Gold Dagger

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title: "Gold Dagger" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["crime-writers'-association-awards", "1955-establishments-in-the-united-kingdom", "awards-established-in-1955", "mystery-and-detective-fiction-awards", "english-language-literary-awards"] description: "British crime fiction award" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Dagger" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary British crime fiction award ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox award"]

Field	Value
name	Gold Dagger
awarded_for	Best crime novel of the year
presenter	Crime Writers' Association (CWA)
country	United Kingdom
year	1955
holder_label	Most recent winner
holder	Una Mannion
Tell Me What I Am (2024)
most_awards	Ruth Rendell (4)
most_nominations	Mick Herron (6)
website
::

| name = Gold Dagger | image = | image_upright = | caption = | awarded_for = Best crime novel of the year | presenter = Crime Writers' Association (CWA) | country = United Kingdom | year = 1955 | holder_label = Most recent winner | holder = Una Mannion Tell Me What I Am (2024) | most_awards = Ruth Rendell (4) | most_nominations = Mick Herron (6) | website =

The CWA Gold Dagger is an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom since 1960 for the best crime novel of the year.

From 1955 to 1959, the organization named their top honor as the Crossed Red Herring Award. From 1995 to 2002 the award acquired sponsorship from Macallan and was known as the Macallan Gold Dagger.

In 2006, because of new sponsorship from the Duncan Lawrie Bank, the award was officially renamed as the Duncan Lawrie Dagger, and gained a prize fund of £20,000. It was the biggest crime-fiction award in the world in monetary terms. In 2008, Duncan Lawrie Bank withdrew its sponsorship of the awards. As a result, the top prize is again called the Gold Dagger without a monetary award.

From 1969 to 2005, a Silver Dagger was awarded to the runner-up. When Duncan Lawrie acquired sponsorship, this award was dropped. After the sponsorship was withdrawn, this award was not reinstated.

Since its inception, the award has been given to 57 writers. Ruth Rendell has won the award a record four times, including two awards for the novels A Fatal Inversion and King Solomon's Carpet, published under the pseudonym Barbara Vine; this makes her the only writer who has won the award under different names. Rendell and James Lee Burke were nominated a record five times, and they were surpassed only by Mick Herron with six. Abir Mukherjee is the most nominated author in this category without a single win (4 nominations).

The Crime Writers' Association also awards the CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction and several other "Dagger" awards.

Winners

Winners and, where known, shortlisted titles for each year:

1950s

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Year	Author	Work	Crossed Red Herring Award	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
**Winston Graham **	The Little Walls
Lee Howard	Blind Date
Ngaio Marsh	Scales of Justice
Margot Bennett	The Man Who Didn't Fly
**Edward Grierson **	The Second Man
Sarah Gainham	Time Right Deadly
Arthur Upfield	Man of Two Tribes
J. J. Marric	Gideon's Week
**Julian Symons **	The Colour of Murder
Ngaio Marsh	Off with His Head
George Milner	Your Money or Your Life
Douglas Rutherford	The Long Echo
**Margot Bennett **	Someone from the Past
Margery Allingham	Hide My Eyes
James Byrom	Or Be He Dead
John Sherwood	Undiplomatic Exit
**Eric Ambler **	Passage of Arms
James Mitchell	A Way Back
Menna Gallie	Strike for a Kingdom
::

1960s

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Year	Author	Work	Gold Dagger	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
**Lionel Davidson **	The Night of Wenceslas
Mary Stewart	My Brother Michael
Julian Symons	The Progress of a Crime
**Mary Kelly **	The Spoilt Kill
John le Carré	Call for the Dead
Allan Prior	One Way
**Joan Fleming **	When I Grow Rich
Eric Ambler	The Light of Day
Colin Watson	Hopjoy Was Here
**John le Carré **	The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
Nicolas Freeling	Gun Before Butter
William Haggard	The High Wire
**H. R. F. Keating **	The Perfect Murder
Gavin Lyall	The Most Dangerous Game
Ross Macdonald	The Chill
Patricia Highsmith	The Two Faces of January
**Ross Macdonald **	The Far Side of the Dollar
Dick Francis	For Kicks
Emma Lathen	Accounting for Murder
Gavin Lyall	Midnight Plus One
**Lionel Davidson **	A Long Way to Shiloh
John Bingham	The Double Agent
John Ball	In the Heat of the Night
**Emma Lathen **	Murder Against the Grain
Colin Watson	Lonely Heart 4122
Eric Ambler	Dirty Story
**Peter Dickinson **	Skin Deep
Nicholas Blake	The Private Wound
Sébastien Japrisot	The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun
**Peter Dickinson **	A Pride of Heroes
Francis Clifford	Another Way of Dying
Rex Stout	The Father Hunt
::

1970s

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Year	Author	Work	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
**Joan Fleming **	Young Man I Think You're Dying
Anthony Price	The Labyrinth Makers
**James H. McClure **	The Steam Pig
P. D. James	Shroud for a Nightingale
**Eric Ambler **	The Levanter
Victor Canning	The Rainbird Pattern
**Robert Littell **	The Defection of A.J. Lewinter
Gwendoline Butler	A Coffin for Pandora
**Anthony Price **	Other Paths to Glory
Francis Clifford	The Grosvenor Square Goodbye
**Nicholas Meyer **	The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
P. D. James	The Black Tower
**Ruth Rendell **	A Demon in My View
James H. McClure	Rogue Eagle
**John le Carré **	The Honourable Schoolboy
William McIlvanney	Laidlaw
**Lionel Davidson **	The Chelsea Murders
Peter Lovesey	Waxwork
**Dick Francis **	Whip Hand
Colin Dexter	Service of All the Dead
::

1980s

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Year	Author	Work	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
**H. R. F. Keating **	The Murder of the Maharaja
Ellis Peters	Monk's Hood
**Martin Cruz Smith **	Gorky Park
Colin Dexter	The Dead of Jericho
**Peter Lovesey **	The False Inspector Dew
S. T. Haymon	Ritual Murder
**John Hutton **	Accidental Crimes
William McIlvanney	The Papers of Tony Vietch
**B. M. Gill **	The Twelfth Juror
Ruth Rendell	The Tree of Hands
**Paula Gosling **	Monkey Puzzle
Dorothy Simpson	Last Seen Alive
Andrew Taylor	Our Father's Lies
Jill Paton Walsh	A Piece of Justice
**Ruth Rendell **	Live Flesh
P. D. James	A Taste for Death
**Barbara Vine **	A Fatal Inversion
Scott Turow	Presumed Innocent
Liza Cody	Under Contract
**Michael Dibdin **	Ratking
Sara Paretsky	Toxic Shock
**Colin Dexter **	The Wench Is Dead
Desmond Lowden	The Shadow Run
::

1990s

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Year	Author	Work	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
**Reginald Hill **	Bones and Silence
Mike Phillips	The Late Candidate
John Harvey	Rough Treatment
**Barbara Vine **	King Solomon's Carpet
Frances Fyfield	Deep Sleep
Janet Neel	Death of a Partner
Michael Dibdin	Dirty Tricks
**Colin Dexter **	The Way Through the Woods
Liza Cody	Bucket Nut
**Patricia Cornwell **	Cruel and Unusual
Sarah Dunant	Fatlands
Robert Richardson	The Hand of Strange Children
Janet Neel	Death Among the Dons
**Minette Walters **	The Scold's Bridle
Peter Høeg	Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow
Val McDermid	Crack Down
Sara Paretsky	Tunnel Vision
**Val McDermid **	The Mermaids Singing
Peter Lovesey	The Summons
Elizabeth Ironside	Death in the Garden
Minette Walters	The Dark Room
**Ben Elton **	Popcorn
Peter Lovesey	Bloodhounds
Jessica Mann	A Private Enquiry
**Ian Rankin **	Black and Blue
Janet Evanovich	Three to Get Deadly
Frank Lean	The Reluctant Investigator
**James Lee Burke **	Sunset Limited
Nicholas Blincoe	Manchester Slingback
Michael Dibdin	A Long Finish
Geoffrey Archer	Fire Hawk
Reginald Hill	On Beulah Height
George Pelecanos	King Suckerman
**Robert Wilson **	A Small Death in Lisbon
Adrian Mathews	Vienna Blood
Val McDermid	A Place of Execution
Ian Rankin	Dead Souls
Michael Connelly	Angels Flight
Denise Danks	Phreak
Frances Fyfield	Staring at the Light
::

