Crime Writers’ Association celebrates 70th jubilee year with series of events

The Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) will mark its 70th jubilee year in 2023 with a series of events, including an exhibition of memorabilia from its archives.

Official archivist of the CWA, Martin Edwards, said the anniversary is a “cause for celebration, not just among its members, but among crime genre fans everywhere”.

The exhibition will be part of the Alibis in the Archives crime writing weekend, which runs from 9th to 11th June at Gladstone’s Library in Wales, as well as other events linked to National Crime Reading Month in June. A jubilee reception will also be hosted at the Mansion House in York as part of the CWA’s conference.

The writers’ society was founded by the author John Creasey, who wrote over 600 books under various pseudonyms. Holding its first meeting on 5th November 1953, the CWA’s founding aims were to provide a social network and help crime writers with business matters.

The oldest awards in the genre, the CWA Daggers feature the highest honour in crime writing, the CWA Diamond Dagger, which recognises careers marked by sustained excellence. Recipients over the years have included Ian Rankin, Ruth Rendell and John Le Carré.

Today, the CWA continues striving to promote the genre, with "more recent" initiatives including the Debut Dagger, a competition for uncontracted writers started in 1999, and National Crime Reading Month, held annually in June. Both of these initiatives are aimed at connecting crime writers and readers, as well as supporting libraries and bookshops.

Maxim Jakubowski, CWA chair, said: "As my two-year term as chair of the CWA winds down to an end, I feel I can’t leave the scene of the crime on a better occasion than the celebration of an impressive 70 years of so many activities indefatigably supporting the crime writing community and promoting our beloved genre.

"We have achieved so much and it makes me very proud that we are toasting such a jubilee in 2023. I raise my fictional fedora to another brilliant 70 years, which I’m sure my successors will make as memorable."

Vice-chair Vaseem Khan said: "Longevity in any organisation is a sign that something is going right. The CWA’s star has shone over British crime writing for seven decades, never more brightly than now. Over the years, the CWA has welcomed, championed and recognised the greatest writers of the genre, while nurturing future stars.

"Today, the CWA continues to evolve, just as the genre has evolved to become the most popular and most inclusive in publishing.”