CWA Daggers

This time last year I was eagerly looking forward to the CWA Daggers dinner, which turned out to be the highlight of my career as a writer to date. A year on, the latest award ceremony is imminet, and Meg Gardiner has emailed to say that a few tickets are still available - if you get your skates on. Here are the details:


The Crime Writers' Association Dagger Awards
Wednesday 15th July 2009
Tiger Tiger, Haymarket, London


Presenting:
The Debut Dagger
The Short Story Dagger
The International Dagger
The Dagger in the Library


And the shortlists for:
The John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger
The Ian Fleming Steel Dagger
The Gold Dagger


6.30 pm Pimms reception
7 pm awards
Drinks and canapes to follow


Tickets are £45 each.


Each ticket holder is entitled to half-price dining at Tiger Tiger on July 15th.


If you're interested, tickets can be ordered by sending a cheque and SAE to:


The CWA
PO Box 273
Borehamwood
Herts
WD6 2XA

In the Chair

As a postscript to Crimefest, a few people have asked me how it felt to compete in the Mastermind quiz, in that leather chair made famous by the TV programme, with lights dimmed, except for one very bright one, shone right into the contestant’s face. The short answer is that it is a bit like doing an exam, with the added frisson of making a fool of yourself in front of various friends and readers. The consolation was that Simon Brett, Meg Gardiner and David Stuart Davies were in the same boat, and very good-natured fellow sufferers they were.

The setting was certainly intimidating, as with the TV show. The Crimefest organisers did a good job of replicating the menacing atmosphere, and Maxim Jakubowski is a seasoned - and both authoritative and fair-minded - interrogator. In fact, the very first time I met him was as long ago as 1990, when he organised a similar event for the London Bouchercon, in which I participated (and thereby met some fascinating people, including Geoff Bradley, editor of that great fanzine CADS.) Maxim repeated the quiz at the 1995 Bouchercon in Nottingham, with panellists including the late Edward D. Hoch and US crime expert Marv Lachman, and me.

So I did have some past experience of what it feels like to expose my ignorance, as well as my fund of criminal trivia, to a crowd of curious onlookers. As one friend said to me: ‘How could you possibly have forgotten the first name of Marcus Didius Falco’s beloved? It’s the same as your wife’s….’

Crimefest 2009

I’m looking forward to attending Crimefest in Bristol next week (blog posts will continue to appear while I’m away) and I hope to have the chance to chat to some of those who read this blog while I’m there. Please do come and say hello if you spot me wandering around the convention.

I’m involved in three events on the programme. At 4.30 pm on Thursday 14 May, I’m participating moderator in a panel reflecting on bygone authors. Panel members are: Mary Andrea Clarke, Barry Forshaw, Declan Hughes and Sarah Rayne.

At 11 am on the Sunday, I’m again participating moderator on a panel titled ‘Edge of Doom’. My colleagues will be Steven Hague, M.R.Hall, Brian McGillowray and Caro Ramsay.

And an hour later, I’ll be involved in the Mastermind quiz, presided over by Maxim Jakubowski. Also participating are Simon Brett, David Stuart Davies and Meg Gardiner.

It should all be very enjoyable and it will be good to meet old friends and make new ones – always the twin highlights of conventions such as this.