La Plante and Burke honoured with CWA Diamond Daggers

For the first time in its 70-year history, the Crime Writers ’Association (CWA) has awarded two authors – Lynda La Plante CBE and James Lee Burke – its annual Diamond Dagger.

The award is considered the genre’s highest accolade, recognising authors whose crime-writing careers have been "marked by sustained excellence", and who have made a significant contribution to the genre.

Nominations for the CWA Diamond Dagger are recommended by CWA members. Industry experts then narrow these down to a shortlist, and the winner is voted for by a panel of past Diamond Dagger winners, including Peter James, Walter Mosley, Val McDermid and Lee Child among others. 

Vaseem Khan, chair of the CWA, said: “The Diamond Dagger judges almost came to blows this year and for good reason. Ultimately, they have chosen to recognise two incredible bodies of work that have each, in their own way, made their mark.”

La Plante’s debut crime novel, The Legacy, was published in 1987 by Simon & Schuster UK, and in 1990, La Plante began work on Prime Suspect (Simon & Schuster UK), which was released as a TV show starring Helen Mirren. She has received the Dennis Potter Award from BAFTA and was made a fellow of the British Film Institute. She has formed her own television production company, La Plante Productions, and has written and produced multiple shows in the US, with actors including Vanessa Redgrave and Rob Lowe.

In 2014, La Plante formed a new global rights and production company, La Plante Global, and her current book series features Detective Jack Warr (Zaffre). She received a CBE for services to Literature, Drama and Charity in 2008.

Khan said: “Lynda La Plante’s Prime Suspect redefined the role of women in police procedurals and made a star of Helen Mirren, while Widows remains a talismanic – and wickedly entertaining – female-led heist caper.”

La Plante added: “In 2024 I will publish both the final book in the young Tennison series [Zaffre], and a memoir detailing my long career as an actress, television producer and crime writer. To also be awarded the Diamond Dagger from the CWA makes 2024 even more special, and I look forward to thanking all those involved in person at the awards ceremony on 4th July.”

Meanwhile, Burke’s third novel, The Lost Get-Back Boogie was published by Louisiana State University Press, and submitted for a Pulitzer Prize, after being rejected over 111 times. He has two Edgar Awards, a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America, and has been a Guggenheim Fellow.

Khan commented: “James Lee Burke’s lyrical depiction of the American South transcends crime fiction – his prose is often considered among the best to have graced the genre. For many, Dave Robicheaux is the very embodiment of the dogged, morally incorruptible detective beset by personal demons – a beautifully rendered character.”

Burke said: “I wish to thank the judges of the Diamond Dagger committee for honouring me with such a prestigious award. I’m humbled to receive it. It is also an honour to have my name among the best mystery and crime writers in the world."

La Plante and Burke join "icons of the genre" who have been recognised with the accolade, including Ruth Rendell, Reginald Hill and John Le Carré.

Maxim Jakubowski, chair of the CWA Daggers’ committee, said: “By an extraordinary quirk of fate, due to our new voting process, this year’s Diamond Dagger is, for the first time in seven decades, being awarded to two authors. If the Booker Prize can do it, so can we. Both such wonderful and deserving writers who, between them, demonstrate the marvellous diversity of crime writing.”