2000s

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Year	Author	Work	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	Duncan Lawrie Dagger	2006	2007	2008	Gold Dagger	2009
**Jonathan Lethem **	Motherless Brooklyn
Donna Leon	Friends in High Places
James Lee Burke	Purple Cane Road
Eliot Pattison	The Skull Mantra
Lucy Wadham	Lost
Martin Cruz Smith	Havana Bay
**Henning Mankell **	Sidetracked
Giles Blunt	Forty Words for Sorrow
Stephen Booth	Dancing with the Virgins
Denise Danks	Baby Love
George Pelecanos	Right as Rain
Scott Phillips	The Ice Harvest
**José Carlos Somoza **	The Athenian Murders
James Crumley	The Final Country
Mark Billingham	Scaredy Cat
James Lee Burke	Jolie Blon's Bounce
Michael Connelly	City of Bones
Minette Walters	Acid Row
**Minette Walters **	Fox Evil
Morag Joss	Half-Broken Things
Boris Akunin	The Winter Queen
Robert Littell	The Company
Carlo Lucarelli	Almost Blue
Robert Wilson	The Blind Man of Seville
**Sara Paretsky **	Blacklist
John Harvey	Flesh and Blood
Mo Hayder	Tokyo
Val McDermid	The Torment of Others
James W. Nichol	Midnight Cab
Laura Wilson	The Lover
**Arnaldur Indriðason **	Silence of the Grave
Barbara Nadel	Deadly Web
Karin Fossum	Calling Out for You
Friedrich Glauser	In Matto's Realm
Carl Hiaasen	Skinny Dip
Fred Vargas	Seeking Whom He May Devour
**Ann Cleeves **	Raven Black
Simon Beckett	The Chemistry of Death
Thomas H. Cook	Red Leaves
Frances Fyfield	Safer Than Houses
Bill James	Wolves of Memory
Laura Wilson	A Thousand Lies
**Peter Temple **	The Broken Shore
Giles Blunt	The Fields of Grief
James Lee Burke	Pegasus Descending
Gillian Flynn	Sharp Objects
Craig Russell	Brother Grimm
C. J. Sansom	Sovereign
**Frances Fyfield **	Blood from Stone
James Lee Burke	The Tin Roof Blowdown
Colin Cotterill	The Coroner's Lunch
Steve Hamilton	Night Work
Laura Lippman	What the Dead Know
R. N. Morris	A Vengeful Longing
**William Brodrick **	A Whispered Name
Kate Atkinson	When Will There Be Good News?
Mark Billingham	In the Dark
Lawrence Block	Hit and Run
M. R. Hall	The Coroner
Gene Kerrigan	Dark Times in the City
::

2010s

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Year	Author	Work	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
**Belinda Bauer **	Blacklands
S. J. Bolton	Blood Harvest
George Pelecanos	The Way Home
Karen Campbell	Shadowplay
**Tom Franklin **	Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
Steve Hamilton	The Lock Artist
A. D. Miller	Snowdrops
Denise Mina	The End of the Wasp Season
**Gene Kerrigan **	The Rage
N. J. Cooper	Vengeance in Mind
M. R. Hall	The Flight
Chris Womersley	Bereft
**Mick Herron **	Dead Lions
Belinda Bauer	Rubbernecker
Lauren Beukes	The Shining Girls
Becky Masterman	Rage Against the Dying
**Wiley Cash **	This Dark Road to Mercy
Paula Daly	Keep Your Friends Close
Paul Mendelson	The First Rule of Survival
Louise Penny	How the Light Gets In
**Michael Robotham **	Life or Death
Belinda Bauer	The Shut Eye
James Carlos Blake	The Rules of Wolfe
Robert Galbraith	The Silkworm
Sam Hawken	Missing
Stephen King	Mr. Mercedes
Attica Locke	Pleasantville
**Bill Beverly **	Dodgers
Chris Brookmyre	Black Widow
Denise Mina	Blood Salt Water
Mick Herron	Real Tigers
**Jane Harper **	The Dry
Belinda Bauer	The Beautiful Dead
Ray Celestin	Dead Man's Blues
Mick Herron	Spook Street
Derek B. Miller	The Girl in Green
Abir Mukherjee	A Rising Man
**Steve Cavanagh **	The Liar
Mick Herron	London Rules
	Since We Fell
Attica Locke	Bluebird, Bluebird
Abir Mukherjee	A Necessary Evil
Emma Viskic	Resurrection Bay
**M. W. Craven **	The Puppet Show
Claire Askew	All the Hidden Truths
Christobel Kent	What We Did
Donna Leon	Unto Us a Son Is Given
Derek B. Miller	American by Day
Benjamin Wood	A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better
::

2020s

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Year	Author	Work	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
**Michael Robotham **	Good Girl, Bad Girl
Claire Askew	What You Pay For
Lou Berney	November Road
John Fairfax	Forced Confessions
Mick Herron	Joe Country
Abir Mukherjee	Death in the East
** Chris Whitaker **	We Begin at the End
S. A. Cosby	Blacktop Wasteland
Ben Creed	City of Ghosts
Nicci French	House of Correction
Robert Galbraith	Troubled Blood
Elly Griffiths	The Postscript Murders
Thomas Mullen	Midnight Atlanta
**Ray Celestin **	Sunset Swing
Jacqueline Bublitz	Before You Knew My Name
S. A. Cosby	Razorblade Tears
John Hart	The Unwilling
Abir Mukherjee	The Shadows of Men
William Shaw	The Trawlerman
**George Dawes Green **	The Kingdoms of Savannah
Vaseem Khan	The Lost Man of Bombay
Simon Mason	A Killing in November
Anna Mazzola	The Clockwork Girl
WC Ryan	The Winter Guest
Simon Van der Velde	The Silent Brother
**Una Mannion **	Tell Me What I Am
	Black River
	Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
	Over My Dead Body
	Small Mercies
Anna Mazzola	The Book of Secrets
D V Bishop	A Divine Fury
Bonnie Burke-Patel	I Died at Fallow Hall
R J Ellory	The Bell Tower
Tana French	The Hunter
Attica Locke	Guide Me Home
::

Multiple awards and nominations

Gold Dagger

The following individuals received two or more Gold Dagger awards:

::data[format=table]

Wins	Author	Nominations
4	Ruth Rendell	5
2	Eric Ambler	4
Colin Dexter
Minette Walters
John le Carré	3
Lionel Davidson	2
Peter Dickinson
Joan Fleming
H. R. F. Keating
Michael Robotham
::

The following individuals received two or more Gold Dagger nominations:

::data[format=table]

Nominations	Author
6	Mick Herron
5	James Lee Burke
Ruth Rendell
4	Eric Ambler
Belinda Bauer
Colin Dexter
Frances Fyfield
Peter Lovesey
Val McDermid
Abir Mukherjee
Minette Walters
3	John le Carré
Michael Dibdin
P. D. James
Sara Paretsky
George Pelecanos
2	Claire Askew
Margot Bennett
Mark Billingham
Francis Clifford
Liza Cody
Michael Connelly
S. A. Cosby
Denise Danks
Lionel Davidson
Peter Dickinson
Joan Fleming
Dick Francis
Robert Galbraith
M. R. Hall
Steve Hamilton
Reginald Hill
H. R. F. Keating
Emma Lathen
Donna Leon
Gavin Lyall
Ross Macdonald
Ngaio Marsh
James H. McClure
William McIlvanney
Derek B. Miller
Denise Mina
Janet Neel
Anthony Price
Ian Rankin
Michael Robotham
Martin Cruz Smith
Julian Symons
Colin Watson
Laura Wilson
Robert Wilson
::

Silver Dagger

The following individuals received two or more Silver Dagger awards:

::data[format=table]

Wins	Author	Nominations
3	Peter Lovesey	4
P. D. James	3
2	Colin Dexter	4
Francis Clifford	2
William McIlvanney
::

Gold and Silver Daggers wins

The following individuals received both Gold and Silver Dagger awards:

• Colin Dexter
• James H. McClure
• Sara Paretsky
• Anthony Price
• Peter Lovesey
• Ruth Rendell

Records

• Ngaio Marsh was the first writer to receive more than one nomination.
• Ross Macdonald was the first writer to receive two consecutive nominations
• Peter Dickinson is the first writer to receive two Gold Daggers. He and Ruth Rendell are the only ones to win in this category two years in a row.
• Joan Fleming is the first female to win two awards.
• Anthony Price is the first writer to win both the Gold and Silver Daggers.
• P.D. James and Peter Lovesey win a record three Silver Daggers. James also won the most Silver Daggers as the author who never won a Gold Dagger.
• Colin Dexter is the only writer to win both two Silver and two Gold Daggers.
• Ruth Rendell has won the Gold Dagger a record four times. She is also the only one to win the award under different names.
• Mick Herron have the most nominations with 6.
• Mick Herron has the most consecutive nominations (3).
• Abir Mukherjee has the most nominations without a win (4).

References

References

1. Best Foreign
2. Best British
3. Best Foreign
4. Best British
5. Best Foreign
6. Silver Dagger
7. Best Foreign
8. "2023 Dagger Award Winners Announced".
9. (2024-05-14). "2024 Dagger Awards Shortlists".
10. "Gold Dagger".
11. Brown, Lauren. (4 July 2025). "Anna Mazzola takes home Gold at the CWA Dagger Awards with 'expertly crafted' thriller". The Bookseller.
12. including two awards for Barbara Vine novels
13. including two nominations for Barbara Vine novels

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