John Dean – Crime Writer

I have always been a huge fan of libraries – my father was a chief librarian, my first summer job was in my local library and many years later, as a volunteer, I played a role in the successful campaign to save that library, and one other in the same town, which had been under threat of closure as part of council cutbacks.

In addition, I have worked with a number of libraries as a crime writer and have been the Crime Writers’ Association Libraries Champion in Scotland for a number of years, one of several Champions across the UK that create a link between the CWA and libraries.

Through it all, I have been struck by the level of expertise and commitment that people who work in libraries bring to their jobs and, as part of my Champion role,  I get to see some of the crime writing events that library staff and volunteers have been putting together for 2026.

It’s exciting stuff, including year-long programmes of talks and a number of mini-festivals, and I’ll post details on my website as they become available.

There are other things involving libraries which will add to the offer in 2026, one of which is voting for the CWA’s annual Dagger in the Library crime fiction award early in the New Year.

Run by the Crime Writers’ Association, the award’s success is down to library staff and volunteers in the UK and Ireland who nominate authors, often following discussions with borrowers, then vote to narrow down the nominations to create the long list. Richard Osman won the 2025 prize and the 2026 long list will be announced in April. More information is available at www.thecwa.co.uk

June will stage the 2026 version of National Crime Reading Month, organised by the CWA and its partners and providing a month of crime writing events featuring many authors and all sorts of venues, including plenty of libraries. Information will be published in due course at www.crimereading.com and I’ll post details here as well.