Awards News (III) - Theakstons 2017 Shortlist

And finally, the Theakston 2017 Shortlist was also announced on Saturday. From their website:

Six Suspects Announced on the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award Shortlist

The shortlist for crime writing’s most wanted accolade, the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, has been announced.

The most prestigious prize in the crime genre is now entering its 13th year. The shortlisted six were whittled down from a longlist of 18 titles published by British and Irish authors whose novels were published in paperback between 1 May 2016 and 30 April 2017.

The 2017 Award is run in partnership with title sponsor T&R Theakston Ltd, WHSmith, and The Mail on Sunday.

Essex-based writer Eva Dolan returns to the shortlist for the second year; Tell No Tales was shortlisted in 2016. Her follow-up After You Die is the third book from the author BBC Radio 4 marked as a ‘rising star of crime fiction’. Shortlisted for the CWA Dagger for unpublished authors when she was just a teenager, her debut novel Long Way Home, was the start of a major new crime series starring two detectives from the Peterborough Hate Crimes Unit.

Mick Herron’s espionage thriller, Real Tigers, is the third in his Jackson Lamb series. It received critical acclaim, with The Spectator saying the novel ‘explodes like a firecracker in all directions’. The series is based on an MI5 department of ‘rejects’ – intelligent services’ misfits and screw-ups, featuring anti-hero Jackson Lamb. Herron’s writing was praised by critic Barry Forshaw for ‘the spycraft of le Carré refracted through the blackly comic vision of Joseph Heller’s Catch-22.’

Lie With Me, the psychological thriller by Sabine Durrant was a Richard and Judy book pick. Durrant, also a feature writer, is a former assistant editor of The Guardian and former literary editor at The Sunday Times. Full of violent twists, her roguish charmer, Paul Morris, a once acclaimed author now living off friends and feeding them lies, is invited on a Greek holiday and events take a sinister turn. The Guardian praised it as a ‘thriller worthy of Ruth Rendell or Patricia Highsmith.’

Susie Steiner is also a former Guardian journalist. Her first crime novel introduces Detective Manon Bradshaw, working on the high profile missing person’s case of Cambridge post-grad Edith Hind, daughter of Sir Ian and Lady Hind. Can DS Manon Bradshaw wade through the evidence before a missing person inquiry becomes a murder investigation? Missing, Presumed, was a Sunday Times bestseller, a Richard & Judy pick and was praised for its stylish, witty and compelling writing.

Chris Brookmyre beat stiff competition to win the Scottish crime book of the year award with his novel, Black Widow, a story of cyber-abuse, where ‘even the twists have twists’. It features his long-time character, reporter Jack Parlabane. Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon tweeted that she had been given the novel as an early Valentine’s Day present by her husband, declaring it ‘brilliant’.

Val McDermid, acknowledged as the ‘Queen of Crime’ has sold over 15m books to date. Her latest number one bestseller, Out of Bounds, features DCI Karen Pirie unlocking the mystery of a 20 year-old murder inquiry. The book is her 30th novel.

The shortlist was selected by an academy of crime writing authors, agents, editors, reviewers and members of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival Programming Committee.

The titles will now be promoted in a seven-week promotion in over 1,500 libraries and WHSmith stores nationwide throughout June and July.

The overall winner will be decided by the panel of Judges, alongside a public vote. The public vote opens on 1 July and closes 14 July at www.theakstons.co.uk.

The winner will be announced at an award ceremony hosted by broadcaster Mark Lawson on 20 July on the opening night of the 15th Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate. They’ll receive a £3,000 cash prize, as well as a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakston Old Peculier.

It’s also been announced that the awards night will honour Lee Child. The Jack Reacher creator will receive the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award, joining past winners Val McDermid, Sara Paretsky, Lynda La Plante, Ruth Rendell, PD James, Colin Dexter and Reginald Hill.

Awards News: Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2017 - Longlist

It feels like summer's on its way when the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year longlist appears!
From the press release:

Now in its 13th year, the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award was created to celebrate the very best in crime fiction and is open to UK and Irish crime authors whose novels were published in paperback from 1 May 2016 to 30 April 2017.
We are delighted to share with you the 18 titles that have made their way onto this year’s longlist!

Mark Billingham - DIE OF SHAME
Christopher Brookmyre - BLACK WIDOW
Lee Child - NIGHT SCHOOL
Eva Dolan - AFTER YOU DIE
Sabine Durrant - LIE WITH ME
Mick Herron - REAL TIGERS
Sarah Hilary - TASTES LIKE FEAR
Antonia Hodgson - THE LAST CONFESSION OF THOMAS HAWKINS
Val McDermid - OUT OF BOUNDS
Alex Marwood - THE DARKEST SECRET
Peter May - COFFIN ROAD
Stuart Neville - THOSE WE LEFT BEHIND
Ian Rankin - EVEN DOGS IN THE WILD
Craig Robertson - MURDERABILIA
William Shaw - THE BIRDWATCHER
Susie Steiner - MISSING, PRESUMED
Ruth Ware - THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10
David Young - STASI WOLF

The shortlist of six titles will be announced on 20 May, followed by a seven-week promotion in libraries and WHSmith stores nationwide from 1 June.

