Tag: CWA

When CTG Went To … the Fabulous First @1stMondayCrime – the new must-attend monthly #crimefiction night

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This week I went along to the first in a fabulous new series of crime fiction/thriller events: First Monday.

Held on the first Monday of each month, this new monthly crime fiction/thriller night is held in Central London at City University. It’s a mix between a social evening and a festival-style panel, offering readers, writers and industry professionals a place to meet, enjoy each other’s company and hear about the latest and most interesting crime fiction around.

At the first event, chair Barry Forshaw (author of Brit Noir) questioned crime writers Elly Griffiths (The Woman In Blue), Amanda Jennings (In Her Wake), Mary Paulson-Ellis (The Other Mrs Walker) and Leye Adenle (Easy Motion Tourist). It was a great evening with a lively and entertaining panel, accompanied by wine and cupcakes (compliments of Goldsboro Books and Orenda Books) and some fantastic goodie bags (from Orenda Books). There was a signing afterwards with all the author’s books available to be purchased from Goldsboro Books.

The First Monday events begin at 6.30pm and are held in the College Building of City University on St John Street (close to Angel Tube station). Each event includes a panel discussion chaired by, amongst others, Barry Forshaw (Brit Noir etc), Jake Kerridge (Telegraph) and James Kidd (Independent). Upcoming authors include, Christopher Fowler (May 9th), Peter James (June 6th), Sophie Hannah and Belinda Bauer, as well as a host of established and debut authors from all over the world. After the panels, the conversation spills over to a local bar.

Organised brilliantly by David Headley and Harry Illingworth (Goldsboro books), Katherine Armstrong (Little, Brown) and William Ryan (author of The Holy Thief and lecturer on the City University Crime Thriller MA course), First Monday is also supported by The Crime Writers Association, City University’s Crime Thriller MA Programme, The International Thriller Writers and Goldsboro Books. It’s a friendly, fun and informative evening and one that I really recommend you try to get along to if you’re a fan of crime fiction and thrillers.

There’s a small entry charge (£5), which includes a glass of wine.

The next First Monday is on May 9th: Christopher Fowler, William Shaw and Jack Grimwood, chaired by Jake Kerridge. It’s going to be fantastic, so book your ticket soon – the April event sold out in no time!

For more information and to book tickets: www/goldsborobooks.com/events

And be sure to follow First Monday on Facebook: www.facebook.com/FirstMondayCrime/ and Twitter @1stMondayCrime

 

CWA Dagger in the Library – don’t forget to vote …

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Dagger in the Library logo

Dagger in the Library logo

The Crime Writer’s Association (CWA) 2014 Dagger in the Library Award gives the chance for us, the readers, to nominate our favourite British crime fiction authors for the prestigious award.

Sponsored by Dead Good Books, the Dagger in the Library is given in honour of the author’s entire collection of work to date rather than one specific book. Previous winners include Belinda Bauer, Steve Mosby and Stuart MacBride.

Nominations close on 1st September 2014, so make sure you hop on over to http://www.deadgoodbooks.co.uk/index.php/dagger/ and nominate up to three of your favourites.

What’s more, you’ll be automatically entered into a draw and in with a chance of winning £200 worth of crime books!

 

CWA Margery Allingham Short Story Competition – shortlist announced

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Margery Allingham Competition logo

Margery Allingham Competition logo

Time for another competition shortlist, this time it’s for the Margery Allingham Short Story Competition.

Earlier this week the CWA announced the shortlist, and the authors on it are …

Stuart McLean
Alexandar Altman
Alan Orchard
Gail Williams
Paul Curd
Helena Edwards
Ian White
David Buckley
Susi ‘SJI’ Holliday
Martin Edwards

Over 200 entries were received and read by a team of readers from the Crime Writers’ Association and the Margery Allingham Society. The judges are Imogen Robertson, Barry Pike and Anne Zouroudi.

The lucky winner will be revealed at the CWA Dagger Reception being held at CrimeFest on Friday 16th May 2014.

To find out more about the competition hop over to http://www.thecwa.co.uk/ShortStory/index.php

 

Competition Alert: CWA Debut Dagger & CRIMEFEST FLASHBANG

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CRIME WRITERS ASSOCIATION DEBUT DAGGER

Entries are now open for the 2014 CWA Debut Dagger competition. The competition is open to unpublished writers with entries judged by a panel of top crime editors and agents, and the shortlist sent to publishers and agents. First prize is £700, sponsored by Orion, and all shortlisted entries receive a professional assessment of their work. The entry fee is £25 and you’ll need to sent the first 3000 words (or fewer) of your novel along with a 500-1000 word synopsis of the rest of the novel.

