The Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2011: Winners Revealed

Cactus TV and ITV3, in partnership with the Crime Writers' Association (CWA), are pleased to announce the winners of the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2011, a celebration of all things criminal in literature, TV and film.

A host of famous faces from the TV, Film and Publishing crime scenes gathered on the black carpet for a gala awards ceremony celebrating the very best law-breaking of the year at London's Grosvenor House Hotel. Marcus Brigstocke returned to lead the charge as presenter, in an evening which perfectly topped the six-week build up over the 2011 season documentary series The A-Z of Crime, featuring the shortlisted nominees for the ITV3 People's Bestseller Dagger 2011.

Winners on the night were:

• ITV3 People's Bestseller Dagger 2011: Peter James
• CWA Gold Dagger: Tom Franklin's Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
• CWA Ian Fleming: Steel Dagger for Best Thriller: Steve Hamilton's The Lock Artist
• CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger: S.J. Watson's Before I Go To Sleep.

The CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger was awarded to S.J. Watson, named the best new crime author of the year for Before I Go To Sleep. With the film rights already owned by Ridley Scott we hope to see the film version back to blag the Film Dagger before too long! It was a tough slog to the finish however, and each of the shortlisted authors (Danny Miller for Kiss Me Quick, Sam Hawken for The Dead Woman of Juarez, and Conor Fitzgerald for The Dogs of Rome) are sure to become regular faces on the black carpet.
SJ Watson said: "I'm stunned and delighted! It was such an honour to have been shortlisted for the John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger, but to have actually won, especially when up against such fine books, is incredible!"

Tom Franklin's Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter beat of stiff competition for CWA Gold Dagger from A.D. Miller's Snowdrops, Denise Mina's The End of The Wasp Season, and The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton, in a fitting climax to the evening. Tom Franklin said: "What an amazing long list! What an amazing short list! I'm truly happy just for the company, and everything else is gravy. All my thanks."

Steve Hamilton did not leave the night empty-handed however - as much like his protagonist Mike who picks locks and breaks safes, The Lock Artist snuck past its rivals to win the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller. The title saw off competition from S.J.Watson's Before I Go To Sleep, The Good Son by Michael Gruber and Craig Smith's Cold Rain.

Steve Hamilton said: "Ian Fleming's work represents everything I've always loved about storytelling, whether it be books or movies. I can't even express how honoured I am to receive an award with his name on it."

ITV3 People's Bestseller Dagger 2011 was given to Peter James. Peter James said: "The is a wonderful award that strikes at the very heart of what good books are all about: Enthralling readers with gripping, page-turning fiction - and decided not by an elite committee but by the very people who read and loved them - the general public. I don't think there can be a higher accolade for any author and I could not be more thrilled."

The viewers had been voting over the 6 week Crime Thriller Season to decide on the winner of the People's Bestseller Award. Amanda Ross, creator and Executive Producer of the Awards said: "It was amazing to see such a close fought contest and thanks to the success of the pre-awards series, more people than ever before voted for their favourite author".

TV and film are the perfect media for crime fiction, and some of the genre's best-loved detectives - from Marple to Morse - have been immortalised in this way. This year's Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards honoured the stars of the small and silver screens, as well as the films and series they feature in. The nominees included actors Idris Elba, last year's Best Actress Dagger winner Maxine Peake, Brenda Blethyn, Rufus Sewell and Rafe Spall, and the winners are as follows:

• THE FILM DAGGER: True Grit (Paramount Pictures)
• THE TV DAGGER: Case Histories (Ruby Films, BBC One)
• THE INTERNATIONAL TV DAGGER: The Killing, (Arrow Films, BBC4)
• BEST ACTRESS DAGGER: Sofie Gråbøl for The Killing (Arrow Films, BBC4)
• BEST ACTOR DAGGER: Idris Elba for Luther (BBC One) - pictured
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR DAGGER: Rafe Spall for The Shadow Line (Company Pictures, BBC Two)
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS DAGGER: Ann Eleonora Jørgensen for The Killing (Arrow Films, BBC 4)

