The CWA Dagger in the Library, 2012
Sponsor: The Random House Group
Prize: £1500
Nominations opened on 1st January 2012 and closed on 31st March 2012.
Authors like Val McDermid and Ian Rankin are well-known amongst the readers of crime fiction but, beneath the top rank of bestsellers are a host of writers, some new and some who have built loyal followings over the years but who have never quite broken through. It is to give a boost to these authors that the Crime Writers’ Association Dagger in the Library Award exists. Again kindly sponsored by the publishers, Random House, the Dagger is awarded to a writer nominated by library users and chosen by a panel of librarians, all of whom work with the public. This year’s panel is chaired Karen Fraser, Executive Manager at Shetland Library, and includes librarians from throughout the UK.
Unlike most other literary prizes, the Dagger in the Library is awarded not for an individual book but for the author’s body of work. Last year’s winner was Mo Hayder, and previous winners have included Colin Cotterill, Stuart MacBride and Craig Russell; whilst Lesley Horton and C J Sansom have been Highly Commended.
The nominated authors must be alive, preferably working in Britain and cannot have won the award before. As the award is for a body of work, authors should have published at least three books. Entries from reading groups or individuals are submitted through libraries. Nomination forms may be downloaded by clicking the links at the top of the right-hand column. Groups who nominated the winning author will be entered into a draw for £300 to be spent on books.
The longlist has now been announced. The shortlist will be revealed at Crimefest on 25th May, and the winner at the CWA Daggers Awards Ceremony on 5 July. Karen Fraser, the Chair of the judges, said “There are lots of exciting nominations this year including many who are new to this award.”
As before, all groups whose nominated authors are shortlisted are entered into a draw for two tickets to the award announcements.
JUDGING PANEL
Karen Fraser Chair) is Executive Manager of Shetland Library, Britain's most northerly library service. She likes to spend the long dark winters immersed in the foulest depths of the crime writers' art.
Cheney Gardner (Past Chair) is the Reader and Community Services Manager at the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. She has worked in public libraries for about 9 years, many of them spent happily supporting reading groups and promoting reading. She is an avid reader herself and loves a good mystery.
Mobeena Khan is a Stock and Reader Development Librarian for Hertfordshire Libraries. The first crime book she remembers reading was 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' when she was eight. She hasn't stopped reading crime fiction since. And still loves Sherlock Holmes.
John Martin is a veteran librarian, patrolling the mean streets of Leicestershire upholding the good name of crime fiction against literary gangsters, saga writers and the hidden underworld of The Booker Prize.
Helen McNabb is the stock manager for the Vale of Glamorgan libraries. She has been working in public libraries for 19 years, and is a keen reader enjoying crime, science fiction and non fiction, and enjoys having new writers suggested by the nominations for the Dagger in the Library.
Deborah Ryan currently works at RNIB's National Library Service where she manages a team who help blind and partially sighted readers to get the best out of the meagre 5% of books published in accessible formats. She enjoys a good old-fashioned whodunnit but has discovered new and exciting crime genres while being a Dagger judge.
Sue Wilkinson has worked in public libraries for 36 years and is Reader Development Officer for Birmingham Libraries. Before taking up this post, she was a prison librarian for many years. Having spent a lot of time with the real thing, she finds crime fiction much more entertaining, and is looking forward to discovering new writers and crime genres.