The overall winner will be decided by the panel of Judges, alongside a public vote. The public vote opens on 1 July and closes 14 July at www.theakstons.co.uk.

The winner will be announced at an award ceremony hosted by broadcaster Mark Lawson on 20 July on the opening night of the 15th Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate.

Awards News: Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2016 Shortlist & CWA Dagger Longlists

Catching up with recent short- and longlist announcements...

The shortlist for the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2016 has been announced.

In addition: "Val McDermid will receive the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award, joining past winners Sara Paretsky, Lynda La Plante, Ruth Rendell, PD James, Colin Dexter and Reginald Hill."

Time Of Death – Mark Billingham
Career Of Evil – Robert Galbraith
Tell No Tales – Eva Dolan
Disclaimer – Renee Knight
I Let You Go – Clare Mackintosh
Rain Dogs – Adrian McKinty

"The overall winner will be decided by a panel of Judges, alongside the public vote. The public vote opens on 1 July and closes 15 July at www.theakstons.co.uk."

Read more about the shortlisted titles at the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival website.

At CrimeFest, the longlists for the ten CWA Daggers were announced. I've borrowed this handy summary from Dead Good Books.

The CWA Dagger longlists 2016


Goldsboro Gold Dagger, sponsored by Goldsboro Books:

Dodgers by Bill Beverly (No Exit Press)
Black Widow by Christopher Brookmyre (Little, Brown)
After You Die by Eva Dolan (Harvill Secker)
Real Tigers by Mick Herron (John Murray)
Finders Keepers by Stephen King (Hodder & Stoughton)
Dead Pretty by David Mark (Mulholland Books)
Blood Salt Water by Denise Mina (Orion)
She Died Young by Elizabeth Wilson (Serpent’s Tail)

Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, sponsored by Ian Fleming Publications:

The Cartel by Don Winslow (William Heinemann)
The English Spy by Daniel Silva (HarperCollins)
Bone by Bone by Sanjida Kay (Corvus)
Rain Dogs by Adrian McKinty (Serpent’s Tail)
Real Tigers by Mick Herron (John Murray)
The Hot Countries by Timothy Hallinan (Soho Crime)
Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Hearberlin (Michael Joseph)
Make Me by Lee Child (Bantam Press)
Spy Games by Adam Brookes (Sphere)
The American by Nadia Dalbuono (Scribe UK)

John Creasey New Blood Dagger:

Fever City by Tim Baker (Faber & Faber)
Dodgers by Bill Beverly (No Exit Press)
Mr Miller by Charles Den Tex (World Editions)
The Teacher by Katerina Diamond (Avon)
Wicked Game by Matt Johnson (Orenda Books)
Freedom’s Child by Jax Miller (HarperCollins)
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh (Jonathan Cape)
The Dark Inside by Rod Reynolds (Faber & Faber)
The Good Liar by Nicholas Searle (Viking)

International Dagger:

The Truth and Other Lies by Sascha Arango, trans. by Imogen Taylor (Simon & Schuster)
The Great Swindle by Pierre Lemaître, trans. by Frank Wynne (MacLehose Press)
Icarus by Deon Meyer, trans. by by K L Seegers (Hodder & Stoughton)
The Sword of Justice by Leif G.W. Persson, trans. by Neil Smith (Doubleday)
The Murderer in Ruins by Cay Rademacher, trans. by Peter Millar (Arcadia)
The Father by Anton Svensson, tr. Elizabeth Clark Wessel (Sphere)
The Voices Beyond by Johan Theorin, trans. by Marlaine Delargy (Transworld)
Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama, trans. by Jonathan Lloyd-Davis (Quercus)

Non-Fiction Dagger:

The Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards (HarperCollins)
Sexy Beasts: The Inside Story of the Hatton Garden Mob by Wensley Clarkson (Quercus)
You Could Do Something Amazing With Your Life (You Are Raoul Moat) by Andrew Hankinson (Scribe)
A Very Expensive Poison by Luke Harding (Faber & Faber)
Jeremy Hutchinson’s Case Histories by Thomas Grant (John Murray)
John le Carré: The Biography by Adam Sisman (Bloomsbury)

Dagger in the Library:

RC Bridgestock, published by Caffeine Nights
Tony Black, published by Black & White
Alison Bruce, published by Constable & Robinson
Angela Clarke, published by Avon
Charlie Flowers, published by Endeavour Press
Elly Griffiths, published by Quercus
Keith Houghton, published by Thomas & Mercer
Quintin Jardine, published by Headline
Louise Phillips, published by Hachette
Joe Stein, published by Ward Wood

