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CrimeFest 2024 PDF Free Download

CrimeFest 2024 PDF free Download. Think more deeply and widely.

9-12 May 2024

The International Crime Fiction Convention

Featured Guest Authors

James Lee Burke

Lynda La Plante

Laura Lippman

Denise Mina

Leader of Toasts

Cathy Ace

MURDLE@CrimeFest

an immersive event with creator

G.T. Karber

Participating Authors include

plus

Gala Awards Dinner

with presentations for:

Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award

Last Laugh Award

eDunnit Award

H.R.F. Keating Award

Best Crime Novel for Children

Best Crime Novel for Young Adults

Thalia Proctor Memorial Award for Best

Adapted TV Crime Drama

PROUD SPONSORS OF

Simon Brett

Martin Edwards

Ruth Dudley Edwards

Felix Francis

Frances Fyﬁeld

Janice Hallett

Holly Jackson

Vaseem Khan

Donna Moore

Abir Mukherjee

Alex North

Zoë Sharp

CrimeFest

30021-1T CRIMEFEST 2019 Ad-Cuffs A4 Outlined.indd 1 22/03/2019 12:00

Bringing sponsorship into focus

As proud sponsors of CrimeFest 2024, Specsavers is delighted to be supporting a

literary event which caters for both occasional readers and avid fans of the crime

genre. With a host of established and up and coming authors, it’s sure to be a

fantastic four days.

There’s no denying the draw of a crime novel; full of intrigue, suspense and

multiple plot twists, it’s no surprise that the genre is so popular around the world.

To have a convention that is dedicated to crime ﬁction and which attracts fans from

across the world is testament to its popularity. The fact that it’s here in Bristol is

even more special.

Literary links

The city has a special afﬁnity with Specsavers co-founder Dame Mary Perkins. As

well as being a proud Bristolian, Dame Mary is an avid reader and passionate about

anything that can be done to engage people in literature, celebrate the power of

imagination and reward literary talents.

Specsavers has been a champion of the written word for many years through various sponsorships. These

initiatives, together with its sponsorship of CrimeFest 2024, make perfect sense as good eyesight is essential for

reading and you can’t enjoy an audio book without good hearing.

Community optical and audiology care

A partnership of almost 2,000 locally-run businesses throughout the world, Specsavers is committed to

delivering high quality, affordable optical and audiology care in the communities they serve. This includes

thirteen stores in the Bristol area, all of which are part-owned and managed by its own joint venture partners.

More than one in three people who wear glasses in the UK buy them from Specsavers, with 36 million customers

registered in total. A champion of the National Health Service, of the 22.2 million UK Specsavers customers, 55%

are from the NHS. A home visiting service is also available for those who cannot get to the store unaccompanied.

Looking after your eyes

The importance of making sure you get your eyes tested regularly should not be underestimated. As well as an

essential vision check, your eyes can also reveal a lot about your general health. Unless your vision has changed

though, you might not have given this much thought.

Many conditions have few or even no noticeable symptoms in the early stages. A regular eye test can help

identify and monitor a whole host of issues, including macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, diabetes and

even brain tumours.

Using the very latest technology, your optician will be able to carry out a thorough examination and identify any

problems that might need attention. Early detection is crucial which is why you should make sure you have a

regular check.

A thorough check

Every eye test at Specsavers is performed to the highest standard. An experienced and highly-trained

optometrist will not only check your prescription and level of vision, but also examine the areas around the eyes

to look for signs of abnormality, injury or disease.

Staff training and experience is complemented with the use of advanced optical technology, including digital

retinal photography to provide a detailed picture of the central and peripheral retina, optic disc and macula. This

allows the optician to build up a picture of how your eyes are changing over time.

Specsavers recommends that you have an eye test every two years. However, in some circumstances, your

optician might suggest you have an eye test more frequently if you:

• have diabetes

• are aged 40 or over and have a family history of glaucoma

• are aged 70 or over

Regrettably, Dame Mary is unable to attend CrimeFest (“A highlight of my year”). She is certain that the CrimeFest

family will have a brilliant weekend, and looks forward to being with them again in 2025.

A word from our Sponsor

DAME MARY PERKINS

Co-founder of SpecSavers

30021-1T CRIMEFEST 2019 Ad-Cuffs A4 Outlined.indd 1 22/03/2019 12:00

CONTENTS

CrimeFest Credits and Acknowledgements

Credits

Co-Hosts: Donna Moore & Adrian Muller. Audio, Visual and Staging Support: SA Events. Awards: Bristol Blue Glass.

Bookseller: Waterstones. Delegate Bag Packers: Fiona Holbrook & Ann Mackinolty. Logo: Rob Garraway (Bob 2.0), Bill

Selby (Bob 1.0). Programming: Donna Moore (with input and interference from Adrian Muller). Programme book:

Jennifer Muller. Proofreaders: Steven Mair & Claire Watts. Printer: Imprint Academic. Publicity and PR: Cause UK.

Publishers’ delegate bag liaison: Mike Stotter. Registration desk: Jenny Dunbar & Gianna Faccende. Sponsor liaison:

Edwin Buckhalter. Website: Sue Trowbridge (www.interbridge.com).

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to: Aspyre Accountancy • Bloodhound Books • Bristol Business Centre • Edwin Buckhalter • Jane Burﬁeld •

Cause UK • Clayton Hotels • Martina Cole • Gavin Collinson • the CrimeFest awards judges • the Crime Writers’ Association •

Jenny Dunbar • Martin Edwards • Gianna Faccende • Frances Fyﬁeld • Maggie Grifﬁn • Dr Beatrice Groves • HW Fisher & Co and

Andrew Subramaniam • Free@Last TV • Lizzie Hayes & Mystery People • Imprint Academic • Maxim Jakubowski • G.T. Karber

• Sheila Keating • Peter Kemp • John Lawton • Steven Mair • Max Minerva’s Marvellous Books • Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel •

George Mewett & Sam Ray @ SA Events • the Proctor family • Proﬁle Books, Lily Evans & Drew Jerrison • Red Herring Games •

Richard Reynolds • Mike Ripley • Barry Ryan • Zoë Sharp • Specsavers & Dame Mary Perkins • Louise Torm • Sue Trowbridge •

Waterstones Bristol-Galleries and Edouard Gallais • Claire Watts • the CrimeFest time-keepers • the publishers who provided

contents for the delegate bags • any other individuals, organisations and/or publishers who were accidentally overlooked

or who provided support or assistance after this programme went to print.

We remember Heather Cressy, Bill Gottfried and Thalia Proctor.

All author photos are copyrighted by their respective photographers. The list of panellist biographies and photos in this CrimeFest

programme is current as of 26 April. Changes to this information may be provided at the time of registering or at any time prior to or during

the convention as deemed necessary.

CrimeFest’s stated aim is to give all delegates the opportunity to celebrate the genre in a friendly, informal and inclusive atmosphere.

Attendees are asked to respect commonsense rules for public behaviour, personal interaction, common courtesy and the rights of others.

CrimeFest supports diversity and free speech, and all attendees are expected to be considerate of others.

Comments and views expressed by interviewers, interviewees, moderators and panellists during CrimeFest are their own and do not

necessarily reﬂect those of the organisers.

