I keep meaning to write in this journal more frequently. but life seems to get in the way. Saw SERENITY at the midnight show in the CineramaDome in Hollywood last Thursday night and loved it (and the audience of self-proclaimed geeks) Then we came to NY and saw the revival of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF with Harvey Fierstein and Rosie O'Donnell. The show holds up very well and Fierstein is a wonderful Tevye. Today we saw the revival of SWEENEY TODD in preview. Sorry to say that the production is too non-traditional for my taste. Although Patti LuPone's voice is still strong and true, she wasn't a great Mrs. Lovett. Michael Cerveris was a suitable datk and vengeful barber however.

Ayo Onatade has just sent the short-listed authors who are in the running for the CWA daggers. List is below. Until the next time I rouse myself and realize we do have a blog and some people may be interested in what is going on.

THE CRIME WRITERS' ASSOCIATION DAGGER AWARDS 2005

The winners will be announced at a luncheon on Tuesday, November 8th, 12 noon for 12.30pm. The guest speaker will be Terry Pratchett.



The shortlists, in alphabetical order by category, are as follows:



CWA DEBUT DAGGER - For unpublished novels by unpublished authors.

- Animal Instinct (USA)

- Dead Man Dancing (USA)

- Die With Me (UK)

- Dogs Of A Low Degree (UK)

- Gilded Lives (USA)

- The Mystery Of The Third Lucretia (USA)

- Namarrkun (Australia)

- Pure Mad (Ireland)

- Splinter (UK)

- Taking The Village (USA)

- The Truth Lake (UK)

- The Woman Before Me (UK)

- You Think You Know Someone (UK)

(Authors not listed in press release.)



CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY - Nominated and judged by librarians and awarded to an author for a body of work, not one single title.

- Jake Arnott

- Mark Billingham

- Joolz Denby

- Nicci French

- Mo Hayder

- Martyn Waites



THE CWA SHORT STORY DAGGER -

- John Connolly, for 'Miss Froom, Vampire' (from 'Nocturnes', Hodder &

Stoughton)

- Martin Edwards, for 'Test Drive' (from 'Crime on the Move', the Do-Not

Press)

- Kate Ellis, for 'Top Deck' (from 'Crime on the Move', the Do-Not Press)

- Danuta Reah, for 'No Flies On Frank' (from 'Sherlock Magazine', issue 64,

Atlas Publishing Co)

- Peter Robinson, for 'The Wrong Hands' (from 'Not Safe After Dark and Other

Work', Macmillan)



THE CWA GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION

- Bella Bathurst, for 'The Wreckers' (Harper Collins)

- Gregg & Gina Hill, for 'On The Run' (Hutchinson)

- Eric Jager, for 'The Last Duel' (Century)

- Sadakat Kadri, for 'The Trial' (Harper Collins)

- James Owen, for 'A Serpent In Eden' (Little Brown)



THE CWA ELLIS PETERS HISTORICAL DAGGER

- Tom Bradby, for 'The God Of Chaos' (Transworld/Bantam)

- Barbara Cleverly, for 'The Palace Tiger' (Constable)

- Catriona McPherson, for 'After The Armistice Ball' (Constable)

- Iain Pears, for 'The Portrait' (Harper Perennial Original)

- CJ Sansom, for 'Dark Fire' (Macmillan)

- Frank Tallis, for 'Mortal Mischief' (Century)



THE CWA JOHN CREASEY MEMORIAL DAGGER - For first books by previously unpublished writers

- Jeff Lindsay, for 'Darkly Dreaming Dexter' (Orion)

- Clare Clark, for 'The Great Stink' (Viking Penguin)

- David McKeowen, for 'Grip' (Hodder)

- Richard Kunzmann, for 'Bloody Harvest' (Macmillan)

- Dreda Say Mitchell, for 'Running Hot' (Maia Press)



THE CWA IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER

- G. M. Ford, for 'A Blind Eye' (Pan Macmillan)

- Simon Kernick, for 'A Good Day To Die' (Transworld/Bantam)

- Adrian Matthews, for 'The Apothecary's House' (Pan Macmillan)

- Kate Mosse, for 'Labyrinth' (Orion)

- Henry Porter, for 'Brandenburg' (Orion)

- Joel Ross, for 'Double Cross Blind' (Hodder & Stoughton)

- Daniel Silva, for 'A Death In Vienna' (Penguin)



THE GOLD AND SILVER DAGGERS FOR FICTION

- Karin Fossum, for 'Calling Out For You' (The Harvill Press)

- Friedrich Glauser, for 'In Matto's Realm' (Bitter Lemon Press)

- Carl Hiaasen, for 'Skinny Dip' (Bantam)

- Arnaldur Indridason, 'Silence Of The Grave' (The Harvill Press)

- Barbara Nadel, for 'Deadly Web' (Headline)

- Fred Vargas, for 'Seeking Whom He May Desire' (The Harvill Press)



THE CWA DAGGER OF DAGGERS

This year, to mark the Golden Jubilee, the membership of the CWA was given

the unique opportunity to vote for the past winner of the Crossed Red

Herring or the Gold Dagger whom they felt was the best of the best - the

Dagger of Daggers. This is the first time that such an award has been made

to a crime writer by his or her peers.

- John Le CarrT, for 'The Spy Who Came In From The Cold' (1963)

- Anthony Price, for 'Other Paths To Glory' (1974)

- Martin Cruz-Smith, for 'Gorky Park' (1981)

- Peter Lovesey, for 'The False Inspector Dew' (1982)

- Barbara Vine, for 'A Fatal Inversion (1987)

- Reginald Hill, for 'Bones And Silence' (1990)

- Val McDermid, for 'The Mermaids Singing (1995