The Daggers - and Zooming Around

I'm back home, briefly, from the CWA annual conference in York, a great weekend made even more enjoyable by the fact that two of my books appeared on the longlists for the 2023 Daggers. Blackstone Fell is up for the CWA Historical Dagger and The Life of Crime for the CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction. I'm having an incredibly lucky run with the latter book and of course I'm truly gratified by the recognition for my fiction; Blackstone Fell is the fifth of my twenty-two novels to be nominated for an award and such things are genuinely motivating, especially at a time when I'm writing something rather experimental, for which I have no contract; in fact nobody else has even seen it yet....

A busy period of events and trips began last Wednesday with a visit to the Lake District. I was speaking to a book group at the Burn How Hotel in Bowness (above), where by coincidence I once stayed on a research trip. A lovely spot and a great night. There was also time for some sight-seeing at wonderful places like Townend (with its fantastic farmer's library; see the above photo) and Sizergh Castle. The weather was kind and my enthusiasm for writing another novel set in the Lakes was duly fired...

The York conference began with a glitzy reception at which I was asked to give a short talk about the CWA's 70 years of history. I was also able to show members a specially bound edition of The House That Jack Built, by Eileen Dewhurst, commemorating Eileen's long and happy association with the CWA. There were some very good talks and I also enjoyed a river boat trip to Bishopthorpe Palace (see the below photo) on Saturday afternoon. The evening banquet, at the City Museum, was one of the most memorable settings I can recall for a meal. Good to see old friends again and also to meet some newer members.

On Wednesday I'm off for a short but frenetic trip to the US and it's good that crime-related events are now taking place again. One thing we have got used to since the pandemic is the Zoom meeting and I've taken part in several interesting sessions of late. These include a chat with Art Taylor for the CWA's North American chapter and a symposium with fellow nominees for the Edgar award for best critical/biographical book, chaired by Joseph Goodrich. Although you can't beat an in-person event, the fact is that online events mean that you can take part in events that - for travel, cost, or logistical reasons - would have been impossible not so long ago. So a mix of the two is ideal.