A Word From Our Sponsor: Dame Mary Perkins, Co-Founder of Specsavers ..................................... 3

Welcome to CrimeFest 2024 ........................................................................................................................... 7

Featured Guest Author and 2024 CWA Diamond Dagger Recipient: James Lee Burke ..................... 9

Featured Guest Author and 2024 CWA Diamond Dagger Recipient: Lynda La Plante .................... 11

Featured Guest Author: Laura Lippman.......................................................................................................13

Featured Guest Author: Denise Mina...........................................................................................................15

Ghost of Honour: P.D. James...........................................................................................................................17

Leader of Toasts: Cathy Ace...........................................................................................................................19

The Panellists ...................................................................................................................................................20

Floor Plan .........................................................................................................................................................36

Itinerary ............................................................................................................................................................37

Awards ...............................................................................................................................................................43

CELEBRATING A DECADE OF

CRIME FICTION AT CRIMEFEST

OUT NOW

available on audible

UK: NOEXIT.CO.UK USA: POISONEDPENPRESS.COM

WITH STORIES BY BILL BEVERLY | SIMON BRETT | LEE CHILD | ANN CLEEVES | JEFFERY DEAVER

MAJ SJÖWALL | MICHAEL STANLEY | ANDREW TAYLOR

‘Edwards and Muller

have assembled top-

notch talent in this

enteaining anthology

of 20 original sho

stories… High-quality

entries from the likes

of Lee Child, Jeery

Deaver, and Ian Rankin,

as well as from lesser-

known authors such as

Bill Beverly, elevate this

above similar volumes.’

– PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Welcome

from the Co-Hosts

Donna Moore and Adrian Muller

CELEBRATING A DECADE OF

CRIME FICTION AT CRIMEFEST

OUT NOW

available on audible

UK: NOEXIT.CO.UK USA: POISONEDPENPRESS.COM

WITH STORIES BY BILL BEVERLY | SIMON BRETT | LEE CHILD | ANN CLEEVES | JEFFERY DEAVER

MAJ SJÖWALL | MICHAEL STANLEY | ANDREW TAYLOR

‘Edwards and Muller

have assembled top-

notch talent in this

enteaining anthology

of 20 original sho

stories… High-quality

entries from the likes

of Lee Child, Jeery

Deaver, and Ian Rankin,

as well as from lesser-

known authors such as

Bill Beverly, elevate this

above similar volumes.’

– PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

A very warm welcome! Has it really been a year? Fasten your seatbelts. 2024’s

CrimeFest promises to be murderously good.

We are thrilled to host truly iconic Featured Guests, and are equally

grateful to programme so many fabulous authors – regulars and newbies –

who registered to take part (or to generous publishers who did!). Thank you for

helping make our event as special as it is.

It’s a huge honour to present – in collaboration with the Crime Writers’

Association (CWA) – the two 2024 recipients of their highest accolade, the

Diamond Dagger: James Lee Burke and Lynda La Plante.

CrimeFest prides itself on live events so that everyone – be it

writers, readers, booksellers, publishers, or our wonderful sponsors H.W.

Fisher, and Dame Mary Perkins and Specsavers – can meet in person to celebrate the genre we love. But we are

not so obstinate as to pass on interviewing a crime ﬁction legend, James Lee Burke – an author known not to

travel outside the USA. So, James will be interviewed live via video stream by the wonderful Vaseem Khan, the

bestselling author, CWA chair and JLB superfan.

Lynda La Plante is unique. She has forged her own path as a polymath: actress, screenwriter, producer,

and, of course, award-winning novelist. And in so doing, she has shaped our cultural landscape. As a longtime

friend, Maxim Jakubowski is well-placed as interviewer to unearth her stories behind Widows, Prime Suspect, her

bestselling crime books and upcoming memoir.

As a two-time CrimeFest Award winner, Laura Lippman was invited to attend in 2020; it took a pandemic

to stop her. Considering her acclaimed (and award-winning!) status, it would have been criminal not to ask her to

take up her rightful place as a Featured Guest. She will be here to give us the in-person news on Tess Monaghan

and future standalone novels. Oh, and every time Laura has been nominated for a CrimeFest Award, she has won.

Will she be able to maintain her winning streak with her latest nominated standalone, Prom Mom?

We’re glad to see that Denise Mina is popping up everywhere these days, and not just in the bookshop

(don’t miss her fab literary travel series with Frank Skinner on Sky Arts and Now TV!). What’s more, together with

Shetland adapter David Kane, she is bringing her Alex Morrow books to the small screen. AND she is the ﬁrst

woman to be asked to write a new instalment in Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe series. Will there be more?

What’s up next? Find out in Abir Mukherjee’s no doubt brilliantly entertaining (no pressure) interview with Denise.

We are delighted to have Simon Brett back as ‘Ghost Host,’ with P.D. James being the author under the

spotlight. We were stunned and honoured when, in 2012, we were approached about whether we would like her

as a guest! Aged 92, she couldn’t have been more graceful and willing to take part. To help honour this ‘Queen of

Crime,’ Simon is joined by her fellow friends, the author Frances Fyﬁeld and Sunday Times critic Peter Kemp, and

we are truly delighted to welcome her granddaughter, Dr Beatrice Groves.

This year’s Leader of Toasts is Welsh-Canadian author, Cathy Ace. Having graduated from university in

psychology, Cathy went on to travel the world working in marketing and communications, setting up her own

business along the way. Her intelligence and empathy clearly shine through in her WISE Enquiries Agency series,

and books featuring Cait Morgan. Barry Ryan, producer of Agatha Raisin, is set to bring Cait to the small screen,

and might be asking Cathy for some tips when he interviews Cathy on Saturday,

No CrimeFest Pub Quiz this year? We know. It’s shocking. However, we have a one-off, unique (and even

more challenging?) event in its place featuring none other than the #1 bestselling title of 2023… G.T. Karber’s

Murdle! Courtesy of Souvenir Press and Proﬁle Books, G.T. is making a rare UK appearance to host a live,

immersive Murdle event. Open to all delegates, only the lucky few who were randomly drawn from those who

entered will be trying to solve the puzzles. But all delegates are welcome to come and watch how many crime

ﬁction aﬁcionados it takes to solve a Murdle…

The Pub Quiz may be taking a year off, but other favourites are back: Authors Remembered; the Fresh

Blood (debut authors) panel; and the closing event, the Criminal Mastermind Quiz with InQuizitor, Maxim

Jakubowski. Quiz contestants include: Laura Lippman (on Columbo); Stuart Field on the Washington Poe novels of M.J.

Craven; and Zoë Sharp on the Reacher television series. Don’t forget: audience members get to guess who they think

will win, and one person with the correct answer receives TWO complimentary tickets to CrimeFest 2025.

Till that closing event, we hope you enjoy the diverse panels, laugh deeply and have deep chats, meet

old friends and make new ones, and of course, feel inspired to read (or write!).

All that remains to say is: to the regulars, welcome back! We are so grateful for your continuing support.

To the newcomers, we can’t wait to meet you. We’ve already forgotten that this is your ﬁrst time and, by Sunday,

so will you.

Sara Paretsky

Manuel Ramos

John Copenhaver

Grace Koshida

March 13–16, 2025

Westin Denver Downtown

leftcoastcrime.org/2025

FEATURED GUEST AUTHOR

James Lee Burke

By Vaseem Khan

I ﬁrst came across James Lee Burke via the medium of the silver screen. Surﬁng channels

one evening I happened to chance upon a favourite actor – Tommy Lee Jones – mid-

scene, assaying one of his trademark gnarly performances. The ﬁlm was In the Electric

Mist, a 2009 movie based on James Lee Burke’s book In the Electric Mist with Confederate

Dead. Tommy Lee Jones was playing Burke’s iconic series character, Dave Robicheaux,

a former homicide detective from the New Orleans Police Department, now living and

working in Louisiana for a local sheriff’s ofﬁce.