Short Story Dagger:

‘As Alice Did’ from Montalbano’s First Case and Other Stories by Andrea Camilleri (Pan Macmillan)
‘On the Anatomization of an Unknown Man (1637) by Frans Mier’ from Nocturnes 2: Night Music by John Connolly (Hodder and Stoughton)
‘Holmes on the Range: A Tale of the Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository’ from Nocturnes 2: Night Music by John Connolly (Hodder and Stoughton)
‘Bryant & May and the Nameless Woman’ from London’s Glory by Christopher Fowler (Bantam)
‘Stray Bullets’ from Crimes by Alberto Barrera Tyszka (MacLehose Press)
‘Rosenlaui’ by Conrad Williams from The Mammoth Book of the Adventures of Moriarty, ed. by Maxim Jakubowski (Constable & Robinson)

Debut Dagger:

Dark Valley by John Kennedy
Death by Dangerous by Oliver Jarvis
The Devil’s Dice by Roz Watkins
Hardways by Catherine Hendricks
Let’s Pretend by Sue Williams
Misconception by Jack Burns
A Reconstructed Man by Graham Brack
A State of Grace by Rita Catching
The Tattoo Killer by Joe West
Wimmera by Mark Brandi

Endeavour Historical Dagger, sponsored by Endeavour Press:

The House at Baker Street by Michelle Birkby (Pan Books)
A Death in the Dales by Frances Brody (Piatkus)
A Man of Some Repute and A Question of Inheritance by Elizabeth Edmondson (Thomas & Mercer)
Smoke and Mirrors by Elly Griffiths (Quercus)
The Last Confessions of Thomas Hawkins by Antonia Hodgson (Hodder & Stoughton)
The Other Side of Silence by Philip Kerr (Quercus)
A Book of Scars by William Shaw (Quercus)
The Jazz Files by Fiona Veitch Smith (Lion Fiction)
Striking Murder by A. J. Wright (Allison & Busby)
Stasi Child by David Young (Twenty7Books)

Awards News: Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2016 - Longlist

The longlist for the Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year 2016 has been announced; taken from their website:

Now in its twelfth year, the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award was created to celebrate the very best in crime writing and is open to crime authors whose novels were published in paperback from 1 May 2015 to 18 April 2016.

The 2016 Award is run in partnership with T&R Theakston Ltd, WHSmith, and The Radio Times.

The long list, comprising 18 titles, is selected by an academy of crime writing authors, agents, editors, reviewers, members of the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival Programming Committee and representatives from T&R Theakston Ltd and WHSmith.

The longlist in full:

Time of Death by Mark Billingham, Little Brown

Rain Dogs, Adrian McKinty, Serpent’s Tail

Career of Evil, Robert Galbraith, Sphere

Black Eyed Susans, Julia Heaberlin, Michael Joseph

Disclaimer, Renée Knight, Black Swan

I Let You Go, Clare Mackintosh, Sphere

The Moth Catcher, Ann Cleeves, Pan

Tell No Tales, Eva Dolan, Harvill Secker

The Ghost Fields, Elly Griffiths, Quercus

The Missing and the Dead, Stuart MacBride, Harper Fiction

Every Night I Dream of Hell, Malcolm Mackay, Mantle

Splinter the Silence, Val McDermid, Little, Brown

The Glorious Heresies, Lisa McInerney, John Murray Publishers

The Nightmare Place, Steve Mosby, Orion Fiction

The Final Silence, Stuart Neville, Harvill Secker

In a Dark, Dark Wood, Ruth Ware, Harvill Secker

Death is a Welcome Guest, Louise Welsh, John Murray Publishers

Stasi Child, David Young, Twenty7

From 21 April, longlisted titles will feature in a six-week campaign across all 300 WHSmith stores and 80 library services, representing a total of 1645 library branches.

The shortlist of six titles will be announced on 31 May, followed by a seven-week promotion in libraries and WHSmiths.

The overall winner will be decided by the panel of Judges, alongside a public vote. The public vote opens on 1 July and closes 15 July at www.theakstons.co.uk.

Previous winners of the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award include Denise Mina, Val McDermid, and Sarah Hilary.

The winner will be announced at an award ceremony hosted by broadcaster Mark Lawson on 21 July on the opening night of the 14th Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate.

The winner will receive a £3,000 cash prize, as well as a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakstons Old Peculier.

Awards News: Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2015 - Winner

Not content with being the Euro Crime favourite read of 2014, Sarah Hilary has also won the (Harrogate) Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2015 for Someone Else's Skin.

Also shortlisted:

The Facts Of Life And Death by Belinda Bauer, Black Swan
The Axeman's Jazz by Ray Celestin, Mantle
The Outcast Dead by Elly Griffiths, Quercus
The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson, Hodder & Stoughton
Entry Island by Peter May, Quercus

Read more at BBC News.

