This week, the team at Gladstone's Library in Hawarden, Flintshire, announced the addition of the esteemed Diamond Dagger Award to its archives.
This prestigious award, presented annually by the Crime Writers' Association (CWA) alongside twelve other Dagger awards, is a lifetime achievement award recognising outstanding contributions to crime writing in the English language.
The Diamond Dagger itself was designed by Cartier and consists of a silver book with the names of past winners engraved into the pages and a diamond-encrusted dagger plunged into it. It was first won by Eric Ambler in 1986 and over the years it has been won by giants of British crime writing history. These have included P. D. James, John le Carré, Dick Francis, Ruth Rendell, Margaret Yorke, Lionel Davidson, Robert Barnard, Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, Lee Child, Catherine Aird, Martin Edwards, Martina Cole, and, most recently, Lynda La Plante and James Lee Burke.
Alexandra Foulds, the Archivist at Gladstone's Library, said: “The Diamond Dagger Award is one of the most respected accolades in the literary world, celebrating the enduring impact of crime writers whose work has left an indelible mark on the genre. The Dagger awards are such a symbol of crime writing that they have not only been awarded to some of the most famous authors of the genre but they have also featured in their works; the Golden Dagger is used as the attempted murder weapon in Anthony Horowitz’s 2016 novel Magpie Murders and its BBC TV adaptation.”
Alexandra Foulds, the Archivist at Gladstone's Library, said: “The Diamond Dagger Award is one of the most respected accolades in the literary world, celebrating the enduring impact of crime writers whose work has left an indelible mark on the genre. The Dagger awards are such a symbol of crime writing that they have not only been awarded to some of the most famous authors of the genre but they have also featured in their works; the Golden Dagger is used as the attempted murder weapon in Anthony Horowitz’s 2016 novel Magpie Murders and its BBC TV adaptation.”
Martin Edwards, winner of the Diamond Dagger in 2020 and appointed Archivist for the CWA said: “'For any crime writer, winning the Diamond Dagger is a pinnacle of one's career. It means a lot to me and, I know, the other recipients. I can't imagine any better setting for this wonderful award than Gladstone's Library and I'm so glad that the Diamond Dagger now has the perfect home.”
The Diamond Dagger on display
The Diamond Dagger on display
The Diamond Dagger will be added to the archive of the CWA, which Gladstone's Library holds on a 15-year loan agreement. The archive offers a comprehensive record of the CWA's activities from its creation in 1953 to the present, including membership lists, committee meeting and AGM minutes, correspondence, photographs, publications, and newsletters. Together with the Library’s Detection Club Archive, which is also on 15-year loan, it is an invaluable resource for researchers, writers, and enthusiasts of the crime writing genre.
“The addition of the Diamond Dagger Award to the Crime Writers’ Association Archive is a testament to Gladstone’s Library’s ongoing partnership with the Crime Writers’ Association,” said Louisa Yates, the Director of Collections and Research at Gladstone’s Library. “Given the love of our founder, William Gladstone, for the popular literature of his time, it feels appropriate for the Library’s collections to reflect one of the most popular contemporary genres of fiction through the Crime Writers’ Association Archive. At Gladstone’s Library, the Diamond Dagger will be available for researchers to request to view and will be made available to the public in regular exhibitions at Gladstone’s Library, most notably as part of our annual crime writing festival Alibis in the Archive.”
The Diamond Dagger went on display for the first time on June 8 as part of this year’s Alibis in the Archive event. It featured in an exhibition about the history of the award and its winners alongside other items from the CWA archive.
“We’re very happy to be able to make this icon of crime writing history accessible for the first time by adding it to our collections,” said Alexandra Foulds, Archivist at Gladstone's Library. “Having it here greatly enhances the depth of the CWA archive. The Dagger Awards are such a core part of the association’s activities that they are consistently referenced throughout the archive, and now having the award itself puts these documents in greater context. It’s also just a beautiful item to have in the collections. Archives always contain fragments of our history, and when you look at the Diamond Dagger you feel like you are looking at a piece of literary history. It’s quite amazing to behold.”
“As a big fan of crime writing I’m thrilled to have the Diamond Dagger here at Gladstone’s Library and to have displayed it at this year’s Alibis in the Archive,” said Andrea Russell, Warden at Gladstone’s Library. “Alibis is a highlight of the Library’s event calendar. Like all our events, the weekend was filled with enthusiasm for new writing and new ideas, bringing new faces into the Library. I’m sure that the Diamond Dagger will attract new, diverse audiences to Gladstone’s Library and help us to spread the word about who we are and the important work that we are doing to preserve Britain’s heritage.”
Tickets for next year’s Alibis in the Archive crime writing festival will go on sale in December. The Library is running an expressions of interest list. Email [email protected] to join the contact list.