Records of the Crime Writers' Association

Biographical History

The Crime Writers’ Association was founded in 1953 by the author John Creasey. Creasey founded the members association of crime writers after it was suggested to him by fellow crime writer, Nigel Morland, who had just become the first British member of the Mystery Writers of America (formed in 1948). As there was no UK equivalent, other than the prestigious and selective Detection Club (formed in 1930), Morland and Creasey thought there was scope for a broader, more inclusive association of British writers of crime.

The Association's aim was to provide a social network for crime writers and to help them with business matters. Its activities over the years have included AGMs, awards ceremonies, conferences, exhibitions, a monthly newsletter, several anthologies, a national crime reading month, a Youtube channel, and collecting the archives of members of the association, including Bill Knox.

In 1955, for the first time, a panel of judges was set up to choose the best crime book of the year, and the first Dagger Awards Dinner was held at the Criterion Restaurant on 5 April 1956. In 1957 the awards dinner was combined with a conference, while in 1959, a Crime Book Exhibition was held at the Army & Navy Stores to coincide with the awards ceremony.

In 1956, the CWA began to publish a monthly newsletter for members called the CWA News, launched by Herbert Harris. It became known as Red Herrings in 1957. Subsequent editors have been H. L. Lawrence, Anne Britton, Martin Russell, and Alex Auswaks with Leo Harris, Peter Guttridge, David Stuart Davies, and Matthew Booth. 

From 1999-2004, the Leo Harris awards, instituted by Jane Harris, ran to commemorate the best contributions to Red Herrings over the course of a year, judged by the editor. Winners were Peter Lovesey, Margaret Murphy, Julian Rathbone, Roger Forsdyke and Joan Lock.

Butcher’s Dozen, the first CWA anthology, appeared in 1956, and set out to include ‘thrillers, detective stories and suspense stories to cover the widest possible range of styles and to cater for all tastes’ and also to show ‘the versatility and ingenuity of the modern crime writer.’ The book was edited by Josephine Bell, Michael Gilbert, and Julian Symons and other contributors included Maurice Procter, a pioneer of the police procedural, and novelist L. A. G. Strong. It was followed two years later by Choice of Weapons, edited by Michael Gilbert. Martin Edwards has edited the CWA anthology since 1999.

Membership of the Crime Writers' Association has continued to grow over the years, with the organisations recording 800 members in 200. Since 2021 the Association has been open to self-published and emerging writers.

Scope and Content

The Records of the Crime Writers' Association include the Red Herrings newsletters, committee minutes, membership records, financial records, photographs, correspondence, newspaper clippings, publications, yearbooks, and records related to conferences, awards, and the early history of the Crime Writers’ Association. The earliest records date from the Crime Writers’ Association’s foundation in 1953, and they continue to the present day.

Physical Description and Extent

The Records of the Crime Writers’ Association consist of 38 archive boxes, 7 large bankers' boxes, 2 ringbinders, and 5 yearbooks. Records are principally paper, however, there are also some audiovisual records in the form of taped interviews.

Provenance

The original accession of material from the Crime Writers’ Association to Gladstone’s Library was in 2013, when the records were transferred from the Galleries of Justice, Nottingham, where they had been held for more than ten years. Since 2013 there have been periodic accruals to the records, organised by the Crime Writers' Association's Honorary Archivist, Martin Edwards.

Arrangement

The records are arranged thematically and by type of record, and then chonologically.

Access and Finding Aid

The Records of the Crime Writers' Association can be browsed using the finding aids below.

As this is a contemporary archive that contains a great of personal data, many of the records are ‘Closed Access’. To request to view this material, you must fill out an Application to Read Closed Access Archival Items Form and submit this to [email protected] at least 21 days before your intended visit.

An embargo is placed on all records for 10 years from the date of creation.

Finding Aids

Reprographics

All reprographics queries should be directed to [email protected]. Information about Gladstone’s Library’s reprographics services can be found here.

Additional Information

The website of the Crime Writers' Association can be found here.