Dueling Daggers

Earlier today, during CrimeFest in Bristol, England, the British Crime Writers’ Association made public its shortlists of nominees for four of this year’s Dagger Awards. Those commendations are intended to recognize excellence in mystery, crime, and thriller fiction.

CWA International Dagger:

• The Wings of the Sphinx, by Andrea Camilleri,
translated by Stephen Sartarelli (Mantle)
• Needle in a Haystack, by Ernesto Mallo,
translated by Jethro Soutar (Bitter Lemon Press)
• The Saint-Florentin Murders, by Jean-François Parot,
translated by Howard Curtis (Gallic)
• Three Seconds, by Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström,
translated by Kari Dickson (Quercus)
• River of Shadows, by Valerio Varesi,
translated by Joseph Farrell (MacLehose)
• An Uncertain Place, by Fred Vargas,
translated by Siân Reynolds (Harvill Secker)
• Death on a Galician Shore, by Domingo Villar,
translated by Sonia Soto (Abacus)

CWA Gold Dagger for Non-fiction:

• The Invention of Murder, by Judith Flanders (HarperCollins)
• Slaughter on a Snowy Morn, by Colin Evans (Icon Books)
• The Killer of Little Shepherds, by Douglas Starr (Simon & Schuster)
• In the Place of Justice, by Wilbert Rideau (Profile)
• The Murder Room, by Michael Capuzzo (Michael Joseph)
• Mr. Briggs’ Hat, by Kate Colquhoun (Little, Brown)

The CWA Short Story Dagger:

• “Wednesday’s Child,” by Ken Bruen (from First Thrills,
edited by Lee Child; Forge)
• “The Princess of Felony Flats,” by Bill Cameron (from First Thrills)
• “East of Suez, West of Charing Cross Road,” by John Lawton (from Agents of Treachery, edited by Otto Penzler; Vintage)
• “Homework,” by Phil Lovesey (from The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime, Vol. 8, edited by Maxim Jakubowski; Constable & Robinson)
• “The Dead Club,” by Michael Palmer and Daniel Palmer
(from First Thrills)

CWA Debut Dagger Award (for not-yet-published works):

• A Burial Place for Strangers, by Sharon Hunt (Canada)

• A Quiet Night in Entebbe, by Peter Wynn Norris (UK)

• A Vicious Indulgence, by Annie Hauxwell (Australia)

• Biographies of a Victim, by Gunnar Lange-Nielsen (Norway)

• The Boy Who Loved Penguins, by S.W.C. Webb (UK)

• The Greengrocers and Fruiterers’ Convention, by Martin Ungless (UK)

• Hide and Seek, by Sarah Darby (UK)

• Men of the Rose, by Jessica Ramage (UK)

• The Outrageous Behaviour of Left-Handed Dwarves,
by Graham Brack (UK)

• The Temp, by Luke Melia (UK)

• Unveiled Threats, by Stephanie Light (UK)

• What Hidden Lies, by Michele Rowe (South Africa)

The shortlist of nominees for the CWA Dagger in the Library Award was announced previously.

Winners of these commendations will be announced during an event held alongside the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate on Friday, July 22. Also to be revealed during that ceremony will be the shortlists of contenders for three additional CWA Daggers: the Gold, the Ian Fleming Steel, and the John Creasey.

(Hat tip to Mystery Fanfare.)