Winning the Diamond Dagger

'With the Elder trilogy, my sales have quadrupled. It's not only that my novels have suddenly got better or that I'm writing more reader-friendly books. Partly, it's that the Frank Elder novels are bigger and longer. Publishers want that. It's also made a difference that the publishers can market them as thrillers, and not just police procedurals. Random House had a serious sales plan, a serious marketing plan; they've pushed the books hard, they've got them into the shops...

'For me, it's a good time to get the Diamond Dagger. It will act as a fillip, to make me try harder. You either rest on your laurels and wait for retirement to tap you on the shoulder, or you think: 'Now what can I do?'

John Harvey, on being awarded the Diamond Dagger by the Crime Writers' AssociationA networking society for some 400 British crime writers (widely defined) and links to their sites. Membership for published writers only, but award a Debut Dagger for the best unpublished crime novel. Some articles from their magazine Red Herrings are posted on the site and there are links to many individual crime writers' websites., in The Times