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news and features
HWA Crown Award Winners 2025
The winners are:Gold: The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry (Canongate Books)Non-fiction: Moederland by Cato Pedder (John Murray)Debut: A Poisoner’s Tale by Cathryn Kemp (Bantam) Read more about the books and the shortlisted titles on... more
Dorothy Dunnett / HWA Short Story Competition 2025
The winning and shortlisted stories! Huge congratulations to our winner, Sean Lusk, our Highly Commended writers, Alex Edwards and Joseph Dragovich, and the writers of our shortlisted stories, Liz Kershaw, Sopie Lenoir, and Elaine... more
Dorothy Dunnett Society / HWA Short Story Competition Longlist
Many congratulations to the writers of our longlisted stories. The shortlist and winning stories will be announced on Friday 3 October! We ended up with nearly 150 stories this year and the standard was extremely high. Many thanks to our first... moreauthor showcase
Patrick Larsimont
Patrick worked in advertising with some of the most globally recognised agencies and brands. Always fascinated by history, particularly military history, and spurred on by two lockdowns, he took to writing stories. His debut WW2 aviation thrillers launched on the 16th December 2022 with 'The Lightning and The Few,' the story of Jox McNabb, a Scottish schoolboy who earns his wings defending his country in its hour of need. As of June 2026 the... more
Essie Fox
Essie Fox is a traditionally published, Sunday Times Best-selling author of gothic historical mystery novels. Essie has been shortlisted for the National Book Awards, has featured on Channel 4's TV Book Club, has been selected for You Magazine's Book of the Month, and The Times Historical Novel of the Month. She has appeared at various literary events, including panel discussions for the Historical Novel Conferences, and has lectured at the... more
Angela Buckley
Dr Angela Buckley is a historian and author specialising in historical true crime, Victorian and Edwardian detectives, and the evolution of forensic science. With a PhD in detective history, Angela has published several books and is a regular contributor to national media, including magazines, radio, podcasts and TV. ... more
Neil Daws
Neil Daws has been a decent waiter, an average baker and a pretty good printer but most notably a diligent Civil Servant, retiring in 2015 after 30 years, 20 spent in security and counter terrorism. Other short-term jobs taken many years ago include enthusiastic tin-rattler for the Royal National Institute for the Blind, a dog-fearing leaflet distributor and a sticker-on of cork tiles in a hotel foyer. Enthralled by real life tales of... more
