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MA in Creative Writing student wins prestigious literary prize.

By Eve Lacroix (Senior Communications Officer), Published

City student Richard Jerram (MA Creative Writing, 2024) was awarded the Emerging Author Dagger by the Crime Writers’ Association for his noir thriller Makoto Murders.

Emerging Author Dagger award

The award – previously known as the Debut Dagger – is the most prestigious crime writing competition in the UK.

The novel, which is set in Tokyo, follows a mixed-race photographer from the gutter press who embarks on a series of murders in a tale that is somewhere between Nightcrawler and The ABC Murders.

On winning the Dagger award, he said:

I’m equal parts delighted and surprised to have won the award.

I only entered speculatively, not thinking I was quite ready so I was amazed even to make the longlist.

The awards ceremony was incredible, seeing your name up there with so many brilliant writers.

Student Richard Jerram wears a tuxedo and a bowtie and holds his Dagger award, which is a silver engraved page with a gold dagger affixed to its top
Richard Jerram holds his Dagger award

Dr Joe Thomas, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing and Programme Director for the MA and MFA Creative Writing, supervised Richard’s dissertation. He said:

Richard’s high-concept, Tokyo-based thriller is a deserving winner of a very competitive prize.

The mix of dark humour and intrigue, with an atmospheric description of Japan, is sure to have impressed a tough judging panel.

We’re looking forward to what’s next!

A career that inspired a return to writing

Richard joined City as a mature student following a career working as an economist in the financial markets, having held the role of Chief Economist at the Bank of Singapore and at Macquarie Capital Securities in Japan.

Writing was always an ambition of his, but his attention was elsewhere earlier in his career.

“I had the outline of a novel when I was in my twenties, but career and family were more of a priority,” he said. “It’s hard to find time to write with a wife, two children and a job that starts before seven in the morning.”

This career had lots of surprising benefits and were great sources of great inspiration for his novel Makoto Murders. He said:

As an economist working in financial markets, you need to be able to write quickly and decisively, as well as developing a style to hook the reader. If you are dull and slow, then people will read someone else’s analysis and you won’t have a job for very long. I have no problem in putting pen to paper.

Another dimension is that you meet plenty of sociopaths, as well as their enablers. Not just the people who bend, break or ignore the rules, but the people who facilitate them. That was a big influence on The Makoto Murders, where my protagonist isn’t the nicest person.

Tokyo is a great setting for crime fiction as it’s a very safe place, but there’s a lot going on beneath the surface.

Thinking about some of the people I had worked with in finance, I was playing with the question of how far will we go to succeed. Somehow the bones of the plot fell into place very quickly and I’ve had a lot of fun writing it.

Advice to fellow writers and goals

One of the draws to studying at City was the fact that Dr Joe Thomas teaches at the University. “I loved his São Paulo Quartet and I admire his style,” Richard added.

While returning as a mature student seemed “daunting” at first, his overriding memory is “how supportive and encouraging everyone has been, both staff and fellow students.”

Dr Jonathan Gibbs, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing, said: “Richard’s been a wonderful student and it’s brilliant to see his writing gain recognition in this way, and with such a prestigious prize. I have no doubt that many more people will be able to read his work in the future.”

Richard offered advice to aspiring writers:

You can learn a lot from anyone who knows what they’re doing – they don’t have to be specialised in your genre. Dr Jonathan Gibbs has been wonderful and is a massive asset for the university.

It’s certainly possible to read some books on writing and figure the rest out by yourself. But investing time and money in an MA makes sense in terms of the education and the support network. You’ll get to where you want to be so much faster.

And read. Read, read and read some more. Be curious about the world.

Since winning the award, Richard has already been in discussions with a few agents. His goals are simple: “I want to have a book in the shops.”

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