Morse would be pleased with a pint as Colin Dexter gets Theakstons Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Prize


The Harrogate Crime Writing Festival, which takes place each year in July, has awarded the Theakstons Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Prize to the creator of Inspector Morse, Colin Dexter. I'm sure Morse would have appreciated that in the form of a pint of Old Peculiar please.


Colin Dexter, whom I have had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with a few times, is a witty, gentle, modest and intelligent man.  His books are some of my favourites and in my opinion he is a worthy winner of this prize. It also happens to coincide with my re-reading of his Morse novels.
 
Colin Dexter introduced us to Inspector Morse in 1975, with Last Bus to Woodstock. The inspector has appeared in 13 novels and many short stories, as well as in the television series starring the fantastic actor the late John Thaw.

Colin also won the CWA Diamond Dagger and rightly so. He will be presented with the Theakstons Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction award on 19 July at this year's Harrogate crime-writing festival.

Dexter proclaimed himself delighted with the win. "Never had I thought that the gods would be kindly enough to give me such a huge honour so late in my life," he said. "Yet here I am, in my early 80s, feeling a profound and heartfelt gratitude for the great honour bestowed on me."

We thank him for giving us Morse.

A previous winner of the award also includes another of my favourite crime writers the late Reginald Hill.

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