Gold Dagger

Gold Dagger
Gold Dagger
Awarded for	Best crime novel of the year
Country	United Kingdom
Presented by	Crime Writers' Association
First awarded	1955
Website	thecwa.co.uk

The Gold Dagger is an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom since 1960 for the best crime novel of the year.

From 1955 to 1959, the organization named their top honor as the Crossed Red Herring Award. From 1995 to 2002 the award acquired sponsorship from Macallan and was known as the Macallan Gold Dagger.

In 2006, because of new sponsorship from the Duncan Lawrie Bank, the award was officially renamed as the Duncan Lawrie Dagger, and gained a prize fund of £20,000. It was the biggest crime-fiction award in the world in monetary terms. In 2008, Duncan Lawrie Bank withdrew its sponsorship of the awards. As a result, the top prize is again called the Gold Dagger without a monetary award.

From 1969 to 2005, a Silver Dagger was awarded to the runner-up. When Duncan Lawrie acquired sponsorship, this award was dropped. After the sponsorship was withdrawn, this award was not reinstated.

The Crime Writers' Association also awards the CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction and several other "Dagger" awards.

Winners[]

Winners and, where known, shortlisted titles for each year:

2020s[]

2021

Gold Dagger: Chris Whitaker, We Begin at the End^[1]

S. A. Cosby, Blacktop Wasteland
Ben Creed, City of Ghosts
Nicci French, House of Correction
Robert Galbraith, Troubled Blood
Elly Griffiths, The Postscript Murders
Thomas Mullen, Midnight Atlanta

2020

Gold Dagger: Michael Robotham, Good Girl Bad Girl^[2]

Claire Askew, What You Pay For
Lou Berney, November Road
John Fairfax, Forced Confessions
Mick Herron, Joe Country
Abir Mukherjee, Death in the East

2010s[]

2019

Gold Dagger: M. W. Craven, The Puppet Show^[3]
- Claire Askew, All the Hidden Truths
- Christobel Kent, What We Did
- Donna Leon, Unto Us a Son is Given
- Derek B. Miller, American by Day
- Benjamin Wood, A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better

2018

Gold Dagger: Steve Cavanagh, The Liar^[4]
- Mick Herron, London Rules
- Dennis Lehane, Since We Fell
- Attica Locke, Bluebird, Bluebird
- Abir Mukherjee, A Necessary Evil
- Emma Viskic, Resurrection Bay

2017

Gold Dagger: Jane Harper, The Dry
- Belinda Bauer, The Beautiful Dead
- Ray Celestin, Dead Man's Blues
- Mick Herron, Spook Street
- Derek B. Miller, The Girl In Green
- Abir Mukherjee, A Rising Man

2016

Gold Dagger: Bill Beverly, Dodgers
- Chris Brookmyre, Black Widow
- Denise Mina, Blood Salt Water
- Mick Herron, Real Tigers

2015^[5]

Gold Dagger: Michael Robotham, Life or Death^[6]
- Belinda Bauer, The Shut Eye
- James Carlos Blake, The Rules of Wolfe
- Robert Galbraith, The Silkworm
- Sam Hawken, Missing
- Stephen King, Mr. Mercedes
- Attica Locke, Pleasantville

2014^[7]

Gold Dagger: Wiley Cash, This Dark Road to Mercy
- Paula Daly, Keep Your Friends Close
- Paul Mendelson, The First Rule of Survival
- Louise Penny, How the Light Gets In

2013^[8]

Gold Dagger: Mick Herron, Dead Lions
- Belinda Bauer, Rubbernecker
- Lauren Beukes, The Shining Girls
- Becky Masterman, Rage Against the Dying

2012^[9]

Gold Dagger: Gene Kerrigan, The Rage
- N. J. Cooper, Vengeance in Mind
- M. R. Hall, The Flight
- Chris Womersley, Bereft

2011

Gold Dagger: Tom Franklin, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
- Steve Hamilton, The Lock Artist
- A. D. Miller, Snowdrops
- Denise Mina, The End of the Wasp Season

2010

Gold Dagger: Belinda Bauer, Blacklands
- S. J. Bolton, Blood Harvest
- George Pelecanos, The Way Home
- Karen Campbell, Shadowplay

2000s[]

2009

Gold Dagger: William Brodrick, A Whispered Name
- Kate Atkinson, When Will There Be Good News?
- Mark Billingham, In the Dark
- Lawrence Block, Hit and Run
- M. R. Hall, The Coroner
- Gene Kerrigan, Dark Times in the City

2008

Duncan Lawrie Dagger: Frances Fyfield, Blood From Stone
- James Lee Burke, The Tin Roof Blowdown
- Colin Cotterill, The Coroner's Lunch
- Steve Hamilton, Night Work
- Laura Lippman, What the Dead Know
- R. N. Morris, A Vengeful Longing

2007

Duncan Lawrie Dagger: Peter Temple, The Broken Shore
- Giles Blunt, The Fields of Grief
- James Lee Burke, Pegasus Descending
- Gillian Flynn, Sharp Objects
- Craig Russell, Brother Grimm
- C. J. Sansom, Sovereign

2006 (award renamed)

Duncan Lawrie Dagger: Ann Cleeves, Raven Black
- Simon Beckett, The Chemistry of Death
- Thomas H. Cook, Red Leaves
- Frances Fyfield, Safer Than Houses
- Bill James, Wolves of Memory
- Laura Wilson, A Thousand Lies

2005

Gold Dagger: Arnaldur Indriðason, Silence of the Grave
Silver Dagger: Barbara Nadel, Deadly Web
- Karin Fossum, Calling Out for You
- Friedrich Glauser, In Matto's Realm
- Carl Hiaasen, Skinny Dip
- Fred Vargas, Seeking Whom He May Devour

2004

Gold Dagger: Sara Paretsky, Blacklist
Silver Dagger: John Harvey, Flesh and Blood
- Mo Hayder, Tokyo
- Val McDermid, The Torment of Others
- James W. Nichol, Midnight Cab
- Laura Wilson, The Lover

2003

Gold Dagger: Minette Walters, Fox Evil
Silver Dagger: Morag Joss, Half-Broken Things
- Boris Akunin, The Winter Queen
- Robert Littell, The Company
- Carlo Lucarelli, Almost Blue
- Robert Wilson, The Blind Man of Seville

2002

Gold Dagger: José Carlos Somoza, The Athenian Murders
Silver Dagger: James Crumley, The Final Country
- Mark Billingham, Scaredy Cat
- James Lee Burke, Jolie Blon's Bounce
- Michael Connelly, City of Bones
- Minette Walters, Acid Row

2001

Gold Dagger: Henning Mankell, Sidetracked
Silver Dagger: Giles Blunt, Forty Words for Sorrow
- Stephen Booth, Dancing with the Virgins
- Denise Danks, Baby Love
- George Pelecanos, Right as Rain
- Scott Phillips, The Ice Harvest

2000

Gold Dagger: Jonathan Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn
Silver Dagger: Donna Leon, Friends In High Places
- James Lee Burke, Purple Cane Road
- Eliot Pattison, The Skull Mantra
- Lucy Wadham, Lost
- Martin Cruz Smith, Havana Bay

1990s[]

1999

Gold Dagger: Robert Wilson, A Small Death in Lisbon
Silver Dagger: Adrian Mathews, Vienna Blood
- Val McDermid, A Place of Execution
- Ian Rankin, Dead Souls
- Michael Connelly, Angels Flight
- Denise Danks, Phreak
- Frances Fyfield, Staring at the Light

1998

Gold Dagger: James Lee Burke, Sunset Limited
Silver Dagger: Nicholas Blincoe, Manchester Slingback
- Michael Dibdin, A Long Finish
- Geoffrey Archer, Fire Hawk
- Reginald Hill, On Beulah Height
- George Pelecanos, King Suckerman

1997

Gold Dagger: Ian Rankin, Black and Blue
Silver Dagger: Janet Evanovich, Three to Get Deadly
- Frank Lean, The Reluctant Investigator

