| Gold Dagger | |
| Awarded For: | Best crime novel of the year |
| Presenter: | Crime Writers' Association (CWA) |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Year: | 1955 |
| Holder Label: | Most recent winner |
| Holder: | George Dawes Green The Kingdoms of Savannah (2023) |
| Most Awards: | Ruth Rendell (4) |
| Most Nominations: | Ruth Rendell, James Lee Burke, and Mick Herron (5) |
The CWA Gold Dagger is an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom since 1960 for the best crime novel of the year.
From 1955 to 1959, the organization named their top honor as the Crossed Red Herring Award. From 1995 to 2002 the award acquired sponsorship from Macallan and was known as the Macallan Gold Dagger.
In 2006, because of new sponsorship from the Duncan Lawrie Bank, the award was officially renamed as the Duncan Lawrie Dagger, and gained a prize fund of £20,000. It was the biggest crime-fiction award in the world in monetary terms. In 2008, Duncan Lawrie Bank withdrew its sponsorship of the awards. As a result, the top prize is again called the Gold Dagger without a monetary award.
From 1969 to 2005, a Silver Dagger was awarded to the runner-up. When Duncan Lawrie acquired sponsorship, this award was dropped. After the sponsorship was withdrawn, this award was not reinstated.
Since its inception, the award has been given to 57 writers. Ruth Rendell has won the award a record four times, including two awards for the novels A Fatal Inversion and King Solomon's Carpet, published under the pseudonym Barbara Vine; this makes her the only writer who has won the award under different names. Rendell, James Lee Burke, and Mick Herron were nominated a record five times. Abir Mukherjee is the most nominated author in this category without a single win (4 nominations).
The Crime Writers' Association also awards the CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction and several other "Dagger" awards.
Winners and, where known, shortlisted titles for each year:
| Year | Author | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Crossed Red Herring Award | ||
| 1955 | Winston Graham | The Little Walls |
| Lee Howard | Blind Date | |
| Ngaio Marsh | Scales of Justice | |
| Margot Bennett | The Man Who Didn't Fly | |
| 1956 | Edward Grierson | The Second Man |
| Sarah Gainham | Time Right Deadly | |
| Arthur Upfield | Man of Two Tribes | |
| J. J. Marric | Gideon's Week | |
| 1957 | Julian Symons | The Colour of Murder |
| Ngaio Marsh | Off with His Head | |
| George Milner | Your Money or Your Life | |
| Douglas Rutherford | The Long Echo | |
| 1958 | Margot Bennett | Someone from the Past |
| Margery Allingham | Hide My Eyes | |
| James Byrom | Or Be He Dead | |
| John Sherwood | Undiplomatic Exit | |
| 1959 | Eric Ambler | Passage of Arms |
| James Mitchell | A Way Back | |
| Menna Gallie | Strike for a Kingdom | |
| Year | Author | Work |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Joan Fleming | Young Man I Think You're Dying |
| Anthony Price | The Labyrinth Makers | |
| 1971 | James H. McClure | The Steam Pig |
| P. D. James | Shroud for a Nightingale | |
| 1972 | Eric Ambler | The Levanter |
| Victor Canning | The Rainbird Pattern | |
| 1973 | Robert Littell | The Defection of A.J. Lewinter |
| Gwendoline Butler | A Coffin for Pandora | |
| 1974 | Anthony Price | Other Paths to Glory |
| Francis Clifford | The Grosvenor Square Goodbye | |
| 1975 | Nicholas Meyer | The Seven-Per-Cent Solution |
| P. D. James | The Black Tower | |
| 1976 | Ruth Rendell | A Demon in My View |
| James H. McClure | Rogue Eagle | |
| 1977 | John le Carré | The Honourable Schoolboy |
| William McIlvanney | Laidlaw | |
| 1978 | Lionel Davidson | The Chelsea Murders |
| Peter Lovesey | Waxwork | |
| 1979 | Dick Francis | Whip Hand |
| Colin Dexter | Service of All the Dead | |
| Year | Author | Work |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | H. R. F. Keating | The Murder of the Maharaja |
| Ellis Peters | Monk's Hood | |
| 1981 | Martin Cruz Smith | Gorky Park |
| Colin Dexter | The Dead of Jericho | |
| 1982 | Peter Lovesey | The False Inspector Dew |
| S. T. Haymon | Ritual Murder | |
| 1983 | John Hutton | Accidental Crimes |
| William McIlvanney | The Papers of Tony Vietch | |
| 1984 | B. M. Gill | The Twelfth Juror |
| Ruth Rendell | The Tree of Hands | |
| 1985 | Paula Gosling | Monkey Puzzle |
| Dorothy Simpson | Last Seen Alive | |
| Andrew Taylor | Our Father's Lies | |
| Jill Paton Walsh | A Piece of Justice | |
| 1986 | Ruth Rendell | Live Flesh |
| P. D. James | A Taste for Death | |
| 1987 | Barbara Vine | A Fatal Inversion |
| Scott Turow | Presumed Innocent | |
| Liza Cody | Under Contract | |
| 1988 | Michael Dibdin | Ratking |
| Sara Paretsky | Toxic Shock | |
| 1989 | Colin Dexter | The Wench Is Dead |
| Desmond Lowden | The Shadow Run | |
| Year | Author | Work |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Belinda Bauer | Blacklands |
| S. J. Bolton | Blood Harvest | |
| George Pelecanos | The Way Home | |
| Karen Campbell | Shadowplay | |
| 2011 | Tom Franklin | Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter |
| Steve Hamilton | The Lock Artist | |
| A. D. Miller | Snowdrops | |
| Denise Mina | The End of the Wasp Season | |
| 2012 | Gene Kerrigan | The Rage |
| N. J. Cooper | Vengeance in Mind | |
| M. R. Hall | The Flight | |
| Chris Womersley | Bereft | |
| 2013 | Mick Herron | Dead Lions |
| Belinda Bauer | Rubbernecker | |
| Lauren Beukes | The Shining Girls | |
| Becky Masterman | Rage Against the Dying | |
| 2014 | Wiley Cash | This Dark Road to Mercy |
| Paula Daly | Keep Your Friends Close | |
| Paul Mendelson | The First Rule of Survival | |
| Louise Penny | How the Light Gets In | |
| 2015 | Michael Robotham | Life or Death |
| Belinda Bauer | The Shut Eye | |
| James Carlos Blake | The Rules of Wolfe | |
| Robert Galbraith | The Silkworm | |
| Sam Hawken | Missing | |
| Stephen King | Mr. Mercedes | |
| Attica Locke | Pleasantville | |
| 2016 | Bill Beverly | Dodgers |
| Chris Brookmyre | Black Widow | |
| Denise Mina | Blood Salt Water | |
| Mick Herron | Real Tigers | |
| 2017 | Jane Harper | The Dry |
| Belinda Bauer | The Beautiful Dead | |
| Ray Celestin | Dead Man's Blues | |
| Mick Herron | Spook Street | |
| Derek B. Miller | The Girl in Green | |
| Abir Mukherjee | A Rising Man | |
| 2018 | Steve Cavanagh | The Liar |
| Mick Herron | London Rules | |
| Since We Fell | ||
| Attica Locke | Bluebird, Bluebird | |
| Abir Mukherjee | A Necessary Evil | |
| Emma Viskic | Resurrection Bay | |
| 2019 | M. W. Craven | The Puppet Show |
| Claire Askew | All the Hidden Truths | |
| Christobel Kent | What We Did | |
| Donna Leon | Unto Us a Son Is Given | |
| Derek B. Miller | American by Day | |
| Benjamin Wood | A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better | |
| Year | Author | Work |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Michael Robotham | Good Girl Bad Girl |
| Claire Askew | What You Pay For | |
| Lou Berney | November Road | |
| John Fairfax | Forced Confessions | |
| Mick Herron | Joe Country | |
| Abir Mukherjee | Death in the East | |
| 2021 | Chris Whitaker | We Begin at the End |
| S. A. Cosby | Blacktop Wasteland | |
| Ben Creed | City of Ghosts | |
| Nicci French | House of Correction | |
| Robert Galbraith | Troubled Blood | |
| Elly Griffiths | The Postscript Murders | |
| Thomas Mullen | Midnight Atlanta | |
| 2022 | Ray Celestin | Sunset Swing |
| Jacqueline Bublitz | Before You Knew My Name | |
| S. A. Cosby | Razorblade Tears | |
| John Hart | The Unwilling | |
| Abir Mukherjee | The Shadows of Men | |
| William Shaw | The Trawlerman | |
| 2023[8] | George Dawes Green | The Kingdoms of Savannah |
| The Lost Man of Bombay | ||
| Simon Mason | A Killing in November | |
| Anna Mazzola | The Clockwork Girl | |
| WC Ryan | The Winter Guest | |
| Simon Van der Velde | The Silent Brother | |
| 2024[9] [10] | Una Mannion | Tell Me What I Am |
| Black River | ||
| Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers | ||
| Over My Dead Body | ||
| Small Mercies |
The following individuals received two or more Gold Dagger awards:
| Wins | Author | Nominations |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Ruth Rendell[11] | 5 |
| 2 | Eric Ambler | 4 |
| Colin Dexter | ||
| Minette Walters | ||
| John le Carré | 3 | |
| Lionel Davidson | 2 | |
| Peter Dickinson | ||
| Joan Fleming | ||
| H. R. F. Keating | ||
| Michael Robotham | ||
The following individuals received two or more Gold Dagger nominations:
The following individuals received two or more Silver Dagger awards:
| Wins | Author | Nominations |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Peter Lovesey | 4 |
| P. D. James | 3 | |
| 2 | Colin Dexter | 4 |
| Francis Clifford | 2 | |
| William McIlvanney | ||
The following individuals received both Gold and Silver Dagger awards: