'Big-hearted' crime writer Amer Anwar dies aged 55
Tributes have been paid to “a force of nature” Amer Anwar, the Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger award-winning thriller writer. The 55-year-old died earlier this month following a short illness.
Anwar was signed by Jane Gregory of Gregory & Company in 2008 after he submitted three chapters of his work in progress for the CWA Debut Dagger Award, for which Gregory was a judge.
Ten years later, that excerpt became Brothers in Blood, the first instalment in the Zaq and Jags series, telling the story of ex-con on the hunt for a missing girl. It is set in the heart of a West London Asian community inspired by where Anwar grew up. Published by Dialogue Books in 2018, Anwar’s debut was named by the Times and the Guardian on their "books of the year" lists, and was followed by Stone Cold Trouble (Dialogue Books) in 2020, which was shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger in 2021.
Gregory represented Anwar until her retirement in 2020. She said: “I had the honour to be one of the CWA Debut Dagger judges the year Amer won. Thus began a long and delightful working relationship with a truly charming man who became a friend. Sadly, Amer’s work and family commitments meant that he was unable to devote as much time as he would have liked to his writing, but he was a voracious reader and enormously knowledgeable about the crime and thriller genre. I shall miss our convivial conversations. It is a really sad loss.”
Sharmaine Lovegrove, founder of Dialogue, said: “I was introduced to Amer by Courttia Newland at a reading at Waterstones Piccadilly shortly after I had established the Dialogue Books imprint. It was respect and adoration at first sight. Amer gave me a copy of his self-published book and I read it overnight and knew we had to publish it on Dialogue.
“Our meeting was a blueprint for what I wanted for the list: passionate and deeply talented writers who were ambitious, brilliant and daring. Amer was all of these things, as well as big-hearted, riotously hilarious, super cheeky, wildly multi-talented, beautifully thoughtful, a kind team player, a loving partner as well as a wonderful and committed father. Everyone at Dialogue Books and Little, Brown loved working with Amer, and we’ll miss him dearly as we are so proud to have published his Zaq and Jags series.”
Maddalena Cavaciuti. Anwar’s agent at David Higham Associates, said: “I first met Amer when he volunteered to speak at DHA’s inaugural Open Day for Under-Represented Writers in 2019. He offered not only his time for the event but also his relentless kindness and talent; staying long after the session finished to continue chatting with and gently advising the aspiring authors in the audience. I saw that same kindness, openness and cleverness in every interaction I had with him.”
She added: “We will miss him greatly at DHA, as will the wider crime writing community of whom he was always so supportive.”
David Headley, managing director of Goldsboro Books, said: “Amer was more than just a friend and colleague – he was a force of nature, someone who brought warmth, wit, and wisdom to everything he did.
“Throughout his illness, he showed extraordinary courage, fighting with a resilience that was nothing short of inspiring. Despite everything, he remained the same brilliant, sharp-minded and wonderfully mischievous person we all knew and loved.
“Amer played a vital role in organising the Capital Crime festival, always offering his thoughts with insight and generosity. His presence was deeply felt in everything we did. His kindness, intellect and unwavering support made him someone we could always count on – a truly good man in every sense.”
