The CWA CARTIER DIAMOND DAGGER 2003

Robert Barnard with his award

The Crime Writers' Association is delighted to announce that ROBERT BARNARD is the winner of the 2003 Cartier Diamond Dagger Award, presented for a lifetime of achievement, marking a career of nearly 30 years in crime writing, in which he has written around 40 books and won several awards on both sides of the Atlantic.

The award is sponsored by Cartier and the dagger was presented jointly by the CWA chair, Lindsey Davis and Monsieur Arnaud Bamberger of Cartier. The ceremony took place at a reception in the Court Restaurant at the British Museum in the evening of Wednesday 7 May. David Stuart Davies reported on the ceremony in the June 2003 edition of Crime Sheet.

Robert Barnard lives in Leeds, was born in Essex and educated at Balliol. He had a distinguished career as an academic before he became a full-time writer. His first crime novel, Death of an Old Goat, was written while he was professor of English at the University of Tromso in Norway, the world's most northerly university.

M. Arnaud Bamberger of Cartier
makes the presentation

He is a writer of great versatility, from the light and satirical tone of his earlier books to the more psychological preoccupations of recent ones, such as A Fatal Attachment. Under the name of Bernard Bastable he has also written novels featuring Mozart as a detective, and is the author of many short stories. He has created several detectives, including Perry Trethowan and Charlie Peace.

Robert Barnard says he writes only to entertain. He regards Agatha Christie as his ideal crime writer and has published an appreciation of her work, A Talent to Deceive.

The Award was set up in 1986 when the first winner was Eric Ambler. Subsequent recipients have been P.D. James, John le Carré, Dick Francis, Julian Symons, Ruth Rendell, Leslie Charteris, Ellis Peters, Michael Gilbert, Reginald Hill, H.R.F. Keating, Colin Dexter, Ed McBain, Margaret Yorke and Peter Lovesey. The CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger Award for 2002 went to Sara Paretsky.