This week, acclaimed British writer Peter James has received one of the most prestigious awards in crime writing, the CWA Diamond Dagger. The award is given out annually to one writer in recognition of excellence and success across their whole career.
Author of the bestselling, much-loved Roy Grace series as well as a number of gripping standalone novels, Peter has been published in 37 languages and has won a number of many international awards including the US Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel in 2012. In 2015 he was voted by WH Smith readers as The Best Crime Author of All Time.
James Runcie, making the opening speech of the Crime Awards evening, managed to reference almost all of Peter’s Roy Grace titles in a very funny sequence that had the whole room laughing.
Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association Len Tyler said that Peter James combines up-to-the-minute accuracy with tight plotting and a fast pace and he considers James to be the King of the Police Procedural.
Peter said he was ‘thrilled and immensely proud’ to win the award, adding: ‘Thanks to all of you at the wonderful Crime Writers Association for giving me an honour which, when I was first published all those years back, was one I could only dream of and never ever believed could one day become a reality.’
Following YOU ARE DEAD, Peter’s 11th novel in the bestselling Roy Grace series which sat for five weeks at the top of the UK bestseller chart, Peter’s new novel LOVE YOU DEAD will be published in paperback 20 October 2016. This new gripping read sees Roy Grace come up against black widow Jodie Bentley, perhaps his most venomous adversary yet.
Peter has also recently launched his own ‘author crime-hub’ YouTube channel, Peter James TV. The channel will feature exclusive interviews with household names in crime including RL Stine, Martina Cole, Lee Child and Paula Hawkins, as well as behind the scenes research footage for his bestselling Roy Grace series.
Praise for Peter James
'Peter James is one of the best crime writers in the business.' – Karin Slaughter
'Exceptional, knock-your-socks-off.' – Washington Post
‘Sinister and riveting… Peter James is one of the best British crime writers, and therefore one of the best in the world.’ – Lee Child
Find out more about Peter James at Blake Friedmann's, Pan Macmillan's and Peter’s websites and follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.