Coastal Crime 2027

 Crime writer starts new chapter as Coastal Crime announces 2027 date

Crime author Alex Stone publishes her latest thriller, The Jealous Girl, and launches a major new festival in the South: Coastal Crime.

Crime writer Alex Stone is preparing for a major new chapter this autumn - the publication of her latest psychological thriller, The Jealous Girl, and the launch of a new crime fiction festival.

Coastal Crime – The South's Crime Writing Festival takes place on Saturday 6 March 2027 at the Leonardo Royal Hotel Southampton Grand Harbour, bringing some of the biggest names in crime fiction together with emerging authors, aspiring writers, and readers for a day dedicated to the genre by the sea.

Festival founder Alex Stone was awarded a Katie Fforde Bursary in 2019 and published her debut thriller The Perfect Daughter with Boldwood Books in 2021. Her new Dorset-set psychological thriller, The Jealous Girl, is published by Boldwood Books on 10 September.

Alex Stone said: “It feels particularly appropriate that, just as The Jealous Girl is about to reach readers, Coastal Crime is beginning its first chapter.'

“Writing can often be a solitary profession, which is one of the reasons I'm so passionate about bringing writers and readers together. Coastal Crime is about celebrating the authors people already love, helping readers discover brilliant new voices, and creating a community where anyone with a passion for crime fiction feels welcome.”

The inaugural Coastal Crime programme is packed with panels exploring topics from reinventing the whodunnit, coastal noir, and adapting novels for screen.

Featured authors whose books have been adapted for screen include Sarah Pinborough, with the Netflix smash, Behind Her Eyes, Luke Jenning, whose books inspired the global sensation Killing Eve, TM Logan, whose The Holiday was adapted by Ch5 starring Jill Halfpenny, and New York Times bestselling screenwriter and novelist M J Arlidge, whose book was adapted for ITV’s Innocent.

Other bestselling authors include the award-winning Vaseem Khan, who was commissioned by the Ian Fleming Estate as an official author of the James Bond spin offs, featuring Q.

Journalist turned author Jackie Kabler also stars. Jackie worked as a news correspondent for the BBC, ITV and GMTV before writing bestsellers including The Perfect Couple and The Happy Family, selling over a million copies.

Sarah Pearse, Heidi Perks, Antony Johnston and Ava Glass also feature in a programme of talks, panels and opportunities for readers to meet new, emerging authors.

Alex said: “We’re creating a festival that celebrates bestselling names while championing new voices.”

Alex also runs an Author Events Academy, which has informed Coastal Crime’s dedicated Industry Hub, which will also run alongside the main festival.

The hub is aimed at aspiring and established writers, with sessions on breaking into the genre, understanding publishing routes, building visibility, mastering research, and pitching to agents, with expert contributors, including UK NetGalley Director Stuart Evers, on building a sustainable and visible writing career.

The hub also features forensic scientist Jo Millington, whose team has advised on major TV productions including Silent Witness, and Graham Bartlett, a former senior police officer turned bestselling author.

Writers will gain direct industry perspective from Curtis Brown Creative, sharing what agents are really looking for and how to approach submissions with confidence, alongside additional publishing professionals and specialists offering guidance across craft, research and career development.

A limited number of one-to-one appointments with agents and editors are now available to book.

Alex said: “Developing new, aspiring and emerging writers is something of a passion of mine. I’ve been through the process of dreaming of being a writer to published author. My Author Events Academy provides online workshops and development opportunities for writers, so that expertise and learning have really helped shape what we feel is an inspirational and practical day at Coastal Crime.”

The day concludes with a relaxed drinks reception, to meet authors and fellow crime fans.

Alex’s latest book The Jealous Girl explores toxic relationships, obsession and revenge. The novel follows Kirsty, whose obsession with the woman who has replaced her in her former boyfriend's life draws her into a web of family secrets, lies and ultimately something much darker. 

Dorset's dramatic coastline has long provided inspiration and settings for Alex's psychological thrillers, making the creation of a major crime writing festival on the South Coast a natural progression for the author.

Coastal Crime takes place on Saturday 6 March 2027 at the Leonardo Royal Hotel Southampton Grand Harbour. Early Bird tickets with 25% off are available until 31 October.

For tickets and further information please visit the website.

In The St Hilda's Spotlight - Vaseem Khan

 Name: - Vaseem Khan

Job: - Author and Strategic Alliance Director at University College London

Website: - https://vaseemkhan.com

X:- @VaseemKhanUK 

Instagram: - @Vaseemkhanwriter

Facebook:- - @VaseemKhanOfficial 

Introduction

Vaseem Khan is the author of two award-winning crime series set in India, and the Q Mysteries, beginning with Quantum of Menace, the first in a murder mystery series featuring Q from the James Bond franchise. In 2026 it was shortlisted for Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year.

