Mick Herron
Espionage Thriller
Creator of the Slough House series — the darkly comic spy novels that became Apple TV+’s Slow Horses, starring Gary Oldman as the magnificently repellent Jackson Lamb.
Val McDermid
Crime Fiction
Creator of the Tony Hill series — adapted as ITV’s Wire in the Blood — and the Karen Pirie novels. Winner of the CWA Gold Dagger and the Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime contribution to crime writing.
Gyles Brandreth
Historical Mystery
Broadcaster, writer, and former MP. Author of the Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries — a witty Victorian crime series casting Oscar Wilde himself as detective alongside friends Conan Doyle and Bram Stoker.
Elly Griffiths
Archaeological Mystery
Creator of the beloved Ruth Galloway mysteries and the Harbinder Kaur series. Winner of the CWA Dagger in the Library for her body of work.
Vaseem Khan
Historical Crime
Author of the Malabar House series set in 1950s Bombay and the Baby Ganesh Agency novels. Winner of the CWA Historical Dagger and chair of the Crime Writers’ Association.
Amen Alonge
Action Thriller
Solicitor turned novelist. Author of the explosive Pretty Boy thrillers — A Good Day to Die and A Good Night to Kill.
Tom Mead
Locked-Room Mystery
Author of the Joseph Spector mysteries, including Death and the Conjuror and The Murder Wheel. A leading voice in the modern revival of impossible-crime fiction.
Antony Johnston
Spy & Thriller
Bestselling author of The Dog Sitter Detective series and the Brigitte Sharp spy thrillers. Creator of the graphic novel The Coldest City, adapted into the film Atomic Blonde.
Graham Bartlett
Police Procedural
Former Brighton & Hove police commander turned crime novelist. Author of Bad for Good and the DSU Jo Howe series, and consultant on many of the country’s best-known crime dramas.
Martin Edwards
Crime Historian
President of the Detection Club and former Chair of the CWA. Author of the Rachel Savernake series and the landmark history The Life of Crime.
Vanessa O’Loughlin
Irish Crime
Bestselling author writing as Sam Blake, and founder of Writing.ie — a driving force behind contemporary Irish crime fiction.
Victoria Dowd
Cosy Crime
Author of the Smart Woman’s Mystery series — sharp, witty whodunits in the golden-age tradition. Winner of the People’s Book Prize for Fiction.
Roger McGough
Poet & Crhyme
One of Britain’s most celebrated poets and a founding member of The Scaffold. Host of BBC Radio 4’s Poetry Please and a cherished national voice.
Sue Wallman
YA Thriller
Author of taut, twisty teen thrillers including See How They Lie, Dead Popular, and Your Turn to Die. A leading voice in the Young Adult crime space.
Bernard O’Keeffe
Contemporary Crime
Former London English teacher and author of the DI Garibaldi series — The Final Round, Private Lessons, and Every Trick in the Book — contemporary crime with a sharp literary edge.
Samantha Bond
Stage & Screen
Acclaimed stage and screen actress. Four-time Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond films and a beloved fixture of British drama from Downton Abbey to the West End.
S.J. Parris
Historical Mystery
Pen name of Stephanie Merritt. Author of the acclaimed Giordano Bruno series of Elizabethan thrillers beginning with Heresy.
Charles Cumming
Espionage Thriller
One of the leading spy novelists of his generation. Author of the BOX 88 series and A Foreign Country, winner of the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger.
G.J. Williams
Tudor Mystery
Author of the Tudor Rose Murder Mystery series — The Conjuror’s Apprentice, The Wolf’s Shadow, and The Cygnet Prince — atmospheric historical thrillers featuring Tudor astrologer Dr John Dee.
Robert Thorogood
Cosy Crime
Creator of BBC’s Death in Paradise and author of the bestselling Marlow Murder Club series, adapted for U&Drama.
Janice Hallett
Puzzle Mystery
Author of the Sunday Times bestsellers The Appeal, The Twyford Code, and The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels. A modern master of the epistolary whodunit.