"Strangers in a Pub" shortlisted for the Short Story Dagger

I was preparing to record an interview with Manx radio this morning, in advance of a trip to the island in a few weeks' time, when I received the wonderful news that "Strangers in a Pub" has been shortlisted for the CWA Short Story Dagger. The story appeared in Ten Year Stretch, the anthology that Adrian Muller and I put together last year to celebrate ten years of CrimeFest.

I'm conscious that I've been more than lucky with awards and award nominations during this past few years, and sometimes I have to pinch myself to believe that all this is not just another example of my escapist daydreaming. Maybe one or two of the other authors on the various shortlists feel the same way; in any case, my warm congratulations go to all of them.

I've had particular good fortune with short fiction. This is the fourth time a story of mine has been shortlisted for this particular Dagger - the others were "Test Drive", "The Bookbinder's Apprentice" (which won in 2008, the first major crime award I ever received, on a truly memorable night) and "Murder and its Motives". And "Acknowledgments" won the inaugural CWA Margery Allingham Prize.

I love short stories, reading them, writing them, and editing anthologies of them. Some wonderful short stories are being written right now - Danuta Kot sent me her story, also on the shortlist, last week, and I think it's brilliant - and I'm glad to be part of that renaissance. I'm also very glad to see Teresa Solana on the shortlist - I gave a blurb for the book the story comes from, and can warmly recommend it. I very much look forward to reading the other stories on the shortlist. We all know that there is inevitably an element of luck about these things, but the recognition from one's peers in an independent and very well-managed judging process is heartwarming.

"Strangers in a Pub" introduces a new character who may well return again. I really enjoyed writing about him, and I think there's a great deal of mileage in him. Since publishing the story, I've had a couple of other ideas for stories in which he might appear, but pressure of time means that they remain unwritten. So far. Maybe this great news will prompt me, eventually, to get moving with them... 

Forgotten Book - Motive for Murder

Motive for Murder is a title close to my heart. It was an alternative title for my true crime book Urge to Kill,and the almost-identical Motives for Murder was the title of the Detection Club anthology which I edited, and which yielded four stories on the CWA Dagger longlist, three on the shortlist (including my "Murder and its Motives"!) and the ultimate winner. But today I'm talking about something completely different - the novel published in 1963 by Charles Barling.

Actually, Charles Barling was the name of the author's husband. Her principal writing name was Pamela Barrington and she lived from 1904-1986. Her first novel, White Pierrot, was published in the early Thirties, but it was a romance rather than crime, and her career only really developed after the Second World War. She was never a big name, although Account Rendered (1953) was filmed, with a very young Honor Blackman in a leading role.

Motive for Murder concerns the doomed marriage of Paul Hooper, a young estate agent, to Edith Maitland, an attractive and enigmatic older woman, who moves to Rye and decides to buy the house Paul grew up in, and with which he is obsessed. She seduces him, and they marry - though his eye is on the house rather than Edith. Before long, Edith starts an affair with another man, and behaves so unpleasantly to all and sundry that it's foreseeable she will wind up dead.

And so she does. The question is - who killed her, and why? The publishers described this as "an offbeat crime story with an ingenious twist", and I found it very readable indeed. In fact, I found the build-up very entertaining. But the later part of the story struck me as disappointing. A certain carelessness with the writing perhaps explains my disappointment, as does the fact that I didn't find the twist ingenious. This is nearly a very good mystery, and I'm glad I read it, but the excellence that I'd anticipated wasn't sustained. A shame, because there's something distinctive about this writer's storytelling.

The CWA Dagger Shortlists

I've returned home after a brief and hectic trip to London that involved a variety of meetings (one of them in the historic Reform Club, which I've never been inside before), a pleasant book-signing session in Hatchards, and finally the CWA Daggers shortlist announcements reception at Waterstone's in Piccadilly.

To deal with the personal stuff first, I'm thrilled to say that my story "Murder and its Motives" has been shortlisted for the  CWA Short Story Dagger. This is my fifth appearance on a Dagger list, and it's the third short story of mine to reach this particular shortlist. "Test Drive" did so twelve years ago, and three years later, "The Bookbinder's Apprentice" earned me the Dagger. So I'm naturally very happy.

Happy, too, to see that two other stories from the Detection Club anthology Motives for Murder appeared on the list - those by Michael Ridpath and Len Tyler. What a happy book that has proved to be. I'd also like to say how pleased I am to see Leye Adenie on the shortlist; I've been following his career with keen interest ever since we got to know each other last year. The shortlist also features the legendary James Sallis and Ovidia Yu.

Overall, the event went extremely well, and the attendance was very good. I was especially pleased to meet that fine writer Louise Penny for the first time. The success of the event was due to good work on the part of several people, but I'd like to pay special tribute to Mike Stotter, the CWA Daggers Liaison Officer, an unsung hero of the CWA, who does great work year after year in ensuring that all goes smoothly with the independent judging process. It's that process that ensures the high reputation of the Daggers the world over.


 

Crimefest and the CWA Short Story Dagger

I've returned from Crimefest in Bristol to a ton of work, but in high spirits after a lovely week-end. Thanks as ever go to Adrian, Myles and Donna, the organisers, along with their team of helpers. There were many highlights, but one that i didn't expect was to find that I was longlisted for the CWA Short Dagger, for my story "Murder and its Motives", which appears in the Detection Club anthology I edited last year, Motives for Murder (Sphere). What's more, three other stories from the book made the longlist, much to my delight

In case you're wondering, as Chair of the CWA, I keep a distance from the Daggers process, which is in the hands of a large number of capable and independent judges and Dagger Liaison Officer Mike Stotter. The independence of the Daggers judging process is part of the reason why the awards are held in such high esteem around the world. One publisher expressed dismay to me that a particular novel by a talented author hadn't made one of the longlists. But whilst I can always empathise with disappointment, publishers simply can't influence the judges, and that's the way it should be. We may not always share the judges' taste, but such is life.

The convention kicked off for me, as usual, with the Authors Remembered session. I moderated a panel comprising Sarah Ward, John Lawton, Andrew Wilson and Jane Corry, and they did a great job of interesting the audience in a range of writers from Patricia Highsmith to Elizabeth Daly. There was time for a quick bite to eat before the traditional pub quiz, run by the admirable Peter Guttridge (photo above). My team managed to win, and we had a very convivial time of it.

The Dagger announcements took place on Friday, and was followed by dinner with Thalia Procter of Little, Brown, publisher of Motives for Murder. My fellow guests included Peter Lovesey and the incomparable Ali Karim, whose company I always enjoy. Thanks also to Ali for his photography and video work. Saturday was a busy day. I interviewed Peter Lovesey, one of the guests of honour, and then took part in a panel moderated (extremely well) by Kevin Wignall. Then came an enjoyable drinks reception and the banquet. Ali videoed the interview with Peter and the film will shortly be available on the shotsmag website.

On Sunday, I moderated another panel, this time on the short story. Given that my panellists were Len Tyler, Janet Laurence, Peter Lovesey and Ann Cleeves, it was a great pleasure and a great way to end  a fantastic few days.