Diamond Dagger Award handed to Val McDermid
13th January 2010
Bestselling writer Val McDermid has won this year's Crime Writers' Association (CWA)/Cartier Diamond Dagger Award.
The accolade recognises outstanding achievement in the crime-writing genre and is handed to authors who have enjoyed a career 'marked by sustained excellence'.
McDermid has written crime-fiction novels such as A Darker Domain, The Mermaids Singing and Beneath the Bleeding, while the ITV series Wire in the Blood was based on her works.
The author said she is 'delighted' to win the award and join the ranks of previous recipients including Elmore Leonard, Ian Rankin and Ruth Rendell.
Margaret Murphy, chair of the CWA, commented: 'Val McDermid is a worthy winner whose work has entertained and thrilled millions of readers as well as many more who have enjoyed the TV adaptations her books have inspired.'
McDermid has received several honours in the past, including the LA Times Book of the Year Award and the Stonewall Writer of the Year Award.
Last year, Andrew Taylor, author of The American Boy and Bleeding Heart Square, won the CWA/Cartier Diamond Dagger Award.