Australian ghostwriter beats Stephen King and JK Rowling to clinch UK crime writing award

A former celebrity-memoir ghostwriter has beaten Stephen King and JK Rowling to scoop the top honour in the Crime Writers’ Association’s Dagger awards.

Michael Robotham who is from Australia is popular for ghost writing celebrity autobiographies for Geri Halliwell, Lulu and Rolf Harris.

Although, popular for autobiographies, it’s Robotham’s psychological crime novels which have helped to earn him more than 6m book sales, plaudits from Jack Reacher author Lee Child, and now the UK crime writing award.

He was revealed as the Gold Dagger award-winner for his 10th novel, Life Or Death (published by Little, Brown), at a presentation at London’s Malmaison hotel on Tuesday night, joining two American authors to freeze British writers off the rostrum.

Life Or Death, is about a prisoner who escapes from jail the day before he is due to be released, was said by the CWA judges to be a “compelling and fascinating book”. The panel added: “When you start reading Life Or Death, you’ll want to stay curled up in an armchair with one of the best thrillers you’ll read this year.”

Stephen King, whose novel Mr Mercedes was on the shortlist, wasn’t at the event, but J.K Rowling, who was up for the award for The Silkworm, written under her pen name Robert Galbraith, was the first to congratulate Rowbotham on the night, later tweeting her “massive congratulations to my Little, Brown stablemate”.

A lifetime achievement award was given to veteran author Catherine Aird. The CWA is now accepting entries for the 2016 awards.

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