Awards News: Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2015 Shortlist & CWA Dagger Longlists

The shortlist for the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2015 has been announced.

In addition "Sara Paretsky, will receive the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award, joining past winners Lynda La Plante, Ruth Rendell, PD James, Colin Dexter and Reginald Hill".

Read more about each title in the Harrogate News:

The Facts Of Life And Death by Belinda Bauer, Black Swan
The Axeman's Jazz by Ray Celestin, Mantle
The Outcast Dead by Elly Griffiths, Quercus
Someone Else's Skin by Sarah Hilary, Headline
The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson, Hodder & Stoughton
Entry Island by Peter May, Quercus

Also today longlists have been announced for the Gold, John Creasey and Ian Fleming CWA Daggers. The shortlists will be announced on 30 June.

From Booktrade:

CWA GOLDSBORO GOLD DAGGER LONGLIST

The Shut Eye - Belinda Bauer/Transworld Publishers/Bantam Press

The Rules of Wolfe - James Carlos Blake/Oldcastle Books/No Exit Press

The Silkworm - Robert Galbraith/Little, Brown Book Group/Sphere

Missing - Sam Hawken Profile Books/Serpent's Tail

Mr Mercedes - Stephen King/Hodder & Stoughton/Hodder & Stoughton

Pleasantville - Attica Locke/Profile Books/Serpent's Tail

The Bone Seeker - M.J. McGrath/Pan Macmillan/Mantle

The Serpentine Road - Paul Mendelson/Little, Brown Book Group/Constable

Life or Death - Michael Robotham/Little, Brown Book Group/Sphere

The Kind Worth Killing - Peter Swanson/Faber and Faber/ at Bloomsbury House


CWA JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD) DAGGER LONGLIST

The Abrupt Physics of Dying - Paul E Hardisty/Orenda Books

Dear Daughter - Elizabeth Little/Vintage Publishing, Penguin Random House/Harvill Secker

Dry Bones in the Valley - Tom Bouman/Faber and Faber

Everything I Never Told You - Celeste Ng/Little, Brown Book Group

Fourth of July Creek - Smith Henderson/Random House/William Heinemann

The Girl in the Red Coat - Kate Hamer/Faber and Faber

The Killing of Bobbi Lomax - Cal Moriarty/Faber and Faber

The Well - Catherine Chanter/Canongate Books

You - Caroline Kepnes/Simon & Schuster


CWA IAN FLEMING STEEL LONGLIST

No Safe House - Linwood Barclay/Orion Publishing Group/Orion Fiction

The Defence - Steve Cavanagh/Orion Publishing Group/Orion Fiction

The Stranger - Harlan Coben/Orion Publishing Group/Orion Fiction

Missing - Sam Hawken/Profile Books/Serpent's Tail

The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins/Transworld Publishers/Doubleday

Nobody Walks - Mick Herron/Soho Crime/ Soho Crime

The White Van - Patrick Hoffman/Atlantic Books Ltd/Grove Press

The Final Minute Simon Kernick/Random House/Century

Runner - Patrick Lee/Penguin/Michael Joseph

The Night The Rich Men Burned - Malcolm Mackay/Pan Macmillan/Mantle

Cop Town - Karin Slaughter/Random House/Century

The Kind Worth Killing - Peter Swanson/Faber and Faber

Heartman - M.P. Wright/Black & White Publishing

Awards News: Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2015 - Longlist

The press release revealing the longlist for the Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year 2015 (with links to Euro Crime reviews):

2015 THEAKSTONS OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR LONGLIST REVEALED

Giants of the genre are pitted against a clutch of new voices in one of the most prestigious crime writing prizes in the country.

The longlist for the 2015 Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award sees stalwarts Ian Rankin, Lee Child and John Harvey in the running.

Rankin and Child battle it out, each with their 19th novels in the iconic Rebus and Reacher series. Lee Child’s number one global bestseller Personal takes on Rankin’s Saints of the Shadow Bible, which brought Rebus back from retirement.

John Harvey’s Darkness, Darkness could be a swan song for the gong with Resnick’s last case, 25 years after the Detective Inspector’s first appearance.

2014 winner Belinda Bauer is back on the list with The Facts of Life and Death, a chilling story where lone women are terrorised in a game where only one player knows the rules.

Taking on the old guard is the debut that threatens to be “as big as Jo Nesbo”. The electrifying serial killer thriller, Eeny Meeny from M.J. Arlidge features the tough, determined and damaged DI Helen Grace.

Other debuts include the TV and film scriptwriter Ray Celestin’s The Axeman's Jazz, a stunning atmospheric crime thriller set in 1919 New Orleans, inspired by a real life serial killer, and Sarah Hilary’s compelling first thriller, Someone Else's Skin, which received critical acclaim for being superbly disturbing, twisty and tricksy.

