Mike W. Craven (born 1968) is an English crime writer. He is the author of the Washington Poe series and the DI Avison Fluke series. In 2019 his novel ''The Puppet Show'' won the
Crime Writers' Association
The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors' organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its "Dagger" awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. ...
Gold Dagger
The CWA Gold Dagger is an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom since 1960 for the best crime novel of the year.
From 1955 to 1959, the organization named their top honor as the Crossed Red Herring Award. ...
award.
Biography
Craven was born in
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England.
Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...
and grew up in
Newcastle
Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
.
He joined the
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
at the age of 16.
After two and a half years' training as an armourer, he spent 10 years travelling the world with the army. In 1995, he left the army and began a degree in social work, specialising in criminology, psychology, and substance misuse, before joining the Cumbria Probation Service in
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...
as a probation officer.
After 16 years of service, with the rank of assistant chief executive, he accepted redundancy, and became a full-time author.
Awards
* 2013 CWA Debut Dagger shortlist for ''Born in a Burial Gown''
* 2019 CWA Gold Dagger winner for ''The Puppet Show''
* 2020 CWA Gold Dagger longlist for ''Black Summer''
* 2021 CWA Gold Dagger longlist for ''The Curator''
* 2022 CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger winner for ''Dead Ground''
* 2023 CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger shortlist for ''The Botanist''
* 2023 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award winner for ''The Botanist''
* 2025 Capital Crime Fingerprint Award for Overall Crime Novel of the Year Award winner for ''The Mercy Chair''
Personal life
Craven lives in Carlisle with his wife, Joanne, and his
springer spaniel, Bracken.
Novels
Avison Fluke series
Washington Poe series
Ben Koenig series
Reception
Craven's work has been well received in publications such as The Times,
Woman & Home,
Female First,
Whispering Stories,
and What's Good To Read
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Craven, M. W.
English crime fiction writers
1968 births
Living people
English thriller writers
21st-century English novelists
Writers from Carlisle, Cumbria
21st-century English male writers
British Army soldiers