The CWA Dagger in the Library, 2004

Sponsor: The Random House Group

Prize: £1500

Alexander McCall Smith has won the CWA Dagger in the Library 2004. He was presented with his cheque and Dagger by Susan Sandon, Publisher with CHA Division, Random House.

Welcoming the award, Professor McCall Smith said he would use it to set up a prize for short story writing in Botswana, where his No 1 Ladies Detective Agency novels are set. The prize will be administered through the British Council and will be designed to encourage writers in Botswana, who find it particularly difficult to have their work published or recognised. "I think this might be the only current literary award available in Botswana," he told The Scotsman.

Alexander McCall Smith was born in Zimbabwe in 1948 and educated there and in Scotland. He is married with two daughters and lives with his wife in Edinburgh. An internationally-known Professor of Medical Law, he was until very recently also a member of the International Bioethics Commission of UNESCO and vice-chairman of the Human Genetics Commission for the UK.

He has written more than 50 titles, from reference works to children's titles. The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, set in Botswana, was first published in 1988 by Polygon, a small Edinburgh-based publishing house. Word-of-mouth promotion led to a quiet growth of sales which exploded into five million copies in English and 31 languages world-wide. Six titles are currently available (now as Abacus paperbacks), the most recent being In the Company of Cheerful Ladies. In addition, a new series was launched by Polygon in August 2003 (Portuguese Irregular Verbs) and this too is a UK best-seller.

'These tales have given the genre a new lease of life. The heroine, Precious Ramotswe, is a wholly original character whose approach to detective work is both ingenious and humane. We gain an insight into a country that is in transition and the old and the new exist together, while the gentle humour and wit of the writing appeal to readers who would not normally read crime novels. McCall Smith writes beautifully, at a measured pace, giving you the time and space to consider what his characters (and what characters!) are saying and thinking and why. And all are carried along by a woven fabric of story - crimes to solve, puzzles to unravel, questions to be asked and answered, people to be remembered and moved on.'

The Dagger in the Library is awarded to "the author of crime fiction whose work is giving the greatest enjoyment to readers", as nominated by UK libraries and judged by a panel of librarians. It emphasises the rôle played by libraries in providing an audience for authors whose careers are developing, so that nominations of authors whose discovery has particularly delighted readers (rather than established favourites) are welcome. The award is given for the body of an author's work, not for an individual title, and those nominated should be alive at the time of the nomination and preferably working in Britain. The broadest definition of the crime novelist is used; it can include authors of thrillers, suspense novels, spy fiction and period fiction as well as more traditional forms like "cosies", "hard-boiled" and police procedurals.

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Jim Kelly highly commended

The judges highly commended Jim Kelly. Although he has only written two books (currently working on his third), the library's poll overwhelmingly chose to nominate him, feeling that he deserves the Dagger award now as an encouragement to continue writing. His writing is described as that of a future Steinbeck, evoking the atmosphere of the Fens that he writes about. His characters are evolving and developing and you feel an empathy and interest in them. Kelly is to the Fens what Stephen Booth [the 2003 winner of the Dagger in the Library] is to the Peak District.

Other shortlisted authors

Mark Billingham's books about DI Thorne are favourites of lots of library crime fanatics. They are funny, yet moving and insightful; crisply written and very readable. The characters are well-drawn and develop as the series progresses, the plots are highly original, and Billingham never fails to surprise his readers with a twist in the tail.

Christopher Brookmyre is extremely popular with readers and staff alike. His books are enjoyable to read, his sense of humour wry and sardonic. His plots always make demands on his readers unlike some contemporary formulaic crime writers.

Each book is very different from the previous title and each book is rooted in contemporary (mostly Scottish) life. His characters, especially Jack Parlabane, are intelligent rounded people with the same sense of humour as their author. His books are consistently on listings of most requested books.

Stuart Pawson is a very popular author with readers, including the three Reading Groups who concentrate on crime books. DI Charlie Priest is a tough and hardworking policemen but one with a reflective, softer side to make him human and believable. We've agonised with him as we've seen relationships with various women come and go but his optimism remains unbounded and he hasn't become bitter and twisted. Perhaps this is because throughout the vagaries of life and career he's had his colleague Dave "Sparky" Sparkington and his family, remain a constant and reassuring factor, keeping him sane.

Andrew Taylor is very versatile author, with three major series and several one-off novels to his name, making him a major force in crime-writing today. He produces intriguing and well-plotted stories written in a convincing and believable style. In particular, the set of interlocking novels making up the Roth trilogy form a unique and powerful contribution to the modern crime fiction scene.

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The 2002 Dagger in the Library was won by Yorkshire-born author Peter Robinson and the 2003 award went to Stephen Booth, with Christopher Brookmyre being Very Highly Commended. It is sponsored by publishers The Random House Group Inc.

The Award is judged entirely by librarians; in 2004 the non-voting Chair is Judith Rhodes and the voting judges are all librarians who have regular direct contact with the public. Libraries had until 16th August 2004 to produce nominations. Each library could nominate one writer, but a second choice could be included to assist the judges in case of a tie. They were asked to supply a statement in support of their first choice.

Queries to: library.dagger@thecwa.co.uk