Disappeared is Irish journalist Anthony Quinn’s first novel, set in a dark corner of Northern Ireland where the Troubles have never ended. And Antonia Hodgson’s debut, The Devil in the Marshalsea also makes the list with her medieval murder mystery.

Child 44 author Tom Rob Smith appears with his fourth novel, Number One bestseller The Farm, an utterly riveting and hypnotic psychological thriller part-set in Sweden. Scottish author Louise Welsh delivers with her first apocalyptic thriller in her Plague Times trilogy, A Lovely Way to Burn.

Now in its eleventh year, the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award was created to celebrate the very best in British and Irish crime writing and is open to crime authors whose novels were published in paperback from 1 May 2014 to 30 April 2015. The 2015 Award is run in partnership with T&R Theakston Ltd, WHSmith, and Radio Times.

The long list, comprising 18 titles, is selected by an academy of crime writing authors, agents, editors, reviewers, members of the Crime Writing Festival Programming Committee and representatives from T&R Theakston Ltd and WHSmith.

The longlist in full:

Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge, Michael Joseph
The Facts Of Life And Death by Belinda Bauer, Black Swan
The Ghost Runner by Parker Bilal, Bloomsbury
The Strangler Vine by M.J. Carter, Fig Tree
The Axeman's Jazz by Ray Celestin, Mantle
Personal by Lee Child, Bantam
The Killing Season by Mason Cross, Orion Fiction
Bryant & May - The Bleeding Heart by Christopher Fowler, Bantam
The Outcast Dead by Elly Griffiths, Quercus
The Telling Error by Sophie Hannah, Hodder & Stoughton
Darkness, Darkness by John Harvey, Arrow
Someone Else's Skin by Sarah Hilary, Headline
The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson, Hodder & Stoughton
Entry Island by Peter May, Quercus
Disappeared by Anthony Quinn, Head of Zeus
Saints of the Shadow Bible by Ian Rankin, Orion Fiction
The Farm by Tom Rob Smith, Simon & Schuster
A Lovely Way to Burn by Louise Welsh, John Murray Publishers

From 21 May to 17 June, longlisted titles will feature in a four-week campaign across all 600 WHSmith stores and 80 library services, representing a total of 1645 library branches. The longlist will be whittled down to a shortlist of six titles which will be announced on 15 June. The overall winner will be decided by the panel of Judges, which this year comprises of Executive Director of T&R Theakston Ltd. and title sponsor Simon Theakston, Festival Chair Ann Cleeves, Radio Times’ TV Editor Alison Graham, Head of Fiction at WHSmith, Sandra Bradley and Producer of the Radio 2 Book Club, Joe Haddow, as well as members of the public.

The public vote opens on 1 July and closes 13 July at www.theakstons.co.uk

Previous winners of the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award include Denise Mina, Lee Child, Val McDermid, and Mark Billingham.

The winner of the prize will be announced by title sponsor Simon Theakston at an award ceremony hosted by broadcaster and Festival regular Mark Lawson on 16 July on the opening night of the 13th annual Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate. The winner will receive a £3,000 cash prize, as well as a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakstons Old Peculier.

Award News: Theakstons...and the winner is...

The winner of the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year has just been announced and it's Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer.

THEAKSTONS CRIME NOVEL AWARD SHORTLIST

Rubbernecker - Belinda Bauer - winner

The Red Road - Denise Mina

The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter - Malcolm Mackay

The Chessmen - Peter May

Dying Fall - Elly Griffiths

Eleven Days - Stav Sherez

Awards News: Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2014 - Shortlist

The shortlist for the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2014 has been announced. From the BBC's website (links are to Euro Crime reviews):

THEAKSTONS CRIME NOVEL AWARD SHORTLIST

The Red Road - Denise Mina

The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter - Malcolm Mackay

The Chessmen - Peter May

Rubbernecker - Belinda Bauer

Dying Fall - Elly Griffiths

Eleven Days - Stav Sherez

The award is open to British and Irish authors whose novels were published in paperback in the last year.

The winner will be decided by a panel, chaired by writer Steve Mosby, which includes Simon Theakston, the executive director of Theakston; Radio Times' Alison Graham and Dave Swillman, head of fiction at WH Smith.

A public vote will also be included in the final decision.

Broadcaster Mark Lawson will host the awards on the opening night of the 12th annual Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate on 17 July.

The winner will receive a £3,000 cash prize - as well as a handmade, engraved beer barrel.

Also on the night, Lynda La Plante will receive the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award, joining past winners Ruth Rendell, PD James, Colin Dexter and Reginald Hill.

Harrogate Crime Writing Festival

Awards News: Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2014 - Longlist

The press release revealing the longlist for the Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year 2014:

2014 THEAKSTONS OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR LONGLIST REVEALED

Giants of the genre are pitted against each other as the longlist is announced for the tenth Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award.

