Hammer nails novel move with a Dagger: how a Charles Sturt University alumni moved from journalist to award-winning crime fiction writer

Chris Hammer graduated in the 1980s and after a long and successful journalism career, including two non-fiction books, he’s leapt the divide into the world of fiction. In the process, he’s gone full circle on his interests, going back to his undergraduate days when he learnt from teachers he still remembers with gratitude, including the now-famous and award-winning Peter Temple, who passed away a few years back.

Jock Cheetham interviews Chris Hammer about uni, journalism and crime fiction writing.

Now it’s Hammer winning the awards, namely the prestigious John Creasey Award for the best crime novel by a first-time author at the UK Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) 2019 Dagger awards. CSU journalism lecturer Jock Cheetham interviews Hammer in one of the 2MCE studio where Hammer made his own programs as a student, decades ago.