1996

Gold Dagger: Ben Elton, Popcorn
Silver Dagger: Peter Lovesey, Bloodhounds
- Jessica Mann, A Private Enquiry

1995

Gold Dagger: Val McDermid, The Mermaids Singing
Silver Dagger: Peter Lovesey, The Summons
- Elizabeth Ironside, "Death in the Garden"
- Minette Walters, The Dark Room

1994

Gold Dagger: Minette Walters, The Scold's Bridle
Silver Dagger: Peter Høeg, Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow
- Val McDermid, Crack Down
- Sara Paretsky,

1993

Gold Dagger: Patricia Cornwell, Cruel and Unusual
Silver Dagger: Sarah Dunant, Fatlands
- Robert Richardson, The Hand of Strange Children
- Janet Neel, Death Among the Dons

1992

Gold Dagger: Colin Dexter, The Way Through the Woods
Silver Dagger: Liza Cody, Bucket Nut

1991

Gold Dagger: Barbara Vine, King Solomon's Carpet
Silver Dagger: Frances Fyfield, Deep Sleep
- Janet Neel, Death of a Partner
- Michael Dibdin, Dirty Tricks

1990

Gold Dagger: Reginald Hill, Bones and Silence
Silver Dagger: Mike Phillips, The Late Candidate
- John Harvey, Rough Treatment

1980s[]

1989

Gold Dagger: Colin Dexter, The Wench is Dead
Silver Dagger: Desmond Lowden, The Shadow Run

1988

Gold Dagger: Michael Dibdin, Ratking
Silver Dagger: Sara Paretsky, Toxic Shock

1987

Gold Dagger: Barbara Vine, A Fatal Inversion
Silver Dagger: Scott Turow, Presumed Innocent
- Liza Cody, Under Contract

1986

Gold Dagger: Ruth Rendell, Live Flesh
Silver Dagger: P. D. James, A Taste for Death

1985

Gold Dagger: Paula Gosling, Monkey Puzzle
Silver Dagger: Dorothy Simpson, Last Seen Alive
- Andrew Taylor, Our Father's Lies
- Jill Paton Walsh, A Piece of Justice

1984

Gold Dagger: B. M. Gill, The Twelfth Juror
Silver Dagger: Ruth Rendell, The Tree of Hands

1983

Gold Dagger: John Hutton, Accidental Crimes
Silver Dagger: William McIlvanney, The Papers of Tony Vietch

1982

Gold Dagger: Peter Lovesey, The False Inspector Dew
Silver Dagger: S. T. Haymon, Ritual Murder

1981

Gold Dagger: Martin Cruz Smith, Gorky Park
Silver Dagger: Colin Dexter, The Dead of Jericho

1980

Gold Dagger: H. R. F. Keating, The Murder of the Maharaja
Silver Dagger: Ellis Peters, Monk's Hood

1970s[]

1979

Gold Dagger: Dick Francis, Whip Hand
Silver Dagger: Colin Dexter, Service of All the Dead

1978

Gold Dagger: Lionel Davidson, The Chelsea Murders
Silver Dagger: Peter Lovesey, Waxwork

1977

Gold Dagger: John le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy
Silver Dagger: William McIlvanney, Laidlaw

1976

Gold Dagger: Ruth Rendell, A Demon in My View
Silver Dagger: James H. McClure, Rogue Eagle

1975

Gold Dagger: Nicholas Meyer, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
Silver Dagger: P. D. James, The Black Tower

1974

Gold Dagger: Anthony Price, Other Paths to Glory
Silver Dagger: Francis Clifford, The Grosvenor Square Goodbye

1973

Gold Dagger: Robert Littell, The Defection of A.J. Lewinter
Silver Dagger: Gwendoline Butler, A Coffin for Pandora

1972

Gold Dagger: Eric Ambler, The Levanter
Silver Dagger: Victor Canning, The Rainbird Pattern

1971

Gold Dagger: James H. McClure, The Steam Pig
Silver Dagger: P. D. James, Shroud for a Nightingale