One of the most prestigious crime writing prizes in the country, 2014 sees past winners Lee Child, Mark Billingham and Denise Mina in the running.

Lee Child who won the Award in 2011 returns to the longlist with his 17th Jack Reacher novel, A Wanted Man. Sizing up to the phenomenal bestseller is two-time award winner, Mark Billingham for his Tom Thorne novel, The Dying Hours.

Denise Mina, who has won the past two years’ could make it a hat trick and defend her title with her brilliantly plotted The Red Road, said to rival Ian Rankin’s best. Number one bestseller Ian Rankin also represents Tartan Noir, with Standing in Another Man’s Grave, his first new Rebus novel in five years.

A new Scot is on the block to take on the old guard, Malcolm Mackay is one of two debut authors to feature on the longlist with The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter. The first in a trilogy, it’s been praised as an intriguingly odd, remarkably original debut.

South African author Lauren Beukes’ The Shining Girls was a phenomenal bestseller and after being praised by Stephen King, it’s a hot contender.

Irish author Stuart Neville’s first three novels were previously longlisted for this award, and he’s back this year with his hugely gripping thriller, Ratlines. Stav Sherez is also back on the longlist with Eleven Days, his superior police procedural and sequel to A Dark Redemption.

No stranger to awards Belinda Bauer is the CWA 2010 Gold Dagger Award-winning author; her latest novel Rubbernecker has received glowing reviews.

Elly Griffiths also makes an appearance with her intriguing crime story, Dying Fall, which effortlessly brings together neo-Nazis, New Age hippies in Blackpool Pleasure Beach.

Now in its tenth year, the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award was created to celebrate the very best in crime writing and is open to crime authors whose novels were published in paperback from 1 May 2013 to 30 April 2014. The 2014 Award is run in partnership with T&R Theakston Ltd, WHSmith, and Radio Times.

The long list, comprising 18 titles, is selected by an academy of crime writing authors, agents, editors, reviewers, members of the Crime Writing Festival Programming Committee and representatives from T&R Theakston Ltd and WHSmith.

The longlist in full:

Rubbernecker, Belinda Bauer, Transworld Publishers

The Shining Girls, Lauren Beukes, HarperCollins

The Dying Hours, Mark Billingham, Little, Brown Book Group

Like This, For Ever, Sharon Bolton, Transworld Publishers

A Wanted Man Lee Child, Transworld Publishers

The Honey Guide, Richard Crompton, Orion

The Cry, Helen Fitzgerald, Faber & Faber

Dying Fall, Elly Griffiths, Quercus

Until You're Mine, Samantha Hayes, Random House

The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter, Malcolm Mackay, Pan Macmillan

The Chessmen, Peter May, Quercus

I Hear The Sirens In The Street, Adrian McKinty, Profile Books

The Red Road, Denise Mina, Orion

Ratlines, Stuart Neville, Vintage, Random House

Standing in Another Man's Grave, Ian Rankin, Orion

Children of the Revolution, Peter Robinson, Hodder & Stoughton

Eleven Days, Stav Sherez, Faber & Faber

Weirdo Cathi Unsworth, Profile Books

From 22 May to 19 June, longlisted titles will feature in a four-week campaign across all 600 WHSmith stores and 80 library services, representing a total of 1645 library branches. The longlist will be whittled down to a shortlist of six titles which will be announced on 30 June.

The overall winner will be decided by a panel of Judges which this year comprises of Executive Director of T&R Theakston Ltd. and title sponsor Simon Theakston, Festival Chair Steve Mosby, Radio Times’ Alison Graham, and Head of Fiction at WHSmith, Dave Swillman, as well as members of the public. The public vote opens on 3 July and closes 15 July at www.theakstons.co.uk

Previous winners of the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award include Denise Mina, Lee Child, RJ Ellory, Val McDermid, Allan Guthrie, Stef Penney and Mark Billingham.

The winner of the prize will be announced by title sponsor Simon Theakston at an award ceremony hosted by broadcaster and Festival regular Mark Lawson on 17 July on the opening night of the 12th annual Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate. The winner will receive a £3,000 cash prize, as well as a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakstons Old Peculier.

Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2013 - Winner

The winner for the second year in a row is Denise Mina, with Gods and Beasts.

2013 Shortlist (links are to Euro Crime reviews)

Rush Of Blood – Mark Billingham (Little Brown)

Safe House -  Chris Ewan (Faber and Faber)

The Lewis Man – Peter May (Quercus)

Gods And Beasts – Denise Mina (Orion) - Winner

Stolen Souls – Stuart Neville (Vintage)

A Dark Redemption – Stav Sherez (Faber and Faber)

Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2013 - Shortlist

The shortlist for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year  Award 2013 was announced yesterday. The winner will be announced at Harrogate on 18 July however we the public will be able to vote on the shortlist from 4 to 16 July at theakstons.co.uk. The public vote counts for 20% of the final decision.

In addition: "Ruth Rendell will receive the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award on the night, joining past winners PD James, Colin Dexter and Reginald Hill".

The criteria: "...the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the  Year Award was created to celebrate the very best in crime writing and  is open to British and Irish authors whose novels are published in  paperback from 1 May 2012 – 30 April 2013".

More about the award and the shortlisted titles can be found on the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival website.

2013 Shortlist (links are to Euro Crime reviews)

Rush Of Blood – Mark Billingham (Little Brown)

Safe House -  Chris Ewan (Faber and Faber)

The Lewis Man – Peter May (Quercus)

Gods And Beasts – Denise Mina (Orion)

Stolen Souls – Stuart Neville (Vintage)

A Dark Redemption – Stav Sherez (Faber and Faber)

Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2013 - Longlist

The longlist for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2013 has been announced. The winner will be announced at Harrogate however we the public will be able to vote on the shortlist of six, announced on 1 July, from 4 July.

The criteria: "...the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award was created to celebrate the very best in crime writing and is open to British and Irish authors whose novels are published in paperback from 1 May 2012 – 30 April 2013".

More about the award is on the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival website.

2013 Longlist (links are to Euro Crime reviews)

The Guilty One – Lisa Ballantyne (Piatkus)

Finders Keepers – Belinda Bauer (Transworld)

Rush Of Blood – Mark Billingham (Little Brown)

Dead Scared – S J Bolton (Corgi, Transworld)

The Affair – Lee Child (Transworld)

A Foreign Country – Charles Cumming (Harpercollins)

Safe House - Chris Ewan (Faber and Faber)

Not Dead Yet - Peter James (Macmillan)

Siege – Simon Kernick (Bantam Press)

Prague Fatale – Philip Kerr (Quercus)

The Rage – Gene Kerrigan (Vintage)

Birthdays for the Dead – Stuart MacBride (Harper)

The Dark Winter – David Mark (Quercus)

The Lewis Man – Peter May (Quercus)

Gods And Beasts – Denise Mina (Orion)

Stolen Souls – Stuart Neville (Vintage)

Sacrilege – S. J. Parris (Harper)

A Dark Redemption – Stav Sherez (Faber and Faber)

Winner of Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year Award 2012

The winner of the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2012 was announced tonight at the opening ceremony for the tenth Harrogate Crime Writing Festival.

And the winner is...Denise Mina for The End of the Wasp Season

Also Shortlisted (links are to Euro Crime reviews)

Now You See Me by SJ Bolton (Corgi)
Where the Bodies Are Buried by Chris Brookmyre (Abacus)
The Burning Soul by John Connolly (Hodder Paperback)
Black Flowers by Steve Mosby (Orion)
Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson (Black Swan)

Photos of (some of) the nominees receiving their tankards:

SJ Bolton

John Connolly

Denise Mina

Steve Mosby

SJ Watson

Colin Dexter speaking after receiving the Theakstons Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award:

and the winner of the crime novel of the year is...Denise Mina (with Simon Theakston)

Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2012 - Shortlist & Special Award for Colin Dexter

The shortlist for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2012 has been announced. The winner will be announced at Harrogate on 19 July, however we the public will be able to vote on the shortlist from today. Plus a special award for Colin Dexter has been announced.

2012 Shortlist (links are to Euro Crime reviews)

Now You See Me by SJ Bolton (Corgi)
Where the Bodies Are Buried by Chris Brookmyre (Abacus)
The Burning Soul by John Connolly (Hodder Paperback)
The End of the Wasp Season by Denise Mina (Orion)
Black Flowers by Steve Mosby (Orion)
Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson (Black Swan)

From the press release:

Chilling suspense thrillers lead the way on this year’s Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award shortlist. One of the most prestigious crime writing prizes in the country, the 2012 shortlist reflects the ever increasingly popularity of psychological and suspense-driven narratives.

In a move away from the grittier whodunits that have long dominated the crime fiction genre, this year’s shortlist is comprised of four thrillers out of six: SJ Watson’s smash hit debut Before I Go To Sleep; The Burning Soul by veteran author John Connolly; SJ Bolton’s multi-layered, page-turner Now You See Me; and Steve Mosby’s horror-tinged tale Black Flowers.

The two non-thriller titles are Where the Bodies Are Buried and The End of the Wasp Season by Chris Brookmyre and Denise Mina respectively, both of whom have based their plots on the streets of Glasgow and have focused on a police procedural style. The presence of two Scots on the list also reaffirms the consistent level of success enjoyed by crime writers north of the border.

Now in its eighth year, the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, in partnership with Asda - who will promote the shortlisted titles in stores nationwide from today - and in association with the Daily Mirror, was created to celebrate the very best in crime writing and is open to British and Irish authors whose novels were published in paperback from 1st June 2011 to 31st May 2012.

