Hi,

A large chunk of my time has been taken by the business of chairing the CWA. Many of you will have seen the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards on ITV3; the negotiations for the involvement of the CWA in those awards began in October of 2008. It’s been demanding, time consuming and sometimes exhausting, but also incredibly exciting, and the outcome for the CWA and the authors shortlisted for the CWA Gold, John Creasey (New Blood) and Ian Fleming Steel Daggers has been worth the effort. For six consecutive weeks, ITV3 ran author profiles, turning the spotlight on a different author of stature, and each author profile contained TV trailers which highlighted the CWA Gold, Ian Fleming Steel and John Creasey (New Blood) Daggers shortlists.

In the run-up to the awards ceremony, glossy brochures promoting both the CWA and the Daggers  were distributed to booksellers, including WHSmith, Borders, Orange, Waterstones and a wide range of independent booksellers. In addition to this, six hundred Specsavers stores took copies of the brochure for in-store displays and distribution to their customers. Play.com, Amazon, the BookPeople, and the Book Depository all had special promotional features online, and BooksDirect, sponsors of the CWA Gold Dagger at the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards, will be promoting the CWA Daggers in three consecutive issues of BooksDirect magazine. The Reading Agency distributed stickers, posters and magazines to six hundred and twenty-nine libraries across the UK. The winners were announced at the very glitzy Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards ceremony on October 21st, and broadcast on ITV3 on Tuesday, 27th October. 

Planning for next year is ongoing, with information due to be sent out shortly to libraries taking part in the Young Crime Writers’ Competition, the winner of which will be presented with their prize during National Crime Fiction Week. Entries will be judged by members of the Crime Writers’ Association, and regional winners will automatically qualify for the national shortlist. During Crime fiction week, CWA members will be taking part in readings, discussions, readers’ group events and workshops from Cumbria and Co Durham, to London and Hampshire. More announcements will be made soon re. dates for the National Crime Fiction Week, Oxfam Bookfest and next year’s Dagger Awards. So - not much to report on the writing front, but I think you will understand why…

Margaret

More images for the Dagger Awards 2009

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