1970

Gold Dagger: Joan Fleming, Young Man I Think You're Dying
Silver Dagger: Anthony Price, The Labyrinth Makers

1960s[]

1969

Gold Dagger: Peter Dickinson, A Pride of Heroes
Silver Dagger: Francis Clifford, Another Way of Dying
- Best Foreign: Rex Stout, The Father Hunt

1968

Gold Dagger: Peter Dickinson, Skin Deep
- Nicholas Blake, The Private Wound
- Best Foreign: Sébastien Japrisot, The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun

1967

Gold Dagger: Emma Lathen, Murder Against the Grain
- Colin Watson, Lonely Heart 4122
- Best British: Eric Ambler, Dirty Story

1966

Gold Dagger: Lionel Davidson, A Long Way to Shiloh
- John Bingham, The Double Agent
- Best Foreign: John Ball, In the Heat of the Night

1965

Gold Dagger: Ross Macdonald, The Far Side of the Dollar
- Dick Francis, For Kicks
- Emma Lathen, Accounting for Murder
- Best British: Gavin Lyall, Midnight Plus One

1964

Gold Dagger: H. R. F. Keating, The Perfect Murder
- Gavin Lyall, The Most Dangerous Game
- Ross Macdonald, The Chill
- Best Foreign: Patricia Highsmith, The Two Faces of January

1963

Gold Dagger: John le Carré, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
- Nicolas Freeling, Gun Before Butter
- William Haggard, The High Wire

1962

Gold Dagger: Joan Fleming, When I Grow Rich
- Eric Ambler, The Light of Day
- Colin Watson, Hopjoy Was Here

1961

Gold Dagger: Mary Kelly, The Spoilt Kill
- John le Carré, Call for the Dead
- Allan Prior, One Way

1960 (award renamed)

Gold Dagger: Lionel Davidson, The Night of Wenceslas
- Mary Stewart, My Brother Michael
- Julian Symons, The Progress of a Crime

1950s[]

1959

Crossed Red Herring Award: Eric Ambler, Passage of Arms
- James Mitchell, A Way Back
- Menna Gallie, Strike for a Kingdom

1958

Crossed Red Herring Award: Margot Bennett, Someone from the Past
- Margery Allingham, Hide My Eyes
- James Byrom, Or Be He Dead
- John Sherwood, Undiplomatic Exit

1957

Crossed Red Herring Award: Julian Symons, The Colour of Murder
- Ngaio Marsh, Off with His Head
- George Milner, Your Money or Your Life
- Douglas Rutherford, The Long Echo

1956

Crossed Red Herring Award: Edward Grierson, The Second Man
- Sarah Gainham, Time Right Deadly
- Arthur Upfield, Man of Two Tribes
- J. J. Marric, Gideon's Week

1955

Crossed Red Herring Award: Winston Graham, The Little Walls
- Leigh Howard, Blind Date
- Ngaio Marsh, Scales of Justice
- Margot Bennett, The Man Who Didn't Fly

References[]

^ "CWA Daggers Announced". thecwa.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-07-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ "Michael Robotham wins the 2020 Gold Dagger". The Booktopian. 2020-10-23. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
^ "The Crime Writers' Association". thecwa.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
^ "UK Dagger awards 2018 winners announced | Books+Publishing". Retrieved 2018-11-07.
^ "The Dagger Awards Winners Archive 2015". Crime Writers' Association. Retrieved 2015-07-02.
^ "Michael Robotham beats Stephen King to win Britain's Gold Dagger crime-writing award". The Age newspaper. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
^ "The Dagger Awards Winners Archive 2014". Crime Writers' Association. Retrieved 2015-07-02.
^ "Mick Herron wins the CWA Goldsboro Gold Dagger 2013". The Crime Writers' Association. Archived from the original on 2014-07-08. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
^ "Gene Kerrigan wins the CWA Gold Dagger 2012". The Crime Writers' Association. Archived from the original on 2013-09-14. Retrieved 2013-09-12.