His debut, The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, was selected by the Sunday Times as one of the 40 best crime novels published 2015-2020, and is translated into 17 languages. In 2017 The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown won the Shamus Award for the Best Original Private Investigator Paperback. Vaseem Khan was awarded the 2018 Eastern Eye ACTA (Arts, Culture, Theatre Award) for Literature.

In 2021, Midnight at Malabar House, the first in the Malabar House novels set in 1950s Bombay, and introducing India’s first female police detective, won the CWA Historical Dagger. The fifth novel in the series City of Destruction won the Fingerprint Award.

Vaseem is a former Chair of the Crime Writers Association and also co-hosts the popular crime fiction podcast, Murder Junction. When he’s not writing, he works at University College London’s Dept of Security and Crime Science

Current book? (This can either be the current book that you are reading or writing or both)

I’m currently putting the final proof edits to The Man with the Golden Compass, the second in the Q mysteries, featuring Q from the Bond franchise, out in October 2026. Fresh from successfully reinvestigating his childhood friend's mysterious death, Q is hired as a civilian contractor by the police in his sleepy hometown to look into the unsolved murder of tech millionaire turned online antique dealer, Lawrence Noble. Noble was tortured and killed, a circular object made of gold and inscribed with mysterious runes found in his pocket… And, yes, Commander James Bond gets to make an appearance in the novel. These books are essentially Q playing amateur detective in a small English town. The first, Quantum of Menace, was shortlisted for two major awards.

Why do you think anti-heroes are so interesting to readers

No one likes a smarmy nice guy, always following the rules and being a goody two-shoes. I’d rather have some maverick who doesn’t mind punching some old lady in the face if that’s what it takes to get the job done. Anti-heroes have a magical quality of cool about them; they’re magnetic and unpredictable, which means you never know what to expect. Isn’t that what we want from fiction?

Which two anti-heroes or enemies would you invite to dinner and why?

I’d love to have Sauron from The Lord of the Rings over – I always thought he was misunderstood and just needed an arm around the shoulder and a friendly ear – if Gandalf had been more sympathetic there would have been no war for Middle Earth. And I’d also have Lady Macbeth over. Everyone’s always ‘oh, but it was Lady M’s fault’. As far as I’m concerned Macbeth was a grown-ass man who could have said no. Mrs Macbeth was just ambitious. Nothing wrong with that.

How do you relax?

Relax??? What’s that? I think I last relaxed in 1987 when I ran my bicycle into a lamppost and banged my head and was knocked out for a while… I play a lot of cricket which is supposed to be relaxing, but when some snotty sixteen-year-old is bowling very fast with a very hard cricket ball at your head it doesn’t seem that chilled out.

Which anti hero would you like to be on your side in a difficult situation.

Dirty Harry as played by Clint Eastwood. I mean who’s going to mess with a man holding a gun bigger than most rocket launchers?

If you were to write a book involving an anti-hero where would you set it and why?

I already did! The Malabar House novels are set in 1950s India, just after Indian independence, and feature India’s first and only female police detective, Inspector Persis Wadia, working with English criminalist, Archie Blackfinch. Persis doesn’t mind breaking the rules – because it’s the only way to prove that she’s as good as any man on the force. In the latest, The Edge of Darkness, she is banished from Bombay to the northeastern jungles of India, a place called the Naga Hills, where headhunting tribals continue to operate. When she discovers the headless corpse of the local governor inside a locked room at the Hotel Victoria, she is tasked to investigate before the region explodes in all out political war… These books are for those who enjoy award-winning historical mysteries.

How would you describe your latest published book?

The Girl in Cell A came out in paperback recently with a beautiful new cover. This is my first psychological thriller, set in small town America. Orianna is sent to prison aged 17 for the murder of the heir to the wealthy Wyclerc mining dynasty. She claims she cannot remember what happened. The book is told by two narrators: Orianna’s therapist in prison, trying to open the black box of her memories, and Orianna herself, eighteen years later, having served her prison term, returning to her forested home town to investigate. It’s a murder mystery, a big family saga, with unreliable narrators, small town secrets, and lots of shocking twists and turns. Check it out!

With Bad Apples: crime fiction’s enemies and anti-heroes theme at St Hilda's this year, who are you three favourite anti-heroes: 

Lisbeth Salander – I love The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and I really wouldn’t want Lisbeth as an enemy. Sam Spade from The Maltese Falcon - I wish I could be as effortlessly cool as Humphrey Bogart in the film. Dr Hannibal Lecter - OK, so I know he occasionally murders people and eats their livers BUT… he’s witty, urbane and intelligent and only kills people who are rude, which I think is fair.

