Dagger Awards Announced

What are the Dagger Awards, you ask? From the Crime Writers Association Web site: 
The CWA Dagger Awards celebrate the best in crime writing: the Gold Dagger is awarded for crime fiction in its broadest definition, but other Daggers recognize excellence in a range of categories: the John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger for first novels, the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for thrillers, the International Dagger for translated works, the Ellis Peters Award for historical mysteries, the Gold Dagger for non-fiction, the Dagger in the Library – the library readers’ choice – and finally the Short Story Dagger, which acknowledges the best in short fiction.

2010 Winners:
Shortlists for the John Creasey(New Blood), Ian Fleming Steel and Gold Daggers were announced and awards will be given later this fall:


John Creasey: first books by previously unpublished writers.
  1. Acts of Violence, Ryan David Jahn (Pan)
  2. Cut Short, Leigh Russell (No Exit Press)
  3. Martyr, Rory Clements (John Murray) *UK 1st edition is already very collectible
  4. Random, Craig Robertson (Simon & Schuster)
  5. Stop Me, Richard Jay Parker (Allison & Busby) **
  6. Rupture, Simon Lelic (Picador) **
  7. The Holy Thief, William Ryan (Mantle ) **
  8. The Pull of the Moon, Diane Janes (Robinson)

Ian Fleming Steel: the best thriller published in the UK.
  1. 61 Hours, Lee Child (Bantam Press) **
  2. A Loyal Spy, Simon Conway (Hodder & Stoughton)
  3. Gone, Mo Hayder (Bantam Press) *UK 1st ed. very collectible
  4. Slow Horses, Mick Herron (Robinson)
  5. The Dying Light, Henry Porter (Orion) *UK 1st ed. very collectible
  6. Innocent, Scott Turow (Macmillan)
  7. The Gentlemen’s Hour, Don Winslow (Heinemann) *UK 1st ed. very collectible

Gold Daggers: for the best crime novel, originally written in English, published in the UK prior to  May 31st.
  1. Conman, Richard Asplin (No Exit Press)
  2. Blacklands, Belinda Bauer (Corgi) *UK 1st ed. very collectible
  3. Blood Harvest, S J Bolton (Bantam Press) **
  4. Rain Gods, James Lee Burke (Orion) **
  5. Shadowplay, Karen Campbell (Hodder & Stoughton)
  6. The Strange Case of the Composer and his Judge, Patricia Duncker (Bloomsbury) **
  7. Still Midnight, Denise Mina (Orion) *UK 1st ed. very collectible
  8. The Way Home, George Pelecanos (Orion) **
So why is this a big deal? Generally, when looking at the collectibility of a book, if it is an award winner or even short listed for an award, its value can go up - presumably because it is a well written book (or well told story) that is respected by its peers. But honestly, we like awards - if something is an award winner (or has an Oprah seal of approval), we as a culture are more likely to read it.

Once a book wins one of these coveted awards (or starts getting publicity for being nominated), publishers will jump on the bandwagon and market it as such, hoping that the now-recognized book will sell even more. If first runs of these books are lower - their value can really go up. Something like Lee Child's 61 hours, however, probably won't be of much value unless the book is signed (because the first run was huge).  

Collecting or not, if your a crime buff start checking out some of these authors.


*Unsigned first UK editions are already selling for well over the cover price (between $50 and $200+)
**Signed 1st editions are available for under $50 (including s+h) on ABEbooks.com

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