CrimeFest Awards 2024 - Winners

 Please find below the official press release from CrimeFest for their 2024 Awards.

Winners of 2024 CRIMEFEST Awards Announced

 

CrimeFest, one of Europe’s leading crime fiction conventions, has announced the winners of its annual awards.

 

Now in their 16th year, the awards, which honour the best crime books released in the UK last year, were announced at a gala dinner event during CrimeFest in Bristol [Saturday 11 May].

 

The winner of the highly anticipated Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award, and £1,000 prize, is Stig Abell for Death Under a Little Sky published by Hemlock Press (HarperCollins).

 

The gripping crime debut from the Times Radio journalist features London detective Jake Jackson, who discovers that murder lurks even in the most idyllic English locations when a village treasure hunt turns deadly.

 

Bestselling crime authors have heaped praise on the debut including Lee Child, who described it as “truly excellent,” Ann Cleeves who found it “totally immersive” and Vaseem Khan who described it as “beautifully written.”

 

Dame Mary Perkins, co-founder of Specsavers who sponsors the award, said: “It was an incredibly strong shortlist for the judging panel this year, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading all nominated titles. Stig Abell’s debut clinched the top spot. It offers a different slant to the usual detective mysteries, and I was compelled to finish the book and get to the end, which I didn’t guess. His mesmerising prose and deft plot made Death Under a Little Sky unputdownable.”

 

The eDunnit Award for the best e-book goes to Laura Lippman for Prom Mom, published by Faber & Faber. The acclaimed Baltimore author is a two-time CrimeFest eDunnit Award winner for Wild Lake (2017) and Sunburn (2019) and has won the Agatha, Anthony, and Edgar awards.

 

Prom Mom tells the story of Amber Glass, desperately trying to get away from her tabloid past but compulsively drawn back to the prom date who destroyed everything. The LA Times described it as “one of Lippman’s most seductively mesmerising novels.”

 

Winner of the H.R.F Keating Award for best biographical or critical book on crime fiction is The Secret Life of John Le Carré by Adam Sisman, published by Profile Books.

 

A Financial Times and Spectator Book of the Year, it’s been praised for providing new insights into the author who created George Smiley, revealing a hidden perspective on the life and work of the spy-turned-author.

 

The Last Laugh Award goes to Mick Herron for The Secret Hours, published by Baskerville. Herron is a multiple CrimeFest Award winner; he received the 2023 CrimeFest Award for Best Adapted TV Crime Drama for Slow Horses; the 2022 CrimeFest Last Laugh Award for Slough House; and the 2018 CrimeFest Last Laugh Award for Spook Street.

 

Praised as ‘pure class,’ by Ian Rankin, The Secret Hours was an instant Sunday Times bestseller. The mesmerising espionage thriller is dripping in wry wit and unexpected twists, as a parliamentary inquiry into the intelligence services turns lethal.

 

Best Crime Novel for Young Adults, aged 12-16, is awarded to Elizabeth Wein for Stateless, which features a group of young pilots who face intrigue and sabotage in a race around Europe in this thrilling murder mystery, from the bestselling author of Code Name Verity. Stateless was praised by the Guardian for its, “intriguing, page-turning plot.”

 

Best Crime Novel for Children, aged 8-12, goes to J.T. Williams for The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries: Portraits and Poison published by Farshore. It’s the second book in the middle grade mystery series that’s inspired by real Black British historical figures, which sees two resourceful amateur sleuths become embroiled in a deadly conspiracy stalking the streets of eighteenth-century London.

 

Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate, Joseph Coelho, praised the series as a “must read” and The Observer praised its “atmospheric setting.”

 

The Thalia Proctor Memorial Award for Best Adapted TV Crime Drama goes for the second year running to Slow Horses (season 3), based on the Slough House books by Mick Herron. Produced by See-Saw, shown on Apple TV+, the drama, which follows a dysfunctional and disgraced team of MI5 agents, stars Gary Oldman.

 

The award is named in honour of Thalia, a CrimeFest team member and a much-loved figure in the world of crime fiction, and is decided by public vote.