What struck me immediately was not only the incredibly evocative setting – a

land of bayous, drawling southern accents, and a tangibly louche morality – but also

Dave Robicheaux’s utter unwillingness to compromise with the forces of disorder. Here

was a detective I could understand, a detective a crime reader could believe in, an

imperfect man in thrall to his own reckoning of right and wrong.

Fast forward over a decade to 2024 and James Lee Burke is conferred the highest

honour in crime ﬁction: the Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger – a lifetime

achievement award judged by a glittering cast of previous Diamond Dagger winners,

a gallery of some of the most well known names in the genre. As the current Chair of

the CWA, I was asked to pen a few words for Burke’s dedication. Here is what I had to

say: ‘James Lee Burke's lyrical depiction of the American South transcends crime ﬁction - his prose is often considered

among the best to have graced the genre. For many, Dave Robicheaux is the very embodiment of the dogged, morally

incorruptible detective beset by personal demons - a beautifully rendered character.’

James Lee Burke himself is the very embodiment of the writers’ writer.

A novelist respected for both the longevity and quality of his oeuvre, he is also an author who has done things

the hard way, battling the publishing industry very much in the way that Dave Robicheaux battles his way through a

swamp of iniquity through the series.

Born in Houston, Texas, in 1936, Burke grew up along the Texas-Louisiana Gulf coast, obsessed by the written

word from an early age. By his early thirties, he had three well reviewed novels under his belt, starting with Half of

Paradise in 1965. But then the wheels came off. His next book, The Lost Get Back Boogie, managed to garner enough

rejections to wallpaper the Great Wall of China – over a hundred in all, quite possibly (according to the man himself) a

publishing industry record.

And yet, when the book was ﬁnally published, in 1986, it went on to be nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, proving,

once again, that the publishing industry is often home to those who wouldn’t know a good book if it came up and

punched them on the nose.

Nevertheless, perhaps chastened by the experience, Burke decided to switch gears: his next novel was a crime

ﬁction offering, The Neon Rain, introducing readers to Lieutenant Dave Robicheaux, Vietnam vet and former homicide

detective.

The book was an instant hit, delighting critics and fans alike. It set the mould for Robicheaux’s particular

interests as a detective, namely, his willingness to ﬁght for the underdog, those that society has chosen to kick to

the margins. In The Neon Rain, it is the murder of a young, black prostitute that outrages Robicheaux, propelling his

journey into the Louisiana netherworld, a twilight zone populated by the rich and powerful – living side by side with

the poor and disenfranchised – of the traumatised American south, a land where racial fault lines continue to dictate

the ﬂow of life.

It will be both my honour and a highlight of my writing life to interview James Lee Burke at Crimefest, having

just ﬁnished reading Clete, the twenty-fourth and latest in the Robicheaux series. The idea that I, a British Asian kid

growing up in London, would one day be able to shoot the breeze with a giant of the genre, a man whose writing has

inspired not just my own, but so many around the world, seems the stuff of fairytales.

Yet the one thing I can probably say without fear of correction is that James Lee Burke doesn’t believe in fairytales.

Following the nine-year dry spell before The Lost Get Back Boogie ﬁnally found a publisher, Burke suggested that he

had learned a valuable lesson, namely that success is ‘a ﬁckle lady’ and guaranteed to leave you just as fast as she

arrives.

Thankfully, success has continued to ride Burke’s – and Dave Robicheaux’s – coattails for well over three

decades.

– Vaseem Khan is the current chair of the Crime Writers’ Association (the CWA) and the author of two award-winning

crime series, including the Malabar House novels set in 1950s India. His latest novel is Death of a Lesser God.

Sara Paretsky

Manuel Ramos

John Copenhaver

Grace Koshida

March 13–16, 2025

Westin Denver Downtown

leftcoastcrime.org/2025

Many might be of the opinion that awarding Lynda La Plante the CWA Diamond

Dagger is well overdue, but on the other hand it serendipitously coincides with

the forthcoming publication of her memoirs evoking a lifetime of craft and

unmeasurable success in the book and ﬁlm & TV world, as well as the very ﬁnal

Jane Tennison novel Whole Life Sentence. And what a career it has been, already

rewarded by a panoply of prizes and encomiums. Not that one would ever envisage

Lynda resting on her laurels and I am conﬁdent we will still see more books and

screen successes elegantly taking ﬂight from her pen (or word processor) in the

years to come!

Born Lynda Titchmarsh in Lancashire in 1943 and raised in Liverpool, her

early career saw her trained as an actress at RADA, with early appearances as Lynda

Marchal in a variety of small screen programmes like Z Cars, The Sweeney, The

Professionals and Bergerac, alongside a stint with the Royal Shakespeare Company

and a memorable recurring role in children’s series Rentaghost. But she took the

front stage in 1983 when she created the now legendary six-part Thames TV series

Widows, about the wives of four dead bank robbers thrown by circumstances into

a life of crime. Even at this early stage, all the characteristics of Lynda’s writing

were already at the fore: powerful female characters, the thin line separating duty to family and criminality and

surviving societal pressures against the odds. The series proved a major success and spawned a sequel and,

decades later, the splendid Steve McQueen movie.

This was soon followed by her ﬁrst novel, The Legacy, which was quickly succeeded by a series of further

bestsellers including The Talisman, Bella Maﬁa and Entwined. Sharing her time between books and screenwriting,

Lynda began work in 1990 on the creation of Prime Suspect, the Granada TV series that introduced the hard as

rock character of policewoman Jane Tennison, memorably interpreted in a career breakthrough by Helen Mirren.

An instant and massive success, the series ran from 1991 to 2006, and garnered awards all over the world, paving

the way for a palette of empowered, powerful, if realistically vulnerable too, female protagonists in a male world

and society where the odds were institutionally stacked against them. It could even be said that Prime Suspect

changed the face, and representation of women on the small and big screen and its inﬂuence happily persists

to this day. For this alone, Lynda La Plante deserves all the accolades she has been given, but it proved just the

beginning.

Never one to rest on her laurels, Lynda then created one of my own favourite characters, Lorraine Page in

her Cold series of books (Cold Blood, Cold Heart, Cold Shoulder) featuring a Los Angeles alcoholic female cop now

seeking redemption as a private investigator; a rare example of a British crime writer using an American setting

and getting the mood just right.

And the hits continued, on the page and the screen: The Seekers, and then under the umbrella of her

own production company, The Governor, Trial and Retribution, The Commander, etc… many of which she also

wrote as novels in parallel to their ﬁlm incarnations. Due to overwhelming public demand Lynda has also

returned to Jane Tennison, but rather than milking the much-loved character with an avalanche of sequels, she

ingeniously decided to go back in time to the younger protagonist, prior to the TV series, and offered us a series

of books detailing how Jane became the force of nature she evolved into. Further memorable characters have

sprung from her pen, including nine superlative police procedural novels featuring DCI Anna Travis, the ﬁrst of

which was Above Suspicion.

