‘From the slush pile to the Sorbonne’ – Peter Lovesey on the lows and highs of short story writingMany stories ago, I found a second-hand book published in 1947 called The Queen’s Awards. It contained the winning short fiction in a competition organised by the two American mystery writers, Frederi...
‘The C Change in Undercover Policing’ by Stephen BentleyHaving now written two non-fiction and several fiction books about undercover cops, I know a thing or two about authenticity when writing fiction involving characters who are undercover police officer...
Open House Submissions 100×100 for Under-represented Writers10am Tuesday 1 March 2022 – 10am Wednesday 2 March 2022 For 24 hours, United Agents Books Department will be holding an Open House submissions window to encourage submissions from groups that ar...
‘Entering the secret world of urban gangs’ by Jennie EnsorWhat goes on inside closed groups has always fascinated me – whether it’s a dysfunctional family unit, an urban gang or a Metropolitan Police murder team. All three feature in my fourth book, Silenced...
Hunt for the Margery Allingham Short Mystery Prize Winner 2022The hunt for the best unpublished short mystery story is on. Entrants have until 6pm GMT on Monday 28 February to enter the international Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Margery Allingham Short Myste...
Bookseller of the Month – February 2022: Winstone BooksWinstone Books in Sherborne, Dorset, is our February Bookseller of the Month. Bookseller Elly Griffiths paid them a visit. By serendipitous coincidence, February 2022 marks the tenth anniversary of Wa...
A Talent for Murder by Matthew BoothIt has been a long time coming. Since I first encountered Sherlock Holmes when I was 11 years old, I wanted to write crime and detective stories and, over the years, I wrote several crime novels (unpu...
‘The Downstairs Neighbour’ by Helen CooperIn a converted Georgian townhouse in south west London, three families live under one roof. The large flat that takes up the top two floors is home to the Harlow family: happily married Paul and Steph...
Bookseller of the Month: Griffin Books, PenarthThe CWA’s Bookseller of the Month for December is Griffin Books in Penarth. Griffin Books in Penarth is one of those shops writers love to be invited to. It’s run by the amazing Mel Griffin who...
‘The Marriage Trap – what to do with the love interest in period detective fiction’ by Fiona Veitch Smith“Excuse me, miss. I think you’ve dropped something.” He held the camera under one arm like the bellows of a bag pipe, while with the other he thrust something in her direction. A book. The one she had...
CWA October Bookseller of the Month: Guid Books, AlvaEvery month, as part of the new CWA Booksellers Champion initiative with bestselling author Elly Griffiths, we want to celebrate a bookshop because we believe bookshops don’t just sell our books – the...
‘Lying Ways’ by Rachel LynchWhen the danger is already inside, nowhere is safe… Highton Prison sits nestled within the moors of western Cumbria. When two former inmates turn up dead, DI Kelly Porter believes that she is hu...
The Diamond Dagger Interview: Andrew Taylor speaks to Martina ColeThe Diamond Dagger is awarded those authors whose crime-writing careers have been marked by sustained excellence, and who have made a significant contribution to crime fiction writing. In our annual i...
RUNNING OUT OF ROAD by Cath StaincliffeA missing schoolgirl, a middle-aged recluse, an exploited teenager. Lives thrown into chaos and set on collision course. With the police in hot pursuit. Scarlett is dancing in the school talent show t...
CWA September Bookseller of the Month: Cogito Books, HexhamEvery month, as part of the new CWA Booksellers Champion initiative with bestselling author Elly Griffiths, we want to celebrate a bookshop because we believe bookshops don’t just sell our books – the...
August Bookshop of the Month: No AlibisEvery month, as part of the new CWA Booksellers Champion initiative, we want to celebrate a bookshop because we believe bookshops don’t just sell our books – they bring our streets alive. August...
CWA Opens Membership to Self-Published AuthorsFor the first time in its 68-year history, the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association will allow self-published authors to join its ranks. The move comes after the CWA consulted its members, who voted...
‘Crime in Trying Times’ by J.G. HarlondDo you actually know anyone who is entirely good? Or entirely bad, with no redeeming qualities? I ask because as a crime writer I create both goodies and the baddies: those who do their very best in t...
‘The Real Golden Age of Murder – Pistols, Bombs and Motor Bandits’ by Joan LockI wasn’t feeling like writing another book just now partly because I too often seem to choose a subject needing a great deal of research but, despite not previously being attracted by the subject, I...
‘Codes, Ciphers and Cryptic Clues in Crime Fiction’ by Vaseem Khan“The Da Vinci Code meets post-Independence India.” That’s how MW Craven, winner of the CWA Gold Dagger, has described my latest novel, The Dying Day. I can understand why. The book, set in Bombay in 1...
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