 

Adrian Muller, Co-host of CrimeFest, said: “Crime fiction is recognised as the biggest selling and most influential genre in publishing. As ever, this year’s nominees reflect the genre’s power, reach and popularity, and it was a hotly contested shortlist. We congratulate all 2024 winners, and would especially like to thank Specsavers for their on-going support in celebrating new talent, with the Debut Award. We’re especially proud too to be one of the few genre awards that recognise children’s and Young Adult authors. They do a vital job in enticing children and young people into reading, offering much-needed escapism, connection, and adventure.”

 

Hosted in Bristol, CrimeFest is the biggest crime fiction convention in the UK, and one of the most popular dates in the international crime fiction calendar, with circa 60 panel events and 150 authors attending over four days [9-12 May].

 

2024 featured guests include the author behind the international hit Murdle - G.T. Karber; Diamond Dagger winners James Lee Burke and Lynda La Plante; the acclaimed American author Laura Lippman; and the seminal Scottish author, Denise Mina.

 

The line up also features Ajay Chowdhury, Cathy Ace, Janice Hallett, Abir Mukherjee, Vaseem Khan, Holly Jackson, Kate Ellis, Ruth Dudley Edwards, and Martin Edwards.

 

CrimeFest was created following the hugely successful one-off visit to Bristol in 2006 of the American Left Coast Crime convention. Established in 2008, it follows the egalitarian format of most US conventions, making it open to all commercially published authors and readers alike.

 

All category winners will receive a Bristol Blue Glass commemorative award.

 

The 2024 CrimeFest Award Winners in full:

 

SPECSAVERS DEBUT CRIME NOVEL AWARD

 

In association with headline sponsor, the Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award is for debut authors first published in the United Kingdom in 2023. The winning author receives a £1,000 prize.

 

- Stig Abell Death Under a Little Sky (Hemlock Press/HarperCollins)

 

H.R.F. KEATING AWARD

 

The H.R.F. Keating Award is for the best biographical or critical book related to crime fiction first published in the United Kingdom in 2023. The award is named after H.R.F. ‘Harry’ Keating, one of Britain’s most esteemed crime novelists, crime reviewers and writer of books about crime fiction.

 

- Adam Sisman The Secret Life of John Le Carré (Profile Books)

LAST LAUGH AWARD

 

The Last Laugh Award is for the best humorous crime novel first published in the United Kingdom in 2023.

 

- Mick Herron The Secret Hours (Baskerville)

 

eDUNNIT AWARD

 

For the best crime fiction ebook first published in both hardcopy and in electronic format in the United Kingdom in 2023.

 

-Laura Lippman Prom Mom (Faber & Faber)

 

BEST CRIME FICTION NOVEL FOR CHILDREN

 

This award is for the best crime novel for children (aged 8-12) first published in the United Kingdom in 2023.

 

- J.T. Williams The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries: Portraits and Poison illustrated by Simone Douglas (Farshore)

 

BEST CRIME FICTION NOVEL FOR YOUNG ADULTS

 

This award is for the best crime novel for young adults (aged 12-16) first published in the United Kingdom in 2023.

 

- Elizabeth Wein Stateless (Bloomsbury YA)

 

THALIA PROCTOR MEMORIAL AWARD FOR BEST ADAPTED TV CRIME DRAMA

 

This award is for the best television crime drama based on a book, and first screened in the UK in 2023. 

 

- Slow Horses (series 3), based on the Slough House books by Mick Herron (Apple)

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The 2024 CrimeFest Award Shortlists in full:

 

SPECSAVERS DEBUT CRIME NOVEL AWARD

 

In association with headline sponsor, the Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award is for debut authors first published in the United Kingdom in 2023. The winning author receives a £1,000 prize.

 

- Stig Abell Death Under a Little Sky (Hemlock Press/HarperCollins)

- Jo Callaghan In The Blink Of An Eye (Simon & Schuster)

- Megan Davis The Messenger (Zaffre)

- Jenny Lund Madsen Thirty Days of Darkness translated by Megan Turney (Orenda Books)

- Natalie Marlow Needless Alley (Baskerville)

- Alice Slater Death of a Bookseller (Hodder & Stoughton)

 

H.R.F. KEATING AWARD

 

The H.R.F. Keating Award is for the best biographical or critical book related to crime fiction first published in the United Kingdom in 2023. The award is named after H.R.F. ‘Harry’ Keating, one of Britain’s most esteemed crime novelists, crime reviewers and writer of books about crime fiction.