One could ﬁll pages enumerating her over ﬁfty novels and twenty classic ﬁlm and TV triumphs, let alone

all the rewards she has received as a result from the ﬁlm industry (including a BFI Fellowship) and the world of

books, her forensic science podcast and other activities, but most of all, one must acclaim the undeniable fact

that Lynda La Plante has changed the way that women are represented in crime and mystery ﬁction, no longer

just victims or femmes fatales or sidekicks, but vibrant , complex characters of ﬂesh and blood, intelligence and

contradictions; just like in real life, you will say but someone had to demonstrate it ﬁrst, so thank you Lynda and

congratulations on your CWA Diamond Dagger.

– Maxim Jakubowski is a writer, editor, reviewer and erstwhile bookstore owner and publisher.

FEATURED GUEST AUTHOR

Lynda La Plante

By Maxim Jakubowski

Featured Guest Author

Laura Lippman

By Ayo Onatade

To say that I have been a longstanding fan of Laura Lippman's is an understatement.

I am not even sure that she will remember when we ﬁrst met. But I do. I was

attending my ﬁrst Bouchercon in Baltimore in 2008, and it had the tagline 'Charmed

to Death'. It was most appropriate as not only was her second book entitled

Charmed City, but Laura Lippman was the American Guest of Honour that year. Also,

despite being nominated in a very strong list, her What The Dead Know, won the

Bouchercon’s Anthony Award for Best Novel. She has won an Edgar, Barry, Shamus,

Agatha, Nero Wolfe, Gumshoe and Anthony Award. Amongst her fellow crime writers

she is held in very high esteem and amongst readers she is considered to be one of

the best writers of the genre who never fails to garner new fans consistently.

Laura is one of those authors who not only writes great books, whether

they are part of a series or standalones, but is also one of the most charming crime

writers around. She has written to date twenty-six novels as well as a number of

novellas and short stories. Stephen King called her '... special, even extraordinary,'

and Gillian Flynn wrote, 'She is simply a brilliant novelist.' Both of those statements

I heartily agree with. I would also add that her novels are not known for being easy

reads, but they are also a delight for me and I am sure others agree that her liking

for noir seeps through them as well. I would be the ﬁrst in line if she ever decided

to write a noir novel.

She ﬁrst came to the fore whilst still a beat reporter for the Baltimore Sun when Baltimore Charms was

published in 1997. The rst in her Baltimore based Tess Monaghan series, it is a series that fans would love to see

more of. One can only hope that Tess will return. I certainly hope so.

Her standalone books are exceptionally good, and from the ﬁrst, the critically acclaimed Every Secret

Thing which was adapted into a ﬁlm to her most current Prom Mom, which centers on a teenage with an

unwanted pregnancy and is clearly her most political novel to date, Laura never fails to write thought-provoking,

page-turning reads that are enjoyable and difﬁcult to put down.

Her third standalone novel, What The Dead Know, was shortlisted for a Crime Writers' Association

Gold Dagger and her 2019 novel, Lady in the Lake (the title which pays tribute to her love of noir and Raymond

Chandler's novel of the same title), has been made into an Apple TV+ series which is due out in 2024. Her books

regularly make the end of year lists of editors of such newspapers as The New York Times, The Washington Post

and People magazine.

Her collection of essays, My Life as a Villainess, are not only thought-provoking but also a personal

collection which spans different times and incidents in her life. Reading the collection is like having the

opportunity to gain a ringside seat into the world of a favourite but ﬂawed character.

Whether it is the beloved Tess Monaghan series or her standalone novels which get better and better all

the time, she is one of the few authors whose books immediately get bumped up on my big reading pile. I mean

why not? Reading a Laura Lippman novel is like indulging in your favourite dessert. They are to be savoured. She

easily demonstrates how storytelling should be done with a grace and a thoroughness along with a slowburn in

her stories which ensures as a reader you don't want them to ﬁnish.

It has always been one of my greatest secret wishes to interview Laura at an actual event since the ﬁrst

time I interviewed her 20 years ago and whilst we have done a few written interviews since then, for me this is

deﬁnitely going to go down as one of my favourite interviews.

Everytime Laura Lippman comes out with a new book I get chills in anticipation, she is that good. If you

have never read a Laura Lippman book then I would urge you to do so. As a reader, I can quite steadfastly say

hurry up and what has taken you so long.

Welcome to CrimeFest and Bristol, Laura. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I have over the years.

– Ayo Onatade is a freelance crime ﬁction commentator and blogger. She has written articles, given papers as well

as taking part and moderating panels on all aspects of crime ﬁction.

13—15 SEPT 2024

SCOTLAND’S INTERNATIONAL

CRIME WRITING FESTIVAL

STIRLING

BLOODYSCOTLAND.COM

There are some authors you can’t help but admire. Whether you’re a reader, a newly

published author or an old (and getting ever older) hand like me, there are a select

few writers who can thrill us not just with the power of their plots, but also with the

beauty of their prose and their insights into the human condition; who, when you

read their work, just make you think, wow.

For me, Denise Mina is one of those writers. I’ve told her as much… which

is to say that about a decade ago, before I was ever published, I ran up to her at a

literary festival in Norwich, fanboyed breathlessly at her about how much I loved

her work and, well, basically wow.

To her credit, she reacted as well as can be expected for someone all but

accosted by a gushing lunatic in the middle of a minor road in Norwich. Indeed

she was most gracious, and when I told her that I hoped one day to be a published

writer, gave me words of encouragement and most importantly, didn’t call the

police.

Ten years on, not that much has changed. Mina is still fantastic and I still

go wow when I read her work or when I meet her, and she for her part, still hasn’t

called the cops.

So what can I tell you about her?

Like all the best people, she’s from Glasgow, but her childhood was peripatetic, moving twenty-one times

in eighteen years and living everywhere from Paris to Bergen to Invergordon.

She left school at 16 and worked in a variety of deadend jobs, all of them badly, before studying at night

school to get into Glasgow University Law School.

She went on to study for a PhD at Strathclyde, misusing her student grant to write her ﬁrst novel,

Garnethill, which was published in 1998 and which won the CWA John Creasey Dagger for Best First Crime Novel.

Garnethill introduced readers to the ﬂawed yet compelling protagonist, Maureen O'Donnell, and was the ﬁrst of

Mina's Garnethill trilogy, followed by Exile and Resolution. All garnered widespread critical acclaim for their raw

portrayals of Glasgow's urban landscape and their detailed and compassionate explorations of complex themes

such as trauma, mental illness, and social injustice.

More than that, and speaking as a Glaswegian, I can tell you that the Garnethill trilogy speaks to the soul

of our city, capturing its essence in a way few other writers ever have or could, perhaps because she is, in some

ways, the living embodiment of the spirit of place – vibrant, sociable, fucking smart and damn funny.

Mina's subsequent works have further solidiﬁed her reputation as a master of the genre. Her standalone

novels, including The Field of Blood, The End of the Wasp Season and The Long Drop, have earned her numerous

awards and nominations, including the CWA Gold Dagger Award, the Barry Award and the CrimeFest eDunnit

Award.

Her work is the gold standard for today’s crime ﬁction, comprising multi-dimensional, vividly real

characters, nuanced and tension-ﬁlled plots, social commentary, psychological insights and some of the best

damn prose and dialogue you’ll read anywhere, including what’s termed literary ﬁction.

To date, she’s written nineteen novels as well as plays and graphic novels and fronted a plethora of TV

shows, all of which probably qualiﬁes her as a bona ﬁde national treasure.

