Luther Creator Neil Cross Wins NZ Crime Novel Award

Luther Creator Neil Cross Wins NZ Crime Novel Award

Wellington-based author and screenwriter Neil Cross has been awarded the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel 2012.

British-born Cross is the writer of several novels including the Booker Prize long-listed, Always the Sun. In his diverse career he has been lead scriptwriter for two series of the acclaimed British spy drama Spooks, which led to the creation of the multi-award winning BBC crime thriller, Luther. His prequel to the series and latest novel, Luther: The Calling, is the book that he has been honoured for with the Ngaio Marsh Award.

The win was announced on Saturday night at The Press Christchurch Writers’ Festival and Cross was a last minute attendee, having returned early from filming for the next series of Luther.

Festival Director Marianne Hargreaves says, “The caliber of writers that we had for this award just goes to show the great tradition of crime fiction that exists in this country.”

Paul Cleave, Ben Sanders, Neil Cross and Vanda Symon were all named as finalists for the award, which was introduced in 2010 and is made annually for the best crime, mystery or thriller novel written by a New Zealand citizen or resident.

The Press Christchurch Writers’ Festival is a biennial festival that ran from 30 August to 2 September. For the full programme and details, visit http://chchwritersfest.co.nz.

For more details on the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel visit http://kiwicrime.blogspot.co.nz/

ENDS

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