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The Killer Nashville Claymore Award (named after the medieval claymore weapon) is a literary award presented to honor and discover the best first 50 pages of an unpublished crime literature manuscript containing elements of mystery, thriller, or suspense. The international award was established in 2009 by the Killer Nashville Writers' Conference and consists of numerous success stories.

The Killer Nashville Claymore Award is open to any published or unpublished author regardless of citizenship, but the manuscript is limited only to unpublished manuscripts not currently under contract and manuscripts in English. Judges in the past have considered any subgenre of mystery or thriller, including political thriller, cozy, legal, police procedural, private eye, romantic suspense, paranormal mystery, and historical mystery. Entrants of the Killer Nashville Claymore Award have received publishing contracts through numerous legitimate publishers, as well as movie options.

There is a minimal entry fee for the award to cover out-of-pocket costs of duplicating the manuscripts for the judges. Anyone may enter his or her own manuscript. Ten finalists are chosen through a blind judging process. There is over $1,500 in prizes. The winner receives an engraved replica of a Claymore Dagger, free admission to the current year’s Killer Nashville, and more. The top ten finalists also receive prizes. Any manuscript of exceptional merit deemed ready for submission will be recommended by the Killer Nashville Writers’ Conference to agents, editors, and publishers regardless of placement in the contest. Only publishers appearing on the Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers approved publishers list are recommended to authors by the conference, but authors are under no obligation to accept. Authors and/or their attorney and/or agent negotiate with interested publishers. The Claymore Awards and the Killer Nashville Writers’ Conference have no financial or proprietary interests in any of the manuscripts. The winner is announced at the International Killer Nashville Writers’ Conference Guest of Honor Dinner & Awards Presentation on the Saturday evening of the conference, though winners and nominees do not have to attend or be present to win.

2013
Winner - Terri Coop, Dial 1-Pro-Hac-Vice 1st Runner Up - Jacob M. Appel, The Man Who Trounced God at Chess 2nd Runner Up - Elizabeth Visser, Profile of a Killer

2012
Winner - Jonathan Stone, Again (retitled Moving Day) 1st Runner Up - V.R. Barkowski, A Twist Of Hate 2nd Runner Up (tie, listed in alphabetical order by author) -Carol Baier, Wicked Schemes 2nd Runner Up (tie, listed in alphabetical order by author) - Mark Troy, The Law of the Splintered Paddle

2011
Winner - Judith Dailey, Animal, Vegetable, Murder 1st Runner Up - Craig Faustus Buck, Go Down Hard 2nd Runner Up - Joan Lipinsky Cochran, The Yiddish Gangster's Daughter

2010
Winner - Tom Wallace, Gnosis 1st Runner Up - Carolyn McSparren, A Disciplined Death 2nd Runner Up - Korey Kaul, Jury Rig

2009
Winner - Linda Black, The Death of Noble Dancer