With each new endeavour, she continues to captivate with her compelling narratives, sharp wit, and keen

insight into the darker aspects of human nature. Her latest, The Second Murderer, written with the blessing of the

Raymond Chandler estate and featuring Philip Marlowe, is no exception. Whether she's exploring the intricacies

of a murder investigation or delving into the complexities of personal relationships, Mina's writing never fails to

leave a lasting impression, making her one of the true greats in the world of crime ﬁction.

– Abir Mukherjee is a Times bestselling author of the Wyndham & Banerjee series of crime novels set in colonial-

era India. His books have been translated into ﬁfteen languages and won various awards including the CWA

Dagger for best Historical Novel, the Prix du Polar Européen, and the Wilbur Smith Award for Adventure Writing.

His ﬁrst standalone thriller, Hunted, is out on 9th May.

Featured Guest Author

Denise Mina

By Abir Mukherjee

Occasionally, we encounter individuals with whom we share an immediate

extraordinary and electric connection beyond the ordinary. Such was the case in 2018,

at the CrimeFest Awards dinner. Defying the rules, myself and a friend found ourselves

perched perhaps unlawfully upon the building's front roof – a spot we'd cheekily

reached by clambering out of the window in search of a place to indulge in a smoke. It

was there, amidst the thrill of the forbidden, that I crossed paths with the unstoppable

whirlwind known as Cathy Ace. She had wisely found a door. Where those paths then

led is a story of synergistic discovery.

Cathy is that force of nature that you feel like you have known forever, even

after a few minutes. Cathy has a magical charm and an easy unintrusive intimacy. She

is Leader of Toasts with charm, wit and chat. It’s no secret that we are now very good

friends, and I will be forever grateful to CrimeFest for the magic meeting and the joy of

the friendship we have.

Born in Wales, (don’t you dare forget that, it matters, it’s in the DNA), and now

residing in Canada, Cathy Ace's background is as intriguing as the mysteries she writes.

Her own life is a novel in itself.

It’s no surprise that Cathy was a successful public relations consultant before she was a novelist. One could

easily envision her captivating audiences, weaving narratives as rich and intricate as tapestries to showcase her clients

and their offerings to an expectant globe. Words are Cathy’s currency, the coin of her realm and her chosen medium

of exchange and expression. And in Cathy’s world words matter! Each word she utters is chosen with deliberate intent;

nothing is said loosely or without careful consideration. Her words are informed, planted and nurtured to full bloom.

Cathy’s transition from a corporate career to a full-time writer is a testament to her passion for storytelling

but also the crime ﬁction genre. Cathy’s superpower is expertise; her knowledge is vast, born from extensive reading.

And extensive TV viewing. I make telly and we are equals as telly addicts on the verge of anoraks, watching at least one

episode of everything. She is forensic in her analysis, where I will go ‘Oh I hate that actress/actor/trope’ she will deﬁne

what in the performance, writing or production was at fault. The devil is in the details and Cathy knows what works

and what doesn’t and understands why something hasn’t resonated.

Cathy’s literary debut introduced readers to a refreshing perspective in a ﬁeld often dominated by homage

to writers of the past. But wait, here comes Cait Morgan. Professor Cait Morgan, the protagonist in Cathy Ace's mystery

series, stands out for her remarkable memory and her expertise in criminal psychology. What makes her truly unique

is her academic lens; her use of sociological and psychological analysis and, of course, her eidetic memory, which

allows her to recall every detail of the crime scenes she encounters, a trait that proves invaluable in solving intricate

puzzles and mysteries.

Cait's Welsh heritage and her position as a criminologist living in Canada add rich layers of cultural depth to

her character and the novels' settings.

Proudly and resolutely Welsh-Canadian, Cait is passionate, very modern. They say write what you know, but

this isn’t biography, this is a singularly brilliant creation reﬂecting the author's own heritage, bringing a blend of

Welsh sensibility and Canadian pragmatism to her investigations. This bicultural background enriches the stories with

truthful diverse perspectives and cultural nuances with a top layer of epicurean ﬁnesse and delight. Cait is intelligent,

conﬁdent, and like her creator has a slightly acerbic wit. Her character is superbly layered and has vulnerabilities that

make her relatable and human.

It's this attention to detail that makes her ﬁction rich. The devil is in her detail. I read The Corpse with the

Silver Tongue, Cait Morgan’s ﬁrst foray to France, in one sitting. I instantly fell in love with Cait’s unsure but accurate

instinctive detection and understood her. I got her. Which is probably good because we are adapting them for

television. This wasn’t a friendship move, I genuinely can see Cait on telly. Just watch this space.

Her second series is the adorable WISE Enquiries Agency novels, an all-female detective agency: four women

from diverse backgrounds, each with her own unique skills and perspectives. A Welsh former police ofﬁcer, an Irish

woman with a knack for technology and security, a Scottish aristocrat with investigative experience, and a Jamaican

with deep insights into human behaviour. Together, they tackle cases that blend quirky community issues with deeper

crimes. This diversity and the strength of women working together is what sets the WISE Enquiries Agency apart in the

crime ﬁction landscape and makes for a joyous rompy read.

Like her heroine, Cathy is a hackabout, always somewhere: Canada, Wales, her beloved Vegas or instructing

future writers on multiple cruise ships and this gives her a constantly refreshing new precinct for her continued global

adventures. I look forward to her role of Leader of Toasts with great excitement, and to my interview with her on

Sunday. She has a lot to say so I might not need that many questions.

– Barry Ryan is a television producer and motormouth gobshite. He has been a writer and journalist for over 35 years.

His companies are Free@Last TV and Format Factory. He is about to podcast. @bazboxer2022. Follow him.

LEADER OF TOASTS

Cathy Ace

By Barry Ryan

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ORIGINAL

ARTWORK

Who lit the fuse

that tore Harold’s

World Apart?

I remember being with a group of writers in 1989 when it was announced that

Václav Havel had assumed the Presidency of what was then Czechoslovakia. A

discussion ensued about the suitability of contemporary British writers for

political ofﬁce. The proposal of Jeffrey Archer was greeted with appropriate hilarity.

Then I suggested P.D. James, and the room went quiet. Because everyone was

thinking, ‘That’s, actually, not such a bad idea.’

The incident demonstrates how much more than a writer Phyllis was. She

was also a dedicated public servant, a serious thinker and a very busy member of

the House of Lords.

But it is for her work as a writer of crime ﬁction that we are celebrating

her as the 2024 CrimeFest’s Ghost of Honour. Her achievements in the ﬁeld

are remarkable. She was over forty when her ﬁrst novel, ‘Cover Her Face’, was

published. In spite of her growing success as a writer, she didn’t give up her day

job, a senior position in the Home Ofﬁce, until a year before mandatory retirement.

It was round the time that her novel, ‘Innocent Blood’, created a manic bidding

war in the States. As I heard her telling an audience, ‘Well, then I made a million

dollars in a week, and I thought I could give up the day job.’

Phyllis put extraordinary effort into her writing and had no patience with authors who didn’t do their

research properly. Her approach to the books was unusual. Most crime novelists work in a linear fashion. They

start at the beginning and, though much rewriting may be done during the ﬁrst draft and afterwards, they work

on towards the end. Phyllis didn’t do that. She once described her process to me as ‘like making a ﬁlm’. She

would spend up to a year working out the plot and outlining every scene within it. Then, when she started

writing, she would begin with the scene that was most vivid to her. It might be the discovery of the body or the

confrontation with the perpetrator. Then she would ﬁll in the other scenes. As I say, an unusual approach for a

crime novelist, but Phyllis’s international sales and critical acclaim suggest that she was doing something right.