External links[]

The Gold Dagger at Crime Writers' Association official webpage

[1] "CWA Daggers Announced". thecwa.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-07-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[2] "Michael Robotham wins the 2020 Gold Dagger". The Booktopian. 2020-10-23. Retrieved 2020-10-23.

[3] "The Crime Writers' Association". thecwa.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-08.

[4] "UK Dagger awards 2018 winners announced | Books+Publishing". Retrieved 2018-11-07.

[5] "The Dagger Awards Winners Archive 2015". Crime Writers' Association. Retrieved 2015-07-02.

[6] "Michael Robotham beats Stephen King to win Britain's Gold Dagger crime-writing award". The Age newspaper. Retrieved 2015-09-30.

[7] "The Dagger Awards Winners Archive 2014". Crime Writers' Association. Retrieved 2015-07-02.

[8] "Mick Herron wins the CWA Goldsboro Gold Dagger 2013". The Crime Writers' Association. Archived from the original on 2014-07-08. Retrieved 2014-06-16.

[9] "Gene Kerrigan wins the CWA Gold Dagger 2012". The Crime Writers' Association. Archived from the original on 2013-09-14. Retrieved 2013-09-12.

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v t Gold Dagger Award
1955–1959	The Little Walls by Winston Graham (1955) The Second Man by Edward Grierson (1956) The Colour of Murder by Julian Symons (1957) Someone from the Past by Margot Bennett (1958) Passage of Arms by Eric Ambler (1959)
1960–1969	The Night of Wenceslas by Lionel Davidson (1960) by Mary Kelly (1961) by Joan Fleming (1962) The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré (1963) The Perfect Murder by H. R. F. Keating (1964) by Ross Macdonald (1965) A Long Way to Shiloh by Lionel Davidson (1966) by Emma Lathen (1967) by Peter Dickinson (1968) by Peter Dickinson (1969)
1970–1979	by Joan Fleming (1970) by James H. McClure (1971) The Levanter by Eric Ambler (1972) by Robert Littell (1973) by Anthony Price (1974) The Seven-Per-Cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer (1975) A Demon in My View by Ruth Rendell (1976) The Honourable Schoolboy by John le Carré (1977) The Chelsea Murders by Lionel Davidson (1978) Whip Hand by Dick Francis (1979)
1980–1989	by H. R. F. Keating (1980) Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith (1981) The False Inspector Dew by Peter Lovesey (1982) by John Hutton (1983) by B. M. Gill (1984) by Paula Gosling (1985) Live Flesh by Ruth Rendell (1986) A Fatal Inversion by Barbara Vine (1987) Ratking by Michael Dibdin (1988) The Wench Is Dead by Colin Dexter (1989)
1990–1999	Bones and Silence by Reginald Hill (1990) King Solomon's Carpet by Barbara Vine (1991) The Way Through the Woods by Colin Dexter (1992) Cruel and Unusual by Patricia Cornwell (1993) The Scold's Bridle by Minette Walters (1994) The Mermaids Singing by Val McDermid (1995) Popcorn by Ben Elton (1996) Black & Blue by Ian Rankin (1997) by James Lee Burke (1998) A Small Death in Lisbon by Robert Wilson (1999)
2000–2009	Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem (2000) Sidetracked by Henning Mankell (2001) The Athenian Murders by José Carlos Somoza (2002) Fox Evil by Minette Walters (2003) Blacklist by Sara Paretsky (2004) Silence of the Grave by Arnaldur Indriðason (2005) Raven Black by Ann Cleeves (2006) The Broken Shore by Peter Temple (2007) by Frances Fyfield (2008) by William Brodrick (2009)
2010–present	by Belinda Bauer (2010) by Tom Franklin (2011) by Gene Kerrigan (2012) by Mick Herron (2013) by Wiley Cash (2014) Life or Death by Michael Robotham (2015) by Bill Beverly (2016) The Dry by Jane Harper (2017) by (2018) by M. W. Craven (2019) by Michael Robotham (2020) by Chris Whitaker (2021)