The CWA Debut Dagger 2008

Sponsored by Orion Publishers

The Shortlist

The Crime Writers’ Association has announced the shortlist for the 2008 Debut Dagger Competition.

There are 10 entries on the shortlist this year, as follows:

Amer Anwar (UK) - Western Fringes
Belinda Bauer (UK) - Blacklands
Russell Colman (Canada) - Desert Storm
Peter Dewar (UK) - The Eclipse of Lilith
Bill Harrison (Canada) - Nite Lite
Alison Marlow (UK) - The Stench of Lilies
James Oswald (UK) - The Book of Souls
Susan Schaab (USA) - Wearing the Spider
Ian Simpson (UK) - Devils and Disciples
PJ Watson (USA) - All the Wrong People

The winner will be announced at this year’s CWA Duncan Lawrie Daggers Awards, which will take place on Thursday 10th July at the Four Seasons Hotel, Park Lane.

The 2008 Debut Dagger Competition ran from 15^th November – 15^th February. Hundreds of aspiring crime novelists sent us the opening chapter(s) – up to 3000 words – and a short synopsis of their proposed crime novel, hoping this would be the deciding step in becoming a published crime writer. The shortlist was submitted to the final judging panel, who are:

Krystyna Green, Constable & Robinson
Jane Gregory, Gregory & Company, Agent
Lesley Horton, Chair, CWA
Selina Walker, Transworld
Jane Wood, Quercus
Jon Wood, Orion

Winning the Debut Dagger doesn’t guarantee you’ll get published. But it does mean your work will be seen by leading agents and top editors, who have signed up over a dozen winners as well as shortlisted Debut Dagger competitors.

The Debut Dagger is open to anyone who has not yet had a novel published commercially. First prize is £500 plus two free tickets to the prestigious CWA Duncan Lawrie Dagger Awards and night’s stay for two in a top London hotel. All shortlisted entrants will receive a generous selection of crime novels and professional assessments of their entries, and will also be invited to the Dagger Awards Dinner.

Building on success

Inaugural winner Joolz Denby was short-listed in 2005 for the Orange Prize for Fiction, while 2001 winner Ed Wright was awarded the 2005 Shamus award for best P.I. novel by the Private Eye Writers of America. Allan Guthrie won the 2007 Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year for Two Way Split, developed from his entry shortlisted in 2001. Barbara Cleverly, shortlisted in 1999, won the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger award in 2004. Louise Penny, highly commended by the judges of the 2004 Debut Dagger, was awarded the 2006 New Blood Dagger.

To receive news of the shortlist and eventual winner, as well as useful hints and tips for the 2009 competition, sign up for our free mailing list. There's a form at the foot of this page. More help and guidance can be found on our What to Write and Style Guide pages. If you have any questions, please first check the frequently asked questions page to see if your query is answered there.

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