She was also generous to other writers. Back in the 1980s, she wrote a quote about one of my books; ‘A

new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans.’ And - would you believe it – that is still appears on the back of

every book I publish?

I spent two separate weeks co-tutoring Arvon writing courses on Crime Fiction with Phyllis in the

relatively spartan conditions of a house called Totleigh Barton deep into Devon. She was then in her seventies

but mucked in with everyone else and had inﬁnite patience when talking to the course participants about their

work.

Those weeks always ended up with an evening of readings. One of my treasured memories is of Baroness James

of Holland Park actually singing her witty poem about Colin Watson’s invented whodunit village Mayhem Parva to

sixteen very fortunate aspiring writers in a barn in the middle of Devon.

What people who didn’t know Phyllis personally could not appreciate was how mischievous she could be.

And funny. I remember once having a conversation with her about the questions we least liked being asked in Q

& As, and we agreed the most annoying were: ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’ and ‘Are you writing anything

at the moment?’

Then Phyllis told me of an incident when she had a call from her agent, saying that a Dutch television

company wanted to ﬁlm her at home. They would arrive at eight-thirty in the morning, set up the cameras, do

the interview, and be away by ten. Phyllis agreed to do it.

As arranged, on the appointed day they arrived at eight-thirty but, because they were a television

company, they laid cables across and trod mud into the carpets of her immaculate house in Holland Park Avenue.

They moved around all the precious artefacts in her study and spent an inordinate amount of time adjusting the

lights to the director’s satisfaction. Eventually, just after noon, Phyllis was sat down in her chair opposite her

interviewer.

‘Miss James,’ asked the Dutch journalist, ‘are you writing anything at the moment?’

‘Well,’ said Phyllis, with some asperity, ‘I would be!’

P.D. James was a wonderful writer. She was a wonderful person. I feel privileged to have known her.

– Simon Brett's many mysteries include the Charles Paris, Mrs Pargeter, Fethering, Blotto & Twinks and

Decluttering series. He has been awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger and an OBE 'for services to literature.

Ghost of Honour

P.D. James

By Simon Brett

THE PANELLISTS

Cathy Ace's Cait Morgan Mysteries

are Christie-esque whodunit featuring

a globetrotting Welsh Canadian

psychologist (optioned for TV by Free@

LastTV). Her WISE Enquiries Agency

Mysteries feature a quartet of softly

poached female PIs solving cases from

a Welsh stately home. She’s won the Bony Blithe

Award, IPPY and IBA Awards, and has been twice

shortlisted for CWC Awards of Excellence, plus the

CrimeFictionLover Best Indie. She’s a Past Chair of

Crime Writers of Canada. Website: www.cathyace.com

Graham Bartlett, a former detective

and Chief Superintendent, co-wrote with

Peter James the non-ﬁction Death Comes

Knocking – Policing Roy Grace’s Brighton

and Babes in the Wood. He now writes

the bestselling and award-winning Chief

Superintendent Jo Howe crime novels,

Bad for Good, Force of Hate and City on

Fire. Known as ‘the crime writers’ crime writer’, Graham

is a police procedure and crime advisor/ tutor, helping

scores of authors and TV writers achieve authenticity

alongside their drama. Website: www.policeadvisor.co.uk

Jane Adams is an accidental crime

writer, now author of almost ﬁfty novels

across several series. They range from

historical with Henry Johnstone, set

between the two World Wars, procedural,

in company of DI Mike Croft, cosy

with Rina Martin and all points in

between. She is currently published by Severn House

and Joffe Books and reads and mentors for The

Literary Consultancy. When not playing with words

she likes to garden, paint and draw. Website: www.

janeadamsauthor.com

Tina Baker worked as a journalist/

broadcaster for thirty years, mainly as a

tv critic for the BBC and GMTV. And she

won Celebrity Fit Club. Her debut novel,

Call Me Mummy, was a Number #1 Kindle

bestseller. She brings dark humour to

domestic noir. She lives in London with

her husband and too many cats. Find her

on social media @TinaBakerBooks. Website tinabaker.

co.uk

Lucy Banks moved from Hertfordshire

to Devon where she was inspired by

the mysterious moors and coastlines.

Author of The Depths, Caged Little

Birds, plus the Dr Ribero's Agency of the

Supernatural series, she’s won various

literary awards. She also works in the

library sector, supporting libraries across the country

with delivering children's services.

Charlotte Barnes is an author

and academic from the West

Midlands. She lectures in Creative and

Professional Writing at the University

of Wolverhampton, and her research

specialism is true crime and crime

ﬁction. Barnes is the author of over

ten novels, including Sincerely, Yours, Penance, The

Good Child and, most recently, A True Crime. She is

currently working on a new psychological thriller. More

information about her work and writing can be found

on her website: www.charleybarneswriter.com

D.V. Bishop writes the award-winning

Cesare Aldo historical thrillers set in

Renaissance Florence. His ﬁrst, City

of Vengeance, won the NZ Booklovers

Award and was shortlisted for the Wilbur

Smith Adventure Writing Prize. The

second Aldo novel, The Darkest Sin, won

the CWA Historical Dagger last year. The third, Ritual of

Fire, was longlisted for the 2023 McIlvanney Prize, while

the fourth - A Divine Fury - is coming this June from

Pan Macmillan. Website: www.dvbishop.com

Alice Bell grew up in South West

England. Her debut novel Grave

Expectations was released in 2023, and

the sequel Displeasure Island is out

now! Since 2018 she's been the deputy

editor of the PC gaming site Rock Paper

Shotgun. After spending several years in

London, Alice now lives in Cork, Ireland,

where she reads books, makes crochet animals, and

plays video games where you can set things on ﬁre and

make elves kiss. Website: www.alicebellauthor.com

David Brawn has been Publisher of

Estates at HarperCollins for almost

thirty years, managing legacy authors

including Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh,

Edmund Crispin and Alistair MacLean.

In 2015 he relaunched the Collins Crime

Club imprint to bring classic mysteries

back into print, as well as publishing

spinoff titles on Poirot, Marple, Sherlock Holmes and

others. He learned all he knows about crime ﬁction

from being Martin Edwards’ non-ﬁction editor, but

sadly has forgotten most of it.

CrimeFest

Katherine Black writes cozy crime

with a modern edge. Her Most Unusual

Mysteries series has all the elements

one expects from a cozy, just with

contemporary characters, adult language

and a few sexy bits. Katherine completed

the MA in Crime Fiction at UEA. Her

writing has been recognised at the Yeovil Literary

Festival, the Pageturner Awards and was longlisted for

the CWA’s Debut Dagger. A Most Malicious Messenger is

available now. Website: www.kjblack.com

Simon Brett has published over a

hundred books, including the Charles

Paris, Mrs Pargeter, Fethering, Blotto &

Twinks and Decluttering series. In 2014

Simon was presented with the Crime

Writers’ Association’s highest award, the

Diamond Dagger, and he was made an

O.B.E. in the 2016 New Year’s Honours ‘for

services to literature’. He has now got to the age when

there are tribute bands to bands he’s never heard of.

Website: www.simonbrett.com

Alison Bruce, acclaimed for her

gripping crime novels, introduced

Detective DC Gary Goodhew in

Cambridge Blue (2008). With intricate

plots and vivid characters, she has

written seven Goodhew novels. Bruce’s

commitment to realism, bolstered by

her studies in crime and investigation,

continues with her two standalone novels, I Did It for

Us and The Moment Before Impact. The ﬁrst in the

Ronnie Blake series, Because She Looked Away, will be

published in 2024. Website: www.alisonbruce.com

Dr Elizabeth Chakrabarty was

longlisted for the Desmond Elliott

Prize and shortlisted for the Polari

First Book Prize in 2022 for her novel

Lessons in Love and Other Crimes,

published in 2021 by the Indigo Press

with her essay On Closure and Crime.

An interdisciplinary writer of ﬁction, poems and

essays, she was also shortlisted in 2022 for a short

story published in The Dinesh Allirajah Prize for Short

Fiction 2022: Crime Stories (Comma Press). Instagram:

@elizabethchakrabarty. Twitter: @DrNChakrabarty.

Website: www.elizabethchakrabarty.com

C.V. Chauhan is the creator of the

crime thrillers set in Leicester, featuring

DI Rohan Sharma. The ﬁrst book in

the series, The Dance of Death, was

published in August 2022 and the second,

Shattered Dreams, in March 2023. The

third, Tripswitch, will be published in

early May 2024. Champak graduated from

the University of York, taught history in London and

Birmingham, and worked in state education at a senior

level. He now writes full-time.

Ajay Chowdhury, tech entrepreneur

and theatre director Ajay won the

Harvill Secker–Bloody Scotland prize for

The Waiter, his ﬁrst book about Kamil

Rahman, an ex-cop from Kolkata who

moves to Brick Lane, which is being

adapted for television. The Cook, a

Guardian Crime Book of 2022, deals with

homelessness. The Detective, about AI, was a Sunday

Times Crime Book of 2023. The Spy is about Kamil’s

inﬁltration of a terrorist organisation. Website: www.

ajaychowdhury.com

Fliss Chester writes in the cosy crime

genre and is the author of six Hon

Cressida Fawcett Mysteries series books,

published by Bookouture. She also wrote

the Fen Churche Mysteries series, one

of which, Night Train to Paris, reached

number one in the Amazon Australia

chart. Website: www.ﬂisschester.co.uk

CrimeFest

Chris Curran writes psychological

suspense under her own name and also

as Abbie Frost (The Guesthouse). She

lives on the south coast of England,

moving recently from Hastings, a

location for several of her novels, to

the fascinating Romney Marsh area.

Her latest novel, When the Lights Go Out, is set in the

atmospheric Forest of Dean and was inspired by her

early, and spectacularly unsuccessful, acting career.

Website: www.chriscurranauthor.com

Tracy Darnton is the author of three

YA psychological thrillers: Ready or

Not, The Rules and The Truth About

Lies, shortlisted for the Waterstones

Children's Book Prize and a World Book

Night title. Her ﬁrst picture book, My

Brother is An Avocado, is out with Simon

& Schuster. A former solicitor, she has

an MA in Writing for Young People from Bath Spa Uni.

Tracy lives near Bath where she dreams up her killer

endings. @TracyDarnton Website

Tana Collins is the Edinburgh-based

author of the critically acclaimed and

international bestselling Inspector

Jim Carruthers series, set in the

picturesque East Neuk of Fife, Scotland

and published by Bloodhound Books.

Her novels have been described as character-driven

with hugely emotional plots, which she loves. Having

written ﬁve Inspector Jim Carruthers books she is

currently working on a brand new cosy crime series.

Website: www.tanacollins.com

Heather Critchlow is a crime writer

and business journalist. Her debut novel

Unsolved was published in May 2023

by Canelo and was shortlisted for the

Bloody Scotland Debut Prize. Unburied,

the second book in the Cal Lovett series,

was published in January 2024, and the

third is out later in the year. Heather’s short stories

are featured in the Afraid of the Light anthologies

of ﬁction written by crime writers. Website: www.

heathercritchlow.com

Emma Curtis lives in West London

with her husband. Her children have left

home. Emma's twelve years as a school

secretary turned out to be the ideal

foundation for a later career in writing

domestic thrillers. Emma has published

ﬁve titles with Transworld: One Little

Mistake, When I Find You, The Night You Left, Keep Her

Quiet and Invite Me In. Her latest thriller, The Babysitter,

is published by Corvus.

Gavin Collinson’s early career

lurched from campsite management to

journalism and marketing within the

movie industry. He later enjoyed stints

on Coronation Street and Emmerdale

before working on Doctor Who for a

decade. Since leaving the TARDIS he’s

written for the stage, radio, computer

games and VR experiences. More recently he’s written

The Hitchcock Murders, and the Marc Novak thrillers,

An Accident in Paris and The Romanov Code, each

based around real-life mysteries. Website: www.

gavincollinson.com

Nikki Copleston had a career as a

librarian in North London, before moving

to Somerset in 2012 to devote more

time to writing. She has published ﬁve

DI Jeff Lincoln police procedurals, set

in Wiltshire, and won a couple of short

story competitions. She also enjoys

writing and performing ﬂash ﬁction and

poetry. Website: www.nikkicopleston.com

ONEDAY CONFERENCE DEVOTED TO

GOLDEN AGE DETECTIVE FICTION

Speakers include:

Simon Brett, Martin Edwards,

Tony Medawar, Jake Kerridge,

Moira Redmond and John Curran

Authors highlighted: Agatha Christie, John Bude,

Edmund Crispin, Dorothy L. Sayers

Also featured: 'College Crimes', 'True Crime and

Golden Age' and 'Golden Age on British TV'

Tickets £45

(plus booking fee) available via Eventbrite

1 JUNE 2024 British Library

visit www.bodiesfromthelibrary.com

Judi Daykin, born in Yorkshire, has

lived, worked and made theatre

in Norfolk for over forty years. She

completed her MA in Creative Writing

(Crime Fiction) at the UEA in 2019 and

joined Joffe Books in 2020. Her DS Sara

Hirst novels are gritty police procedurals

set in Norfolk amongst the people, villages and special

venues that Judi loves. Book six, The Wild Thyme Farm

Murder, was released in April 2024.

CrimeFest

Antony Dunford is from Bradford in West

Yorkshire. He has been writing for as

long as he can remember, and reading

for longer than that. His debut novel,

Hunted, an action-adventure eco-thriller

set in Kenya, was published by Hobeck

Books in January 2021. His second

novel, Born the Same, a prequel to Hunted, set in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo, was published in

May 2023. He is currently working on his third novel,

Endangered.

Megan Davis has an MA in Creative

Writing from the University of East

Anglia. Her debut, The Messenger, won

the Bridport Prize for a First Novel as

well as the Lucy Cavendish Prize. Megan

is a lawyer and was a whistleblower

in London’s ﬁnancial sector and now

works at Spotlight on Corruption, an anti-corruption

NGO. Her second novel, Bay of Thieves (pub date: June

2024), is set between London and the south of France.

Website: www.megandavis.co.uk

James Delargy was born and raised

in Ireland and lived in South Africa,

Australia and Scotland before ending up

in England. He incorporates this diverse

knowledge of towns, landscapes and

cultures into his writing. His ﬁrst novel,

55, was published in 2019 and sold to

over twenty territories. It was followed

in 2021 by the standalone thriller, Vanished. His third

book, Into the Flames, set during a bushﬁre in NSW,

will be published in Summer 2024. Website: www.

jamesdelargy.com

Abby Davies writes psychological

thrillers with a hint of horror. Her ﬁrst

two novels, Mother Loves Me and The

Cult, were published by HarperCollins.

