This is part of my ongoing series on using Awards Lists as a RA tool. Click here for all posts in the series in reverse chronological order. Click here for the first post which outlines the details how to use awards lists as a RA tool.
Today I have one of the best examples of using awards lists as a resource. The Crime Writers' Association released their long list for their annual awards, the Daggers, and it is a LONG list. A 3 page PDF of authors and titles!
When I write about using awards lists-- not just the winners-- as a resource, this long list is exactly what I am referring to.
First a little about the CWA and the Daggers. From their "About" page:
The Crime Writers’ Associationwas founded in 1953 by John Creasey (pictured). Our overall aim is to support, promote and celebrate this most durable, adaptable and successful of genres. The CWA’s everyday aim is to support writers of every kind of crime fiction and non-fiction and to promote their work.
The CWA is a thriving, growing community and a broad church. Its membership encompasses writers of all kinds of ‘crime’ – embracing procedural, psychological, all types of thriller, cosy, noir and even supernatural and fantasy cross-over. Writers of all crime-related non-fiction, including true crime, are welcome too. Writers of crime for children and young adults are also welcome to join as are authors of crime novels on graphic platforms.
CWA authors are of all ages and at all stages of their careers, from young debuts to established veterans, and while the CWA is UK-based, it attracts many members from all over the world.
In addition to authors, the CWA has associate and corporate members drawn from literary agents, publishers, reviewers, bloggers and editors who specialise in crime fiction and non-fiction.
The books need to be published in the UK during the year of nomination, but the long list includes authors from all over the world. The umbrella of what they consider is also very broad as well, as you can see from the about statement above. These are books that will appeal to many readers for a variety of reasons.
The Daggers have 11 categories:
- Diamond Dagger: lifetime achievement
- Gold Dagger: overall best crime novel
- Ian Fleming Steel Dagger: best espionage, psychological, or adventure thriller novel
- John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger: first novel
- Historical Dagger: set 50 years before the year of the award
- ALCS Gold dagger for Nonfiction
- Dagger for Crime In Translation: translated into English for UK publication during eligible year
- Short Story Dagger: published or broadcast in the UK
- Dagger for the Best Crime & Mystery Publisher
- Debut Dagger: A competition for the opening of a crime novel by an unpublished writer. The Debut Dagger is a talent finder, closely watched by the industry.
- Dagger in the Library: "This Dagger is for a writer whose body of work is popular with library users, and who in turn supports libraries and borrowers."
Honestly, I don't care who wins. This long list and the database of past winners will keep you flush with sure bet crime suggestions.
For all of these reasons, this long list [and past iterations], is an excellent resource for a large swath of your readers. Use it for collection development, lists, displays, and suggestions. Use it with the knowledge that a jury of crime fiction professionals have vetted these titles as among the best of the last year. Just use the Daggers long list and every awards list as a resource.
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