Which 3 films or television series featuring anti-heroes would you rewatch and why.

The Silence of the Lambs

A Fistful of Dollars

The Godfather

What are you looking forward to at St Hilda's?

The enormous lunches at the big knob table or whatever it’s called. Oh, and attending some really great sessions at the festival, of course!

The Girl in Cell A by Vaseem Khan (Hodder and Stoughton) 

The world knows her as the girl in cell A. Convicted of murder at seventeen, infamous killer and true crime celebrity orianna negi has always maintained her innocence. But if she didn't kill Gideon Wyclerc... Orianna has a blind spot over that fateful day: she can't remember what happened. Forensic psychologist Annie Ledet is tasked with unlocking the truth. ....Then who did? Orianna grew up in eden falls, ruled by the insular Wyclerc dynasty and its ruthless patriarch , Amos. As their sessions progress, Annie reaches into Orianna's past to a shattering realisation. ... Scandal. Sex. Power. Race. And murder. Between guilt and innocence lies a fallen eden.

Information on how to buy online tickets can be found here. The programme can be found here.

Macavity Award Nominations 2026 (for works published in 2025)

 The Macavity Award is named after Macavity: The Mystery Cat, in T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats! 

The Macavity Awards are nominated and voted on by members of Mystery Readers International, subscribers to Mystery Readers Journal, and friends of MRI. Congratulations to all!

Ballots will be sent out next week to members of MRI, subscribers to MRJ, and to friends of MRI. Look for it in your email. Winners will be announced this Fall.

Want to be a member/subscriber, go here. Mystery Readers Journal themes for 2026: Fairs, Fetes, and Festivals; Mysteries set in France; Cross-Genre Mysteries; and Mysteries set in India. 

Macavity Nominations 2026 (for works published in 2025)

Best Mystery Novel

Crooks by Lou Berney (William Morrow)

King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron Books)

Clown Town by Mick Herron (Soho Crime)

River of Lies by James L'Etoile (Oceanview Publishing)

The White Crow by Michael Robotham (Scribner)

All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Minotaur Books)

Best First Mystery 

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes by Sandra Jackson-Opoku (Minotaur Books)

Dead Money by Jakob Kerr (Bantam Books)

Voices of the Elysian Fields by Michael Rigg (Level Best Books)

Stillwater by Tanya Scott (Grove Atlantic)

History Lessons by Zoe B. Wallbrook (Soho Press)

Best Mystery Non-fiction

Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover's Travel Guide to New England by Dawn M. Barclay (Level Best Books)

Blood and the Badge: The Mafia, Two Killer Cops, and a Scandal That Shocked the Nation by Michael Cannell (Minotaur Books)

Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser (Penguin Press)

V Is for Venom: Agatha Christie's Chemicals of Death by Kathryn Harkup (Bloomsbury Sigma)

Edgar Allan Poe: A Life by Richard Kopley (University of Virginia Press)

Cooler than Cool: The Life and Work of Elmore Leonard by C.M. Kushins (Mariner Books)

Best Mystery Short Story

“Six-Armed Robbery” by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier (in Donna Andrews Presents Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Humorous, edited by John Betancourt, Carla Coupe, and Michael Bracken, Wildside Press)

“Hollywood Prometheus” by Christa Faust (in Crime Ink: Iconic: An Anthology of Crime Fiction Inspired by Queer Icons, edited by John Copenhaver and Salem West, Bywater Books)

“Finding Jimmy Baldwin” by Cheryl Head (in Crime Ink: Iconic: An Anthology of Crime Fiction Inspired by Queer Icons, edited by John Copenhaver and Salem West, Bywater Books)

“The Devil Himself” by Vaseem Khan (in Double Crossing Van Dine, edited by Donna Andrews, Greg Herren, and Art Taylor, Crippen & Landru Publishers)

“The Skies Are Red” by Richie Narvaez (in On Fire and Under Water: A Climate Change Crime Fiction Anthology, edited by Curtis Ippolito, Rock and a Hard Place Press)

“Julius Katz Draws a Straight Flush” by Dave Zeltserman (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Sept/Oct 2025)

Sue Feder Memorial Historical Mystery

Bye Bye Blackbird by Elizabeth Crowens (Level Best Books)

A Daughter's Guide to Mothers and Murder by Dianne Freeman (Kensington Books)

City Lights by Claire M. Johnson (Level Best Books)

The Case of the Christie Conspiracy by Kelly Oliver (Boldwood Books)