 

- M, J, F & A Dall'Asta, Migozzi, Pagello & Pepper Contemporary European Crime Fiction: Representing History and Politics (Palgrave)

- Lisa Hopkins Ocular Proof and the Spectacled Detective in British Crime Fiction (Palgrave)

- Kate Jackson How To Survive a Classic Crime Novel (British Library Publishing)

- Steven Powell Love Me Fierce In Danger: The Life of James Ellroy (Bloomsbury Academic)

- Nicholas Shakespeare Ian Fleming: The Complete Man (Harvill Secker)

- Adam Sisman The Secret Life of John Le Carré (Profile Books)

LAST LAUGH AWARD

 

The Last Laugh Award is for the best humorous crime novel first published in the United Kingdom in 2023.

 

- Mark Billingham The Last Dance (Sphere)

- Elly Griffiths The Great Deceiver (Quercus)

- Mick Herron The Secret Hours (Baskerville)

- Mike Ripley Mr Campion's Memory (Severn House)

- Jesse Sutanto Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (HQ)

- Antti Tuomianen The Beaver Theory (Orenda Books)

 

eDUNNIT AWARD

 

For the best crime fiction ebook first published in both hardcopy and in electronic format in the United Kingdom in 2023.

 

- Rachel Abbott Don't Look Away (Wildfire)

-Jane Casey The Close (HarperCollins)

-Martin Edwards Sepulchre Street (Head of Zeus)

-Christina Koning Murder at Bletchley Park (Allison & Busby)

-Laura Lippman Prom Mom (Faber & Faber)

-Craig Russell The Devil's Playground (Constable)

 

BEST CRIME FICTION NOVEL FOR CHILDREN

 

This award is for the best crime novel for children (aged 8-12) first published in the United Kingdom in 2023.

 

- A.M. Howell Mysteries At Sea: Peril On The Atlantic (Usborne Publishing)

- Lis Jardine The Detention Detectives (Penguin Random House Children's UK)

- Beth Lincoln The Swifts (Penguin Random House Children's UK)

- Marcus Rashford (with Alex Falase-Koya) The Breakfast Club Adventures: The Ghoul in the School (Macmillan Children's Books)

- Robin Stevens The Ministry of Unladylike Activity 2: The Body in the Blitz (Penguin Random House Children's UK)

- J.T. Williams The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries: Portraits and Poison illustrated by Simone Douglas (Farshore)

 

BEST CRIME FICTION NOVEL FOR YOUNG ADULTS

 

This award is for the best crime novel for young adults (aged 12-16) first published in the United Kingdom in 2023.

 

- Jennifer Lynn Barnes The Brothers Hawthorne (Penguin Random House Children's UK)

- Nick Brooks Promise Boys (Macmillan Children's Books)

- Ravena Guron This Book Kills (Usborne Publishing)

- Ravena Guron Catch Your Death (Usborne Publishing)

- Karen M. McManus One of Us is Back (Penguin Random House Children's UK)

- Elizabeth Wein Stateless (Bloomsbury YA)

 

THALIA PROCTOR MEMORIAL AWARD FOR BEST ADAPTED TV CRIME DRAMA

 

This award is for the best television crime drama based on a book, and first screened in the UK in 2023. 

 

- Dalgliesh (series 2), based on the Inspector Dalgliesh books by P.D. James (Channel 5)

- Reacher (series 2), based on the Jack Reacher books by Lee Child (Amazon Prime)

- Shetland (series 8), based on the Shetland books by Ann Cleeves (BBC)

- Slow Horses (series 3), based on the Slough House books by Mick Herron (Apple)

- The Serial Killer's Wife, based on the Serial Killer books by Alice Hunter (Paramount+)

- Vera (series 12), based on the Vera Stanhope books by Ann Cleeves (ITV)