Three Seconds by Roslund & Hellström wins CWA International Dagger

The Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) has awarded a number of this year’s Daggers during the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, being held this weekend in Harrogate, England. The CWA Dagger Awards are the longest established literary awards in the UK and are internationally recognised as a mark of excellence and achievement. CWA Chair Peter James said: “Crime fiction is today more popular throughout the western world than any other form of fiction writing. This is because through this medium the authors write in depth and with the greatest intelligence about human life, the human condition, and issues that affect the lives of each and every one of us. That is what great writing always has been about and always will be.”

Swedish duo Anders Roslund & Börge Hellström took out the coveted CWA International Dagger for their novel THREE SECONDS. The CWA International Dagger is awarded for crime, thriller, suspense or spy fiction novels which have been translated into English from their original language, for UK publication between June 1 2010 and May 31 2011. Prize money £1000 for the author and £500 for the translator.

The judges said Roslund and Hellström's "usual maverick cop takes a back seat to a riveting exploration of a deniable operation involving an undercover agent deep inside a criminal organisation" and that their new character "doomed to betrayal by political manoeuvring, fights for his life with great intelligence and courage".

I haven't read THREE SECONDS yet, but by all accounts, I should give it a go soon.

Here are the other novels that made the CWA International Dagger shortlist:

• The Wings of the Sphinx by Andrea Camilleri, Tr. Stephen Sartarelli
• Needle in a Haystack by Ernesto Mallo, Tr. Jethro Soutar
• The Saint-Florentin Murders by Jean-François Parot, Tr. Howard Curtis
• River of Shadows by Valerio Varesi, Tr. Joseph Farrell
• Death on a Galician Shore by Domingo Villar, Tr. Sonia Soto

The judges of this year's CWA International Dagger were: award-winning crime writer Ann Cleeves (non-voting Chair), Karen Meek, a library assistant and founder of the Euro Crime website: http://www.eurocrime.co.uk/, Ruth Morse, who teaches English Literature at the University of Paris and is a frequent contributor to the Times Literary Supplement, and bookseller John Murray-Browne.

Have you read THREE SECONDS? What did you think? Do you like translated crime fiction? What have been some of your favourite translated crime novels?

Longlist for CWA Dagger in the Library announced

The Crime Writers’ Association is delighted to announce the longlist for the CWA Dagger in the Library 2011. The CWA Dagger Awards celebrate the very best in crime and thriller writing, and are the longest established literary awards in the UK. These premier awards in crime fiction are recognised internationally as a mark of excellence. The CWA Dagger in the Library is sponsored by The Random House Group.

Authors are nominated by UK libraries and Readers’ Groups and judged by a panel of librarians. The Dagger is awarded to an author for a body of work, rather than a single title. The prize money is £1500 to the author, plus £300 to a participating library's readers' group.

The shortlist will be announced at the CWA reception at CrimeFest, Bristol on May 20. The winner will be announced, along with other Daggers, during the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Harrogate, on the evening of July 22

Dagger longlist 2011

• Bolton, SJ


• Brodrick, William


• Ellory, RJ


• Goodwin, Jason


• Griffths, Elly


• Hannah, Sophie


• Harvey, John


• Hayder, Mo


• Hill, Susan


• Hurley, Graham


• James, Peter


• Kerr, Philip


• Rickman, Phil


• Sansom, CJ


• Taylor, Andrew


• Tyler, LC

Nice to see a couple of authors I met and interviewed last year, RJ Ellory and Peter James, on the list, along with some other terrific crime writers.

Which Whodunnit Won It?

The Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2010
Winners Unmasked…

London, Friday 8th October, 2010 — Cactus TV and ITV3 in partnership with the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) are pleased to announce the winners of the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2010, a celebration of all things criminal in literature, TV and film.

The gala awards welcomed an assortment of famous faces, plucked from the world of publishing and screens both big and small, with comedian Marcus Brigstocke presiding over the “Daggers” at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel. The culmination of a six-week season of ITV3 crime and drama programming, the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2010 will be televised on ITV3 on Tuesday, 12th October at 9pm.

Keeping nominees and viewers alike on the edge of their seats, the thrilling climax saw the coveted CWA Gold Dagger award go to Belinda Bauer’s international best seller BLACKLANDS as Best Crime Novel of the Year, beating S J Bolton’s Blood Harvest, Karen Campbell’s Shadowplay and George Pelecanos’ The Way Home to the post.

Belinda Bauer said: "It was a thrill just to be shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger for my first novel, let alone to win. Blacklands is a small, simple book and I'm still stunned and delighted that it seems to have struck a chord with so many people."

In the only award voted for by ITV3 viewers, the People’s Detective, honouring the most popular fictional detective of all time, was revealed as Foyle. The winner fought off competition from fellow crime fighters who included Inspector Morse, Poirot and Jane Tennison (Prime Suspect). The nominees had been profiled over a six week series on ITV3.

TV super sleuth Sherlock meanwhile took home two awards, firstly scooping the TV Dagger award over rival detective dramas Ashes to Ashes and Wallander and Luther, and later seeing its title star Benedict Cumberbatch land a Best Actor Award. Cumberbatch emerged victorious over a prestigious category of nominees that included international star Idris Elba, stage and screen stalwart Kenneth Branagh and Ashes to Ashes legend Philip Glenister.

Maxine Peake won the Best Actress Dagger (for the female star of a crime thriller drama) for her role in Criminal Justice while her co-star Matthew McFadyen won the Best Supporting Actor prize for his portrayal of Joe Miller in the BBC show. The Best Supporting Actress award went to Dervla Kirwan for her performance in The Silence.

Movie-of-the-moment Inception (Warner Brothers) was unveiled as the Film Dagger 2010, representing the best big-screen crime thriller story of the year, while the International TV Dagger went to Yellow Bird Films’ Wallander (Series 2).

Suspense gripped the room as A LOCAL SPY, by author Simon Conway, celebrated victory in the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award, which recognises the Thriller of the Year. The title saw off competition from The Dying Light by Henry Porter, Scott Turow’s Innocent and The Gentlemen’s Hour by Don Winslow. Simon Conway commented: “To have won The Steel Dagger against such stiff competition is both unexpected and deeply satisfying. My book's reluctant hero Jonah would probably celebrate by getting roaring drunk, beaten up, abducted, thrown out a chopper and inadvertantly saving several thousand lives. I may try some of these at home.”

Ryan David Jahn’s ACTS OF VIOLENCE (Macmillan New Writing) won the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger 2010, as a first book by a previously unpublished writer, awarded in memory of CWA founder John Creasey. Ryan David Jahn said: “Simply being listed alongside such talents as the other finalists was an honour. To win, and be brought into the company of writers such as Walter Mosley and Minette Walters, who have gone on to such fine careers, is unbelievable -- an indescribable thrill.”

In recognition of their outstanding careers, Frederick Forsyth and George Pelecanos collected trophies to commemorate their inaguration into the Hall of Fame sponsored by Specsavers. In honour of its mammouth 26 years on screen, 14 cast members of The Bill members were in attendance to collect a Special Recognition Award.

The 2010 black carpet attracted citation readers including Emilia Fox, Amanda Redman, Amanda Donohoe and nominees present on the night included Benedict Cumberbatch, Hermione Norris, Philip Glenister, Julia McKenzie, Dervla Kirwin and Colin Dexter.

Amanda Ross, Managing Director Cactus TV, said “With pretty much the entire collective force of Britain’s fictional constabulary under one roof, the Crime Thrillers once again proved to be suspense filled right up to the climax. The breadth and calibre of nominees proved that crime thriller really is the genre of the moment!”