The Case of the Missing Maid by Rob Osler (Kensington Books)

No. 10 Doyers Street by Radha Vatsal (Level Best Books)

Shortlist for prestigious Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2026 announced

 

Thursday 18 June 2026: Harrogate International Festivals today announced the shortlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2026, the UK and Ireland’s most prestigious crime fiction award. The winner will be revealed on the opening night of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Thursday 23 July.

www.harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com

#TheakstonsAwards #TheakstonsCrime 

The six books shortlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2026, now in its twenty-second year, showcase ‘original’ and ‘entertaining’ storytelling as Tariq Ashkanani, Abigail Dean, Alice Feeney, Elly Griffiths, Mick Herron and Vaseem Khan compete for the coveted award. The winner, who receives £3,000 and a handmade, engraved oak beer cask provided by T&R Theakston Ltd, will be selected by a panel of seven expert judges, with the public vote representing the eighth judge. Readers are now invited to vote for their favourite book to win at www.harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com. 

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2026 shortlist (in alphabetical order by surname) is: 

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

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

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney (Pan Macmillan, Pan Fiction) 

The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths (Quercus Books) 

Clown Town by Mick Herron (John Murray Books, Baskerville) 

Quantum of Menace by Vaseem Khan (Bonnier Books, Zaffre) 

 The Shortlist in more detail:

2022 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award winner and globally bestselling ‘Slow Horses’ author Mick Herron is shortlisted for Clown Town, the latest funny and fast-paced instalment in the Slough House series, which sees a gang of washed-up spooks entangled in a dangerous game of blackmail with its roots in the Irish Troubles. Highly commended for the award in 2023, crime fiction phenomenon Elly Griffiths receives an impressive eighth shortlisting for The Frozen People, the first in a new series with a time-travelling spin, as an unsolved mystery takes cold cases investigator Ali Dawson back to the frozen Victorian London of January 1850. Shortlisted for a second time, Vaseem Khan is nominated this year for Quantum of Menace, a witty James Bond spin-off mystery centring on one of Ian Fleming’s most beloved characters Q (aka Major Boothroyd) who investigates the suspicious death of a scientist friend, after being unexpectedly ousted from his job at MI6.

They face stiff competition from three hugely talented authors who are shortlisted for the Award for the first time. Scottish author Tariq Ashkanani is nominated for The Midnight King¸ a gripping dark thriller about the son of a famous author – and uncaught serial killer – who, after his father’s death, discovers an unpublished confessional manuscript – a chilling fictionalised account of his monstrous crimes. Alice Feeney’s Beautiful Ugly is a magnetic psychological thriller about marriage, grief and revenge as a once-successful writer retreats to a remote Scottish island after his wife’s disappearance, only to find himself drawn into a web of secrets and deception. Abigail Dean’s psychological thriller, The Death of Us, explores the long-term impact of a horrendous crime, as a couple’s lives are shattered when a masked intruder attacks them in their own home.

Simon Theakston, Chairman of T&R Theakston, said: 

“Congratulations to all of the incredible writers shortlisted for this year’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. The highly entertaining books on this year’s shortlist will take readers on an unforgettable roller-coaster ride from remote Scottish islands to frozen Victorian London, the down-at-heel offices of MI5 and far beyond. I’m looking forward to finding out who the public and the judges vote for and presenting the coveted beer cask trophy to the winner at the opening ceremony.”

Sharon Canavar, Chief Executive of Harrogate International Festivals, said:  

“We’re delighted to reveal the shortlist for this year’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. Showcasing the broad range of the world’s favourite genre - from spy thrillers to time travel mysteries, from James Bond spin-offs to twisty psychological thrillers - the six books on this year’s shortlist are hugely ambitious and innovative, but above all else, cracking great reads!  We encourage all readers to get involved and vote for their favourite novel on the list to win.”

The Award is presented by Harrogate International Festivals and sponsored by T&R Theakston Ltd, in partnership with Waterstones and Daily Express, and is open to full-length crime novels published in paperback between 1 May 2025 to 30 April 2026. The public are invited to vote to help choose the winner from 8am on Thursday 18 June at www.harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com with voting closing on Thursday 16 July at 23:59. The winner will be revealed on the opening night of Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Thursday 23 July, at a special awards ceremony hosted by Steph McGovern. They will receive £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by T&R Theakston Ltd.

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)

A Night of Espionage

 Join Vassem Khan, Ava Glass, Tony Kent, C J Merritt and James Wolff for A Night of Espionage at Waterstones Putney.

Date:-1 July 2026

Time:- 7:00pm

More information and how to buy tickets can be found here.

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