The winners of the prestigious 2026 Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Dagger Awards, which honour the very best in the crime-writing genre, have been announced.
Created in 1955, the world-famous CWA Daggers are the oldest awards in the genre and have been synonymous with quality crime writing for over half a century.
The awards were announcedat the CWA gala dinner at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, London.
The coveted KAA Gold Dagger, sponsored by Kevin Anderson & Associates, which is awarded for the best crime novel of the year, went to Abigail Dean for The Death of Us, a haunting literary thriller that examines how a violent crime reverberates through a marriage over decades. Dean transitioned from a successful legal career—including working as a lawyer at Google—to become one of the UK’s most acclaimed contemporary thriller writers.
S.A. Cosby, the only author to be shortlisted for an unprecedented three Dagger awards, took home the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, which honours the best thriller of the year, with his book, King of Ashes, a Southern Gothic crime epic inspired in part by The Godfather. The novel combines family drama, organized crime, revenge, and long-buried secrets.
Nadine Matheson, Chair of the CWA, said: “It is a genuine pleasure to congratulate every winner of this year’s Daggers. The range and quality on display are a reminder of just how much vitality there is in crime fiction and how it continues to push at its own boundaries, and this year’s winners are leading that charge. Congratulations.”
Nina Allan received the Historical Dagger for A Granite Silence, an atmospheric mystery that uses the disappearance of a young girl in 1930s Aberdeen to explore memory, truth, and the stories communities tell themselves about tragedy. Nina made a name for herself in the Science Fiction genre, but her literary thrillers cross categories and have been highly praised by critics.
The Twisted Dagger for psychological suspense went to Sarah Pinborough, for her haunting Gothic novel, We Live Here Now. Pinborough is best-known for her New York Times bestselling breakout novel (and hit Netflix show) Behind Her Eyes. We Live Here Now was praised for its eerie atmosphere and signature Pinborough-style ending.
The Whodunnit Dagger for books with an intellectual challenge at the heart of a good mystery, sees Mel Pennant take home the award for A Murder for Miss Hortense.
A playwright, screenwriter, and novelist A Murder for Miss Hortense is Pennant’s breakthrough novel featuring the sharp-witted Jamaican-born retired nurse living in Birmingham who investigates a murder. The book was praised for combining a compelling mystery with a warm portrayal of the Windrush generation and Caribbean-British life.
The global reach of the genre is showcased in the Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger. Finland’s Antti Tuomainen came top in a hotly contended category, with The Winter Job. Tuomainen is one of Finland’s most internationally acclaimed crime writers, often described as the “King of Helsinki Noir” and dark comedy. His translator David Hackston, is also recognised in the award, which is sponsored in honour of Dolores Jakubowski.
The ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction was awarded to Susannah Stapleton for That Dark Spring.
Stapleton is a historian specialising in uncovering forgotten stories from the early twentieth century, particularly women’s stories. That Dark Spring is an absorbing true-crime mystery that reopens the unsolved 1929 death of an eccentric British artist in Provence, revealing a world of secrets, rivalries, and unanswered questions.
The Daggers are one of few high-profile genre awards that celebrate the short story. This year’s recipient of the Short Story Dagger goes to Ambrose Parry for The Apple Falls Not Far. Ambrose Parry is the joint pen name of Scottish crime novelist Chris Brookmyre and his wife, former consultant anaesthetist Marisa Haetzman.
The Dagger in the Library, voted for by librarians, recognises authors whose bodies of work have resonated with readers over time. Tim Sullivan took the accolade in a stellar shortlist that included Paula Hawkins, Clare Mackintosh, Freida McFadden, and Abir Mukherjee.
An accomplished television writer-director, Tim Sullivan reinvented himself as a bestselling crime novelist through the hugely successful DS George Cross mysteries, combining classic detective fiction with a distinctive neurodivergent protagonist.
The CWA Daggers are also known for providing a platform for emerging talent, with the much-anticipated ILP John Creasey First Novel Dagger and the Emerging Author Dagger competition, sponsored by Fiction Feedback; over two dozen past winners and shortlisted debut authors have signed publishing deals to date.
Laura McCluskey received the Creasey First Novel Dagger with The Wolf Tree. The Australian writer, editor, actor and filmmaker worked across theatre and film, before becoming a novelist. The Wolf Tree is an atmospheric crime thriller set on the fictional Hebridean island of Eilean Eadar, partly inspired by her Scottish family heritage and research into Scottish folklore.
The Emerging Author Dagger went to Michael Nikitin for Blind Side of the Sun.
The Best Crime and Mystery Publisher category recognises the publishers behind the genre’s success. The respected independent publisher Bitter Lemon Press beat heavyweights including Faber & Faber, Pan Macmillan, No Exit Press and Simon & Schuster to the award.
Founded in London in 2003 by François and Frédéric von Hurter and Laurence Colchester, Bitter Lemon Press specialises in bringing award-winning crime, noir, mystery, and thriller novels from around the world into English, often through new translations.
The CWA Diamond Dagger, sponsored by Karen Baugh Menuhin, is awarded to an author whose crime-writing career has been marked by sustained excellence, is announced in early spring and in 2026 was awarded to Mark Billingham.
Mark Billingham said: “I could not be more thrilled or honoured. To be added to a list that features most of my literary heroes is fantastic.”
The winners in full:
CWA KAA Gold Dagger
Abigail Dean The Death of Us (HarperCollins/Hemlock Press)
Ian Fleming Steel Dagger
S. A. Cosby King of Ashes (Headline)
ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction
Susannah Stapleton That Dark Spring (Pan Macmillan/Picador)
Historical Dagger
Nina Allan A Granite Silence (Quercus/riverrun)
Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger
Antti Tuomainen The Winter Job (Orenda Books) translated by David Hackston
Whodunnit Dagger
Mel Pennant A Murder for Miss Hortense (John Murray Press/Baskerville)
Twisted Dagger
Sarah Pinborough We Live Here Now (Orion Fiction)
ILP John Creasey (First Novel) Dagger
Laura McCluskey The Wolf Tree (HarperCollins/Hemlock Press)
Short Story Dagger
Ambrose Perry ‘The Apple Falls Not Far’ (Canongate)
Emerging Author
Michael Nikitin, Blind Side of the Sun
Dagger in the Library
Tim Sullivan
Best Crime & Mystery Publisher
Bitter Lemon Press
Diamond Dagger
Mark Billingham
