Billingham’s Dagger Is No Joke

Mark Billingham, the English actor-comedian turned novelist best recognized for creating the Tom Thorne police procedural series, has won the Crime Writers’ Association’s 2026 Diamond Dagger, an award that “recognises authors whose crime-writing careers have been marked by sustained excellence, and who have made a significant contribution to the genre.”

This places him among august company, indeed. Past recipients of the Diamond Dagger include Lynda La Plante, Peter James, Walter Mosley, Lindsey Davis, Andrew Taylor, Ann Cleeves, Robert Goddard, Val McDermid, Martin Edwards, and 2025 honoree Mick Herron.

Born in the West Midlands and brought up in Birmingham, Billingham saw his first Thorne yarn, Sleephead, published in 2001. He has since penned 18 additional novels featuring the character (most recently last year’s What the Night Brings), plus three novels about “maverick” police detective and dancer Declan Miller (the third, The Wrong Step, is due out this coming July). Several standalone works (Rush of Blood, Die of Shame, Rabbit Hole, etc.) appear under his byline as well.

In a press release announcing his victory, CWA chair Nadine Matheson gives Billingham this avid endorsement: “Across a remarkable body of work, Mark has consistently set the bar for contemporary crime fiction, while also being generous with his time and support to emerging writers. His influence on the genre extends far beyond his own novels, shaping the crime writing community as a whole. For his outstanding contribution to crime fiction, his lasting impact on readers and writers alike, and his commitment to the genre, Mark Billingham is a thoroughly deserving recipient of the Diamond Dagger.”

Billingham has previously been given the CWA’s Dagger in the Library, “voted by librarians, for his body of work.” He has also twice received the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year prize, for Lazybones in 2005 and for Death Message in 2009.