This caught my eye this morning in the Book2Book newsletter:

The Crime Writers' Association has announced that it is to start charging publishers for any of their books that are shortlisted for its annual Dagger Awards.

The charges for each shortlisted title will be £500 per title for the Duncan Lawrie Dagger, £200 for the Duncan Lawrie International Dagger and Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, and £100 for the New Blood and Non Fiction Daggers. As previously, there is no entry fee for books submitted for the Dagger Awards.

CWA Chair Robert Richardson said: "This is not a money-making move, but a way to reduce the considerable financial costs we face in organising and promoting the Dagger Awards. We are not a wealthy organisation and it is an increasing burden on our limited finances. Authors and publishers benefit from being shortlisted - and especially winning - while there is no gain to the CWA. The income these charges generate will not cover the full costs of the operation, but will leave us with a balance that we can afford. This is solely a CWA committee decision."

Higher profile prizes such as the Booker and Orange prizes charge as much as £2000 per shortlisted title.

Macmillan has always been a strong supporter of the CWA and we were, of course, delighted at Ann Cleeves's success this year. However I found my eyebrows raising at the idea of being charged to be shortlisted. And then a bit higher when I was informed that the Booker and Orange prizes also charge. I quite understand the desire to defray the costs of organising the prize and the winners certainly benefit from the exposure but I have one question. If an author or publisher refuses to pay when shortlisted what then happens? To exclude a book for reasons other than literary surely devalues any literary prize? Or am I just being naive?