The Crime Writers’ Association is pleased to announce that crime novelist Martin Edwards has been elected as its new Chair and takes over his duties in January.

Martin Edwards is the author of eighteen novels; the most recent is The Dungeon House. Last year, The Golden Age of Murder, his study of the genre between the wars, won the Edgar, Agatha, H.R.F. Keating and Macavity awards, and was shortlisted for the Anthony award and the CWA Gold Dagger for non-fiction. He is series consultant to the British Library’s Crime Classics and is also President of the Detection Club. His other awards include a CWA Dagger and the CWA Margery Allingham Prize.

Martin said: “I’m delighted to become Chair of a thriving association, which now has more members, here and overseas, than ever before. It’s an honour to follow in the footsteps of Len Tyler, who has worked tirelessly for the CWA, and many other distinguished writers including Dick Francis, Ian Rankin, and Peter James.”

Len Tyler, outgoing Chair, says: “It’s been a great honour to have been Chair of the CWA for almost two years. They have been interesting years, with much to celebrate in crime fiction, which remains a strong and innovative genre. They’ve also been years during which we faced problems with attacks on freedom of speech, library closures and increasing problems for writers in making a living. We’ve tried to support crime writers and speak out when we could. But there’s still so much to be done. I very much regret that other commitments mean that I have had to stand down earlier than expected. I wish the new Chair, Martin Edwards, every success for his term of office and look forward to continuing to work with him and the committee as Past Chair.’