The CWA Dagger Awards 2008

RULES

The closing date has now passed for the 2008 Daggers, the prestigious awards that celebrate the very best in crime and thriller writing. This is the third year with our sponsor The Duncan Lawrie Private Bank. In all there are ten awards in contention. Nominations were invited for the Duncan Lawrie, International, Steel, Non-Fiction and New Blood Daggers.

Any UK publisher may enter books provided that the book is relevant to the appropriate award and was published between June 1 2007 and May 31 2008. (For the biennial Non-Fiction Dagger the earlier date is June 1 2006.) The final closing date was April 17 2008. Further details are at the foot of this page.

It is an absolute condition of entry that publishers print the wording, including where appropriate the name(s) of sponsor(s), provided by the Association on subsequent editions of winners' books. Submission of any entry will be taken as complete acceptance of this rule.

In the light of ever-rising expenses regarding the operation of the Crime Writers' Association annual Dagger Awards, the CWA has had to make an important change to the rules regarding entries. It is a condition of entry that all publishers whose books appear on any of the Dagger shortlists agree to pay a contribution towards the CWA's costs of running the awards – the judging process, publicity and promotion, and in particular organising the Awards Dinner.

This step, now in its second year, brings our awards into line with similar rules for other literary awards. While publishers and authors clearly benefit from being shortlisted for – and particularly winning – one of our Daggers, the CWA gains no direct benefit even though the cost of organising the Awards imposes a significant burden which has to be met out of the Association's limited resources. The income generated by these charges will not cover the full costs of the Dagger Awards, and the CWA will pay the remainder.

The charges are as follows:

£500 for each title on the Duncan Lawrie Dagger shortlist
£200 for each title on the Duncan Lawrie International Dagger shortlist
£200 for each title on the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger shortlist
£100 for each title on the Non Fiction Dagger shortlist
£100 for each title on the New Blood Dagger shortlist

Entering any title(s) for any of the above Daggers will be taken as complete acceptance of this financial condition by the publisher(s) concerned. Invoices for the appropriate sum(s) will be sent out when the shortlists are announced.

Note: There is no fee for submitting entries. Charges will only apply to those titles which are shortlisted.

If you have any queries, please contact Philip Gooden, CWA Chair, () or our Dagger Liaison Officer Meg Gardiner ().

General Rules

Any UK publisher may enter books provided that the book is relevant to the appropriate award and was published within the specified dates. We must point out that it is unlikely that judges will give serious consideration to books that have not been professionally published by recognised publishing houses. “Vanity” publications and those whose publication has been partly or wholly subsidised by the author, and “Branded” books, in which another person writes for the original author, are unlikely to be considered.
Please note that the dates below do not apply to the biennial Non Fiction Dagger.

1. 1.The judging period runs from June 1 2007 and May 31 2008 inclusive. Final submissions must be made by April 17 2008 to prevent a backlog of titles arriving in the final weeks. For books published up to the end of May 2008 bound proofs are acceptable; otherwise, finished copies must be sent.
2. After November 1 2007, any title submitted more than 30 days after its original publication date may be excluded at the discretion of the appropriate Chair of Judges.
3. An entry form must be completed for each title submitted and sent to the Chair of the relevant judging panel. The master form may be photocopied as required.
4. Publishers are asked that when they send books, they ensure that the label on each package bears the name of the award for which the book is being submitted.
5. Where a book is being entered for more than one award, copies must be sent to the judges of all appropriate panels.
6. It is a condition of entry that publishers make every effort to ensure that any shortlisted author attends the Awards Ceremony.
7. While there is no limit to the number of titles each publisher may submit, please select only those that have a realistic chance of winning. Sending an entire list places an unnecessary burden on the judges.

Shortlists will be drawn up at the end of May 2008 with the winners announced at the Awards Ceremony, to be held at the Four Seasons Hotel in London's Park Lane on Thursday 10th July

There are further rules relating to the individual daggers and these, as well as the judges' names and further information, can be seen by clicking the links at the top of the left-hand margin.

Further details, including the full rules and entry forms, may be obtained from the CWA Dagger Liaison Officer, Meg Gardiner, by emailing . Any queries should also be addressed to her.

Other Daggers and Awards

Authors in contention for the Dagger in the Library are nominated by UK libraries and Readers' Groups and judged by a panel of librarians.

The Ellis Peters Historical Award carries a prize of £3,000 and is sponsored by the Estate of Ellis Peters. It is awarded in the autumn. The Short Story Dagger is also awarded in the autumn.