Ben Macintyre’s The Spy and the Traitor, a tale of betrayal, duplicity and raw courage that changed the course of the Cold War, was awarded the CWA ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction. ALCS is pleased to be supporting crime writers by sponsoring this prestigious award.

Linda Stratmann, Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association, said: “2019’s winners show the incredible range and quality of authors at work in the crime writing genre today. The Daggers recognise both established and emerging names, and we are incredibly proud of the reputation and longevity the Daggers have, nationally and internationally.”

Writer Barry Forshaw, MC for the Dagger Awards evening, added: “The Daggers are the ultimate celebration of the fact that crime fiction remains an evergreen area of modern publishing, with fresh trends continually appearing, and traditional forms undergoing constant reinvigoration.”

2019 CWA Daggers – The Winners

CWA ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION: Ben Macintyre, The Spy and the Traitor (Viking)

CWA GOLD DAGGER: MW Craven, The Puppet Show (Constable/Little Brown)

CWA JOHN CREASEY NEW BLOOD: Chris Hammer, Scrublands (Wildfire)

CWA IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER: Holly Watt, To The Lions (Raven Books)

CWA INTERNATIONAL DAGGER: Dov Alfon, A Long Night in Paris, tr Daniella Zamir (MacLehose Press)

CWA SAPERE BOOKS HISTORICAL DAGGER: SG MacLean, Destroying Angel (Quercus Fiction)

CWA SHORT STORY DAGGER: Danuta Kot writing as Danuta Reah, ‘The Dummies’ Guide to Serial Killing’ in The Dummies’ Guide to Serial Killing and other Fantastic Female Fables (Fantastic Books)

Highly commended: Teresa Solana, ‘I Detest Mozart’ in The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and Other Stories by Teresa Solana (Bitter Lemon Press)

CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY: Kate Ellis

CWA DEBUT DAGGER: Shelley Burr, Wake

Highly commended: Catherine Hendricks, Hardways

BEST CRIME AND MYSTERY PUBLISHER: No Exit Press

To view past winners and find out more, visit thecwa.co.uk/the-daggers.