The Debut Dagger closes on Friday 31st January 2014. The shortlist is announced at CrimeFest in May 2014 and the winner at the CWA Dagger Awards Dinner later in the year.

To find out more, hop on over to http://www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/debut/

 

CRIMEFEST FLASHBANG COMPETITION


CRIMEFEST’s FLASHBANG writing competition challenges you to write a flash-fiction crime story in no more than 150 words.

Prizes include a pair of weekend passes to CRIMEFEST 2015 and other crime-related goodies. Shortlisted entries will be compiled by a judging panel of leading crime reviewers, and Zoë Sharp, author of the Charlie Fox series, will be the final arbiter. The judges are on the lookout for flashes of crime storytelling brilliance in 150 words or less. The entry fee is £2 (only one entry allowed per person).

Entries close at midnight on 3rd March 2014. The longlist will be announced on 7th April, the shortlist announced on 21st April and the winners announced at CRIMEFEST in May 2014.

To find out more, pop over to www.flashbangcontest.wordpress.com

Event Report: CWA 60th Anniversary Event

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Barry Forshaw at CWA

Barry Forshaw at CWA

Last night I trotted into London for the CWA 60th Anniversary event. Held on the third floor of the fabulous Foyles flagship bookstore on Charing Cross Road, the celebrations began at 6.30pm with the announcement of the CWA’s recent polls to find the greatest crime writer, crime series and crime novel of all time.

The packed room fell silent as the winners were announced. And the winners are …

Best Ever Novel: THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD – AGATHA CHRISTIE 

Best Ever Author – AGATHA CHRISTIE

Best Ever Crime Series – SHERLOCK HOLMES

Following the announcement, an expert panel of crime thriller writers – Barry Forshaw, Belinda Bauer, Zoe Sharp and David Stuart Davies – debated the shortlist choices and winners, with panel chair, Barry Forshaw, playing ‘devils advocate’.

A lively discussion was had – with topics ranging from plot-holes in classic crime novels, what can an author do when they get sick of writing their protagonist (as Agatha Christie did famously with Poirot), and who is the best Sherlock Holmes?

Congratulations to the winners and Happy Anniversary CWA.

 

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CWA announces first 2013 Dagger Winners

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At the Crime Writers’ Association Dinner held at Kings Place, London, last night the CWA announced the first batch of winners for the 2013 Dagger Awards and the longlists for the remaining three Daggers.

Awarded last night were:

The CWA International Dagger: which went to two French writers – Fred Vargas and Pierre Lemaitre.

The CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger: awarded to Andrew Taylor for an unprecedented third time.

The 2013 CWA Non-fiction Dagger: to Paul French for Midnight in Peking.

The Dagger in the Library: awarded to Belinda Bauer.

The Short Story Dagger: won by Stella Duffy.

The Debut Dagger, for previously unpublished crime writers, won by Finn Clarke.

And the CWA Diamond Dagger: presented to Lee Child by last year’s winner, Frederick Forsyth.

 

The longlists for the CWA Gold, Steel and John Creasey Daggers were announced last night, and the winners will be announced at the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards in the autumn. To see those nominated pop on over to the CWA website at http://www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/2013/index.html

 

Congratulations to all the winners and the nominees.

Daily Ponder: Book spotting on the Train

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Kindle

Kindle (Photo credit: Simply Bike)

In just a few hours I’ll be heading up to London for the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) hosted panel discussion “Is crime the new literary fiction?” that’s being held at Kings Place.

One of the things I always like to do on the train ride to London and back (and on the tube) is to check out the books my fellow travelers are reading. Are they crime thrillers, romance, science fiction, fantasy, historical or something else? And, more importantly, have I read them, and do they look like the type of thing I’d like to read.

I’ve even had quite a few bookish conversations with fellow commuters, and got some excellent recommendations from them. But, it’s not quite as easy as it used to be. That’s because of eReaders. I just can’t (or not as secretly) take a sneaky peep at the cover of the book being read. Although, that said, if I’m standing on the train, and someone sitting nearby is reading on an eReader (especially if the font size is set to large) it is possible.

But, not to be deterred (and, of course, being of a rather nosy disposition!) I’ll be book spotting on the train as I travel.

I wonder what crime thriller books I’ll glimpse today …

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