Ian Fleming Publications Ltd sponsors the Crime Writers' Association Ian Fleming Steel Dagger; an annual award for the best thriller published in the UK. The winning author is awarded £2000 and also receives a unique 'steel dagger', which is handcrafted and inspired by the weapon used by Special Forces during World War II.
The 2010 Steel Dagger judges were Sarah Fairbairn, Phil Gooden, Samantha Weinberg and Natasha Cooper, and the panel is chaired by Corinne Turner. Debate as to the precise nature of thrillers is never-ending but the guiding criterion, as explained by Fleming himself in his 1962 article How to Write a Thriller, is 'that one simply has to turn the page.'
The 2010 shortlist was announced on the 23rd July at the Harrogate Literature Festival. The shortlisted titles are:
o 61 Hours, Lee Child (Bantam Press)
o A Loyal Spy, Simon Conway (Hodder & Stoughton)
o Gone, Mo Hayder (Bantam Press)
o Slow Horses, Mick Herron (Robinson)
o The Dying Light, Henry Porter (Orion)
o Innocent, Scott Turow (Macmillan)
o The Gentlemen’s Hour, Don Winslow (Heinemann)
The finalists will be announced on Monday 9th August as part of the Official Specsavers Crime Thriller Season on ITV3.
For further information about the Crime Writers' Association and the Dagger awards, click here.