The overall winner will be decided by a public vote and a panel of experts which this year comprises DI Tom Thorne actor David Morrissey, Festival chair Mark Billingham, Daily Mirror Literary Editor and crime novelist Henry Sutton, Asda Fiction Buyer Ruth Lewis, and Simon Theakston, Executive Director of T&R Theakston Ltd.

The public vote opens today, Thursday 5th July, and closes on Tuesday 17th July at www.theakstons.co.uk

The winner of the prize will be announced by title sponsor Simon Theakston at an award ceremony hosted by radio broadcaster and Festival regular Mark Lawson on Thursday 19th July, the opening night of the 10^th Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival. The winner will receive a £3,000 cash prize as well as a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakstons brewery.

On the same night a special presentation will be made to the winner of the third Theakstons Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award, which this year is awarded to Colin Dexter, creator of Inspector Morse.

Born in Lincolnshire in 1930, Dexter won a scholarship to the local grammar school and, after completing his National Service, went on to study at Cambridge. Since 1966 he has lived in Oxford with his wife, with whom he has two children. After retiring from a 13-year teaching career, he began writing mysteries in 1973 while on a family holiday. His debut novel, Last Bus to Woodstock, was published in 1975 and introduced the world to Inspector Morse for the first time. One of the most iconic detectives ever to have been created, Morse’s crime-solving talents found a whole new audience in the successful TV series, bringing further acclaim for Dexter. Inspector Morse has appeared in 13 novels and numerous short stories. Dexter has won many awards for his novels, including the CWA Silver Dagger twice and the CWA Gold Dagger for both The Wench is Dead and The Way Through the Woods. In 1997, he was presented with the CWA Diamond Dagger for outstanding services to crime literature and, in 2000, was awarded the OBE in The Queen's Birthday Honours.

Dexter said: "Never had I thought that the gods would be kindly enough to give me such a huge honour so late in my life. Yet here I am, in my early eighties, feeling a profound and heartfelt gratitude for the great honour bestowed on me.”

Simon Theakston, Executive Director of T&R Theakston, said:

"The variety of narratives within crime fiction means that every year we have a shortlist that reflects the diversity of the genre; this year, the thriller seems to be the popular choice. It’s great to see crime writing in such rude health, although it doesn’t make the job of picking a winner any easier!

“I’m also delighted and privileged to welcome Colin Dexter to Harrogate to collect his much- deserved Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award. Few writers are as prolific as Colin has been over his long and varied career and even fewer create a character as iconic and well-loved as Morse. This award acknowledges Colin’s huge contribution to crime fiction and to British culture.”

Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2012 - Longlist

The longlist for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2012 has been announced. The winner will be announced at Harrogate however we the public will be able to vote on the shortlist from 5 July. From the press release:

Crime writing's most wanted accolade, the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award returns to highlight the cream of the crop of crime novels published by British and Irish authors (whose novels were published in paperback from 1st June 2011 to 31st May 2012). The winning author receives a cash prize of £3000 an a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakstons Old Peculier.

2012 Longlist (links are to Euro Crime reviews)

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch (Gollancz)
Darkside by Belinda Bauer (Corgi)
Now You See Me by SJ Bolton (Corgi)
Where the Bodies Are Buried by Chris Brookmyre (Abacus)
The Burning Soul by John Connolly (Hodder Paperback)
The Calling by Neil Cross (Simon & Schuster)
The Hanging Shed by Gordon Ferris (Corvus)
Bryant and May and the Memory of Blood by Christopher Fowler (Bantam)
Blue Monday by Nicci French (Michael Joseph)
The Fear Index by Robert Harris (Arrow)
The Retribution by Val McDermid (Sphere)
The End of the Wasp Season by Denise Mina (Orion)
Black Flowers by Steve Mosby (Orion)
Collusion by Stuart Neville (Vintage)
The Impossible Dead by Ian Rankin (Orion)
Mice by Gordon Reece (Pan Books)
Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith (Simon & Schuster)
Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson (Black Swan)

The names of the six shortlisted titles will be announced on Thursday 5 July 2012 and YOU – the readers – will be able to help decide which of the six short-listed authors will take home the most coveted title in crime fiction, by casting your vote online at www.theakstons.co.uk

Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2011 - Shortlist

The shortlist for the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2011 has just been released. The winner will be announced at Harrogate on 21 July. Read the full press release here.

The shortlist (links are to Euro Crime reviews):

From the Dead, by Mark Billingham (Sphere)

Blood Harvest, by S J Bolton (Corgi Books)

61 Hours, by Lee Child (Bantam Books)

Dark Blood, by Stuart MacBride (Harper Fiction)

The Holy Thief, by William Ryan (Pan Books)

The Anatomy of Ghosts, by Andrew Taylor (Michael Joseph)

The criteria to be selected for the Best Crime Novel of the Year (!) are: "... open to British and Irish authors whose novels were published in paperback between 1st January 2010 and 31st May 2011."