CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction

The CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction is a British literary award established in 1978 by the Crime Writers' Association, who have awarded the Gold Dagger fiction award since 1955.

In 1978 and 1979 only there was also a silver award. From 1995 to 2002 it was sponsored by The Macallan (Scotch whisky brand) and known as The Macallan Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction. In 2008 the award was sponsored by Owatonna Media (a London-based literary brand investor and owner). Between 2006 and 2010 it was awarded every other year, in even-numbered years, but in 2011 it returned as an annual award.. The prize is now a cheque for £1,000 and a decorative dagger.

Winners and shortlists

2000s

2013

• Paul French, Midnight in Peking (The 1937 murder of Pamela Werner in Beijing Penguin)

2011

• Douglas Starr, The Killer of Little Shepherds (The crimes and conviction of the nineteenth-century French serial murderer Joseph Vacher)

2010

• Ruth Dudley Edwards, Aftermath: The Omagh Bombing & the Families’ Pursuit of Justice (The successful civil case taken against the suspects for the Omagh bombing)

2008

• Kester Aspden, Nationality: Wog - The Hounding of David Oluwale (Death of David Oluwale in Leeds in 1969)
  • Francisco Goldman,The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed Bishop Gerardi (Death of Juan José Gerardi Conedera in Guatemala in 1998)
  • David Rose, Violation: Justice, Race and Serial Murder in the Deep South (The case of Carlton Gary, sentenced to death in 1986 in Georgia, USA)
  • Duncan Staff The Lost Boy (Keith Bennett, victim of the Moors Murders, England, 1964)
  • Kate Summerscale, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House (Murder in 1860 in Somerset, England, to which Constance Kent confessed)
  • Peter Zimonjic, Into the Darkness: 7/7 (First-hand account of the 7 July 2005 London bombings)

2006

• Linda Rhodes, Lee Shelden and Kathryn Abnett, The Dagenham Murder: The Brutal Killing of PC George Clark, 1846 (Murder of policeman George Clark in 1846 in Dagenham, London)
  • Sebastian Junger, A Death in Belmont (Boston Strangler murders of 1962-64 in USA)
  • Nuala O'Faolain, The Story of Chicago May (Irish-born international criminal Chicago May, born May Duignan)
  • Sister Helen Prejean, The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions (Executions of Dobie Gillis Williams (1999) and Joseph O'Dell in USA)
  • William Queen, Under and Alone: The True Story of the Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America's Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (First-hand account of infiltrating Mongols gang in USA)
  • Sue Williams, And Then the Darkness: The Fascinating Story of the Disappearance of Peter Falconio and the Trials of Joanne Lees (Disappearance of Peter Falconio in Australia, 2001)

2005

• Gregg and Gina Hill, On The Run: a Mafia childhood (By the children of Henry Hill, American mobster)
  • Bella Bathurst,The Wreckers: A Story of Killing Seas, False Lights, and Plundered Shipwrecks. (Wrecking off the UK coast)
  • Eric Jager, The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat in Medieval France (Trial by combat of Jean de Carrouges, France, 1386)
  • Sadakat Kadri, The Trial: a history from Socrates to O. J. Simpson (History of trials).
  • James Owen, A Serpent in Eden: The Greatest Murder Mystery of All Time (Murder of Harry Oakes in Nassau, Bahamas, in 1943)

2004

Joint winners

• John Dickie, Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia (History of the Sicilian mafia from its 1860s beginnings)
• Sarah Wise, The Italian Boy: Murder and Grave Robbery in 1830s London (The Italian Boy murder, London, 1831)
  • Rebecca Gowers, The Swamp of Death: A True Tale of Victorian Lies and Murder (Death of Frederick Benwell, young Englishman who set off for Canada in 1890 and was found dead in a swamp shortly after arriving)
  • Steve Holland, The Trials of Hank Janson (Censorship of crime writer Hank Janson in 1940s Britain)
  • Mende Nazer and Damian Lewis, Slave: The True Story of a Girl's Lost Childhood and her Fight for Survival (Mende Nazer's own story)

2003

• Samantha Weinberg, Pointing from the Grave: a True Story of Murder and DNA (Murder of Helena Greenwood in 1985 in California and early use of DNA profiling to identify her killer 15 years later)
  • Michael Bilton, Wicked Beyond Belief: the Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper (Peter Sutcliffe, serial killer convicted in 1981)
  • Erik Larson, Devil In The White City:Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America (Serial killer H. H. Holmes and the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, USA)
  • Chandak Sengoopta, Imprint of the Raj: the Colonial Origin of Fingerprinting and Its Voyage to Britain (The science of fingerprinting, developed in India and first used in court in England in 1902)
  • Donald Thomas, An Underworld at War: Spivs, Deserters, Racketeers and Civilians in the Second World War (Events in Britain during World War II)
  • Peter Walsh, Gang War: the Inside Story of the Manchester Gangs (Contemporary gangs in Manchester)

2002

• Lillian Pizzichini, Dead Man's Wages: the secrets of a London conman and his family (Life of conman Charlie Taylor, the author's grandfather)
  • Miranda Carter, Anthony Blunt, His Lives (Anthony Blunt (1907-1983), British spy and art historian)
  • Don Hale (with Marika Huns & Hamish McGregor), Town Without Pity: the Fight to Clear Stephen Downing of the Bakewell Murder (Stephen Downing, jailed for murder in 1974, conviction overturned in 2002)
  • Special mention: Julian Earwaker & Kathleen Becker, Scene of the Crime: a Guide to the Landscapes of British Detective Fiction (Judged to be outside the scope of the award but worthy of commendation)

2001

• Philip Etienne and Martin Maynard (with Tony Thompson), The Infiltrators: the First Inside Account of Life Deep Undercover with Scotland Yard's Most Secret Unit (Two members of SO10, the Metropolitan Police's undercover unit)
  • Zacaria Erzinçlioglu, Maggots, Murder and Men: Memories and Reflections of a Forensic Entomologist (Forensic entomology)
  • Adrian Weale, Patriot Traitors: Roger Casement, John Amery and the Real Meaning of Treason (Roger Casement and John Amery, the only Britons to be executed for high treason in the 20th century)

2000

• Edward Bunker, Mr. Blue: Memoirs of a Renegade (The author's own story of a life of crime)

1990s

1999

• Brian Cathcart, The Case of Stephen Lawrence

1998

• Gitta Sereny, Cries Unheard

1997

• Paul Britton, The Jigsaw Man

1996

• Antonia Fraser, The Gunpowder Plot

1995

• Martin Beales, Dead Not Buried

1994

• David Canter, Criminal Shadows: Inside the Mind of the Serial Killer

1993

• Alexandra Artley, Murder in the Heart

1992

• Charles Nicholl,The Reckoning

1991

• John Bossy, Giordano Bruno and the Embassy Affair

1990

• Jonathan Goodman, The Passing of Starr Faithfull

1980s

1989

• Robert Lindsey, A Gathering of Saints:a true story of money, murder and deceit

1988

• Bernard Wasserstein, The Secret Lives of Trebitsch Lincoln

1987

• Bernard Taylor/Stephen Knight, Perfect Murder

1986

• John Bryson, Evil Angels

1985

• Brian Masters, Killing for Company

1984

• David Yallop, In God's Name

1983

• Peter Watson, Double Dealer: How five art dealers, four policemen, three picture restorers, two auction houses and a journalist plotted to recover some of the world's most beautiful stolen paintings

1982

• John Cornwell, Earth to Earth

1981

• Jacobo Timerman, Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number

1980

• Anthony Summers, Conspiracy

1970s

1979

• Shirley Green, Rachman

1978

• Audrey Williamson, The Mystery of the Princes

External links

• CWA website: The CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction