A Cumbrian author is in the running to win one of the UK's most prestigious crime writing awards.

Mike Craven made the longlist of the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Gold Dagger award and it is not the first time.

This is given to what the CWA’s judging panel regards as the best crime novel of the year.

The award was created in 1955. Previous winners include John le Carré, Ruth Rendell, Dick Francis, Colin Dexter, Patricia Cornwell, Val McDermid and Ian Rankin.

Mike Craven lives in Carlisle and is a former head of Cumbria’s probation service.

He is longlisted for Black Summer, book two in his Cumbria-set Washington Poe Series that has gripped fans.

This is the first of Mike’s novels with publisher Little, Brown, for whom he writes as MW Craven.

Mr Craven won the Gold Dagger last year for the first book in the series, The Puppet Show, which features a serial killer burning people alive in Lake District stone circles.

He said: "This year's awards are for books published last year and Black Summer made the list which is pretty extraordinary really.

"Only one other person has won it two years on the trot so I'm hopefully in with a chance.

"It's very exciting and it came just as the third book in the series was released so it was a massive double celebration."

The Curator, the third book in the Washington Poe series was released on June 4.

Mr Craven is used to launch event in Convent Gardens, London although lockdown put a stop to that.

"I would always have a London event at Covent Gardens," he continued.

"This year in Carlisle we were going to have an event at Tullie House but that was cancelled so we did an online event and more than 2,000 people watched it which was extraordinary."

After the success of the online event and spike in sales due to a virtual interview Mr Craven and his editor has decided to take the best bits of lockdown and do those again when the fourth book in the series is released.

A lot of other authors have delayed released due to the coronavirus pandemic but Mr Craven was able to go ahead with his because pre orders were so strong. The sales for The Curator have exceeded all expectations.

Speaking about the success, Mr Craven said: "It's extraordinary really because I didn't really understand where people buy there books from but I assumed that with book shops being shut it would effect my sales quite dramatically.

"The fact that people were keen enough to buy them from sources that they wouldn't normally buy them from is very encouraging. So sales don't seem to be effected lockdown."

Talking about the new book and the new series, Mr Craven noted that it's one of his most successful series.

He said: "The Lake District belongs to everyone, most people have visited and most people will know where Keswick is.

"I've gone down to the south of the county for this book. So a lot of the action takes place off one of the Islands off Barrow.

"I've invented an island, that only 10 people live. The story is centres round the island."