives of these expats, from the boozy local heckler to the socially awkward beachcomber. And then she discovers a body in the bunker of the local golf course... Can Astrid uncover the 'Costa del Troll' behind the poison-pen campaign before they reveal everyone's secret past? Or will they tear this cosy community - including Astrid and her father - even further apart?

The Monk is by Tim Sullivan. The Detective DS George Cross has always wondered why his mother left him when he was a child. Now she is back in his life, he suddenly has answers. But this unexpected reunion is not anything he's used to dealing with. When a disturbing case lands on his desk, he is almost thankful for the return to normality.The Question - The body of a monk is found savagely beaten to death in a woodland near Bristol. Nothing is known about Brother Dominic's past, which makes investigating difficult. How can Cross unpick a crime when they don't know anything about the victim? And why would someone want to harm a monk? The past - Discovering who Brother Dominic once was only makes the picture more puzzling. He was a much-loved and respected friend, brother, son - he had no enemies. Or, at least, none that are obvious. But looking into his past reveals that he was a very wealthy man, that he sacrificed it all for his faith. For a man who has nothing, it seems strange that greed could be the motive for his murder. But greed is a sin after all...

May 2023

Sepulchre Street is by Martin Edwards. 'This is my challenge for you,' the woman in white said. 'I want you to solve my murder.' London, 1930s: Rachel Savernake has been invited to a private view of an art exhibition at a fashionable gallery. The artist, Damaris Gethin, known as 'the Queen of Surrealism', is debuting a show featuring live models pretending to be waxworks of famous killers. Before her welcoming speech, Damaris asks a haunting favour of the amateur sleuth: she wants Rachel to solve her murder. As Damaris takes to a stage set with a guillotine, the lights go out. There is a cry and the blade falls. Damaris has executed herself. While Rachel questions why Damaris would take her own life - and just what she meant by 'solve my murder' - fellow party guest Jacob Flint is chasing a lead on a glamorous socialite with a sordid background. As their paths merge, this case of false identities, blackmail, and fedora-adorned doppelgangers, will descend upon a grand home on Sepulchre Street, where nothing - and no one - is quite what it seems.

June 2023

The Inmate is by Sebastian Fitzek. A missing child. A desperate father. A terrible secret. Serial killer Guido T has already confessed to two horrific child murders and led the Berlin police to the horribly disfigured bodies. The police are sure he is also the kidnapper and murderer of six-year-old Max, who disappeared without trace a year ago. But now Guido T, who is being held in the high-security ward of a psychiatric prison hospital, is staying silent. The investigators have no reliable evidence. And without the prisoner's statement, Max's parents will have no certainty and will never be able to say goodbye to their son. But then an investigator from the homicide commission makes Max's desperate father an unbelievable offer: he will smuggle the distraught parent into the hospital where Guido T is imprisoned. Max's father will be listed as a fake patient, equipped with a fake medical record. He will be as close as he possibly can to the child killer, and plans to force the killer into a confession. Because nothing is worse than uncertainty. Or so he thinks. Until he, as an inmate, learns the gruesome truth...

Burning Bridges by Stephanie Harte is also due to be published in June