Last year she self-published for the ﬁrst

time, and her seventh suspense thriller,

The Wrong Island, is hot off the press! Abby

is known for writing vivid, emotionally

intense scenes that scare the crap out of you!

Ruth Dudley Edwards is an historian

and journalist. The targets of her satirical

crime novels include academia, the civil

service, the House of Lords, the Church

of England, literary prizes and political

correctness. She won CrimeFest’s Goldsboro Last Laugh

Award for Murdering Americans (2008) and Killing

the Emperors (2013), as well as the CWA Non-Fiction

Gold Dagger for Aftermath: The Omagh Bombings and

The Families’ Pursuit of Justice (2010). Website: www.

ruthdudleyedwards.com

Martin Edwards' novels include

the Lake District Mysteries and the

Rachel Savernake books, most recently

Sepulchre Street. His non-ﬁction includes

a multi-award-winning history of crime

ﬁction, The Life of Crime, the updated

paperback edition of which has just been

published. He has received three Daggers,

including the Diamond Dagger, two Edgars, and four

lifetime achievement awards. He is consultant to the

British Library’s Crime Classics and recently wrote an

audio drama for Doctor Who.

Lexie Elliott is the London-based

Scottish author of Bright and Deadly

Things, Richard & Judy Book Club

pick How To Kill Your Best Friend, The

Missing Years and The French Girl. When

not writing, Lexie is often running or

swimming whilst thinking about writing.

In 2007 she swam the English Channel solo. She won't

be doing that again. In 2015 she ran 100km, raising

money for Alzheimer Scotland. She won't be doing that

again either. Website: www.lexieelliott.com

Paul Durston, a former operational

police ofﬁcer in The Met, was frequently

in trouble for getting the procedures

wrong. Now retired, he writes crime

ﬁction and is still getting the procedures

wrong. Diamond Crime has published If

I Were Me and If We Were One, psychological thrillers

about an operational police ofﬁcer who is having

memory issues. Paul has just started on the third in

this trilogy. Website: www.pauldurston.com

CrimeFest

Paul Gitsham is a former research

biologist now writing alongside his day

job as a science tutor. Along the way,

Paul spent time working for a major

high-street bank, ensuring that banned

individuals, such as international

terrorists and other n’r do wells, weren’t

squirelling their ill-gotten gains into child trust funds.

Paul writes the DCI Warren Jones series. The latest is

Web of Lies, out now. Website: www.paulgitsham.com

Felix Francis took over writing the

‘Dick Francis Novels’ from his father. He

has recently ﬁnished Syndicate, which

will be published in September 2024. It

will be his eighteenth crime novel. Felix

lives in Oxfordshire with his wife, Debbie,

and two dogs. A keen cricket supporter,

he is a member of MCC and the Lord’s Taverners,

as well as of the Crime Writers' Association, the

International Thriller Writers, the Detection Club and

The Garrick. Website: www.felixfrancis.com

Heather J. Fitt was born in Scotland

and raised across Europe. An avid reader

as a child, her dreams came true when

her debut novel, Open Your Eyes, was

published in 2022. Described as Agatha

Christie on a plane, The Flight followed

a few months later and her third book, The Boat Trip,

was published in June 2023. ou can ﬁnd Heather across

social media as HeatherJFitt.

Stuart Field was born and raised in

the West Midlands. He is a British Army

veteran who served twenty-two years

in Bosnia, Kosovo and the Gulf, as well

as some sunshine tours such as Cyprus.

As well as working full-time in armed

security, he writes in his spare time but

tries to make time for the odd holiday. His love for

travel has inspired some of his work with his John

Steel and Ronin Nash thriller series.

Liz Fielding travelled extensively

in Africa and the Middle East before

ﬁnally coming to a halt at her desk in

West Sussex. She has written more than

seventy romance novels (selling more

than 15 million books) and was honoured

with the Romantic Novelists’ Association

Outstanding Achievement Award before turning to a

life of crime. Murder Under the Mistletoe, the latest

book in her Maybridge Murder Mysteries series, was

published by Joffe Books in November 2023.

Caroline England (aka C.E. Rose) is

the CWA Short Story Dagger shortlisted

author of six multi-layered, dark and

edgy domestic noir novels, Beneath

the Skin, My Husband’s Lies, Betray

Her, Truth Games, The Sinner and

The Stranger Beside Me. As C.E. Rose

she has written four gothic-tinged psychological

thrillers: The House of Hidden Secrets, The House

on the Water’s Edge, The Shadows of Rutherford

House and The Attic at Wilton Place. Website: www.

carolineenglandauthor.co.uk

Jen Faulkner, after being a teacher

for ﬁfteen years, completed an MA in

Creative Writing at Bath Spa University,

where she was shortlisted for the

Janklow and Nesbitt Prize. When she is

not writing she can usually be found

back in the classroom, or out walking

by the sea. What Goes Around is her

second novel. She’s currently writing her next novel,

about how coincidences aren’t always what they seem.

Website: www.jenfaulkner.co.uk

Frances Fyﬁeld has written twenty-

four Crime novels of suspense,

sometimes, but not always, inspired

by her experience as a criminal lawyer.

She has won the Gold and Silver Dagger

awards and is fond of romance. One of

her greatest achievements was to be a

friend and great fan of P.D. James.

Kate Ellis was born in Liverpool and

she is the author of an acclaimed trilogy

set in the aftermath of WW1 as well as

a recently reissued, spooky detective

series featuring DI Joe Plantagenet. She

is, however, best known for her novels

that blend mystery with history and

feature archaeology graduate DI Wesley

Peterson. Her latest in this series is The Killing Place.

She was awarded the CWA Dagger in the Library in 2019.

Website: www.kateellis.co.uk

Mark Ellis is the author of the

acclaimed DCI Frank Merlin series set in

World War Two London. Four books have

been published so far and a ﬁfth will be

out in May. His third book, Merlin At War,

was nominated for the CWA Historical

Dagger Award. He is a member of

CrimeCymru and Treasurer of Gŵyl Crime

Cymru Festival. Website: www.markellisauthor.com

CrimeFest

Dolores Gordon-Smith lives in

Greater Manchester and is the author

of the Jack Haldean series set in 1920s

England, Serpent’s Eye, How to Write A

Classic Murder Mystery and two WW1 spy

stories. Married with ﬁve daughters, a

growing number of grandchildren and

various dogs and cats, Dolores has been a teacher,

a factory worker and the front end of a cow in a

pantomime. Website: www.doloresgordon-smith.co.uk

J.G. Goodhind was born and raised in

Bristol. Winner of the BBC New Writers

Award she sold up, sailed away, qualiﬁed

as a skipper and lived on a yacht for

ﬁve years. The thirteenth book in the

Honey Driver series is set in Bath. A

bestseller in Germany, it reached the

top 200 on amazon.com. May 2024 sees

book fourteen, A Claim for Murder, being released by

Joffe Books. J.G. Goodhind also writes as Lizzie Lane.

Website: www.lizzielane.com

Dr. Beatrice Groves is P.D. James's

granddaughter. She is an academic who

teaches Shakespeare and Renaissance

English at Oxford University. She is the

author of: Texts and Traditions: Religion

in Shakespeare 1592-1604 (2007), The

Destruction of Jerusalem in Early Modern

English Literature (2015) and Literary Allusion in Harry

Potter (2017). More of her work on Harry Potter and

Robert Galbraith's Strike crime novels can be found

at her blogsite: https://www.mugglenet.com/the-

quibbler/bathildas