Since the 2023 Crime Writers' Association (CWA) Dagger Shortlist was revealed in May we've been eager to learn who will be the winners of this year's awards. We had National Crime Reading Month to enjoy while we waited throughout June and now the time has come and the winners of the oldest awards in the genre were announced on the 6th July at a Gala Dinner at the Leonardo City Hotel in London.

The CWA was first founded in 1953 by John Creasey and is one of the UK's most prominent societies. The awards started in 1955 with the first one going to Poldark author Winston Graham. The CWA Daggers are synonymous with quality crime writing and this is the 70th year of the awards being held. The Chair of the CWA, and LoveReading Summer Guest Editor, Vaseem Khan said about the anniversary "This year's CWA Daggers, in the CWA’s 70th jubilee year, continued the tradition of recognising both the broad appeal of the genre, and the wide spectrum of writers now operating within it, showcasing the full creative range of modern crime writing."

This Year's CWA Gold Dagger was awarded to George Dawes Green for his book, The Kingdoms of Savannah. The CWA Gold Dagger is awarded for the best crime novel of the year and Dawes Green has taken this year's prize after a fourteen year hiatus. Past winners of the CWA Gold Dagger include Ruth Rendell, John le Carré and Reginald Hill.

The co-Vice Chair of the CWA, William Shaw praised The Kingdoms of Savannah as "a bravura demonstration of the extraordinary power of crime fiction. Peopled with vividly-drawn characters from every Southern walk of life, this compelling mystery achieves something remarkable in peeling back the skin of Georgia’s troubled history to expose a society whose opulence was always built on something very dark.”

Awarded for the best thriller, the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger was won by John Brownlow for Agent Seventeen. A debut thriller from the British-Canadian screenwriter was praised by the judges for being a ‘deceptively layered’ blockbuster thriller and ‘roller-coaster’ tale.

The highly anticipated ILP John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger showcases the best debut crime novels. This year the Dagger goes to Hayley Scrivenor for her 'haunting mystery' Dirt Town.

Heading to Renaissance Florence, DV Bishop was awarded the CWA Historical Dagger for The Darkest Sin. Praised by judges for being 'gripping to the end' this atmospheric historical thriller is a sequel to City of Vengeance, first released in 2021 and forms part of the Cesare Aldo series. 

Praised as a ‘rare glimpse beneath the wig, with significant observations on the justice system’, the winner of the ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction is retired Old Bailey judge Wendy Joseph for Unlawful Killings: Life, Love and Murder: Trials at the Old Bailey.

The Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger was sponsored this year by former CWA Chair Maxim Jakubowski in honour of his wife Dolores Jakubowski. This year the accolade goes to leading Spanish literary author Javier Cercas for Even the Darkest Night, which was translated by Anne McLean.

The CWA Daggers consist of twelve different awards including The Dagger in the Library which is voted for exclusively by librarians and chosen for the author's body of work and support of libraries. The Daggers are also one of the few high profile awards that celebrate the short story, with this year's Short Story Dagger going to Hazell Ward. 

Announced in early spring, Walter Mosley also accepted this year's CWA Diamond Dagger. The Diamond Dagger is awarded to an author whose crime-writing career has been marked by sustained excellence.

Keep scrolling to discover all of this year's CWA Dagger winners and shop for the winning titles.

Dagger Winners 2023

CWA GOLD DAGGER

The Kingdoms of Savannah by George Dawes Green

CWA IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER

Agent Seventeen by John Brownlow

ILP JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD) DAGGER

Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor

CWA HISTORICAL DAGGER

The Darkest Sin by DV Bishop

CWA ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION

Unlawful Killings: Life, Love and Murder: Trials at the Old Bailey by Wendy Joseph

CWA CRIME FICTION IN TRANSLATION DAGGER sponsored in honour of Dolores Jakubowski

Even the Darkest Night by Javier Cercas translated by Anne McLean

CWA SHORT STORY DAGGER

‘Cast a Long Shadow’ by Hazell Ward, in Cast a Long Shadow edited by Katherine Stansfield and Caroline Oakley

CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY

Sophie Hannah

CWA PUBLISHERS’ DAGGER

Viper (Profile Books)

CWA DEBUT DAGGER sponsored by ProWritingAid

Sideways by Jeff Marsick

THE CWA RED HERRING for services to crime writing and the CWA

Gary Stratmann

Corinne Turner

DIAMOND DAGGER

Walter Mosley

To find out more about the Crime Writers' Association of the CWA Daggers, head to: thecwa.co.uk