Thursday evening proved to be one of the most enjoyable of my whole writing career. It was the occasion of the CWA Daggers Awards, a glitzy black tie event at the Grange City Hotel in London, and I'll remember it forever because I was fortunate enough to be awarded the CWA Dagger in the Library.
The Dagger in the Library is awarded for a writer's body of work that has brought pleasure to library users, and nominations are submitted by librarians up and down the country. I was delighted to feature on first the longlist, announced in May, and then the shortlist, announced in July. The other authors nominated included such prominent and popular bestsellers as Sophie Hannah, Nicci French, and Peter May. Formidable competition, to put it mildly.
The judging panel is composed exclusively of librarians, and so it was a very special moment when the chair of the panel, Sue Wilkinson, opened the envelope and read out my name. During the past three years, I've been nominated for three other Daggers, and to win on this occasion was a real joy. Exactly ten years have passed since the wonderful night when I won my first Dagger, for best short story, and this was if anything an even more cherishable moment.
There were many other happy moments during the evening, not least the chance to present the Diamond Dagger to Michael Connelly, and Red Herring awards to Ali Karim, Ayo Onatade, David Stuart Davies, and Mike Stotter. It was also grand to spend time with my editors at Head of Zeus and Harper Collins, and with my agent, as well as friends such as Mick Herron and Matthew Booth, and to chat over dinner with the guest speaker, tv scriptwriter Jude Tindall. It was all truly memorable. I've still not quite come down to earth, and I'm certainly feeling very, very fortunate.
9 comments:
So happy for you, Martin! Congratulations on a much-deserved honor!
Congratulations Martin on a well-deserved award. It was great to see you at the dinner - I really enjoyed the evening.
From a retired librarian well deserved!!!!!
How brilliant Martin, many many congratulations! XOX ANNETTE
Kathy, Moira, Vicki, Annette - thank you so much. I'm sure you can guess how much this means to me.
Well done, Martin, and well deserved. No doubt in my mind that you have contributed greatly to the genre, to the benefit of both crime writers and readers worldwide. Congratulations!
Thanks, Jim, I do appreciate that.
Hi Martin,
Just been looking back through your blog as far as Bouchercon in September, a most enjoyable browse. Gosh, you sure get about – Florida, Jersey, Amsterdam, Salisbury, Highgate, Birkenhead… The remarkable thing is that you still find time to write!
I’m afraid my eye has been rather off the crime fiction ball lately due to a combination of circumstances. Having to attend hospitals and a clinic over a couple of nasty, diabetes related injuries, and extensive dealings with officialdom over anti-social behaviour problems. On the plus side, Maureen and I, as contributing poets, doing our stuff at a couple of anthology launches, in Stockport and New Mills, and last Sunday, 4th November, performing with other guest poets at the Wilfred Owen Festival in Oswestry. I’m also on the editorial panel for the next Chester Poets anthology, due February 2019.
But enough about me!
Huge CONGRATULATIONS on your Macavity award for ‘The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books’, and your CWA Dagger in the Library, both so richly deserved.
Congratulations also, of course, on the launch of ‘Gallows Court’. I’m sure this will prove a break-out novel for you in a big way. I’m expecting my copy from Amazon next week.
Must get my skates on now as we’ve been invited to attend a Remembrance Day service at St. John’s Church, Burwardsley, to commemorate the unveiling of the ‘Roll of Honour’.
My very best always,
Paul
Always great to hear from you, Paul, and thanks for your kind words. Hope you like the book! Sorry to hear about those problems, and trust they are now getting sorted out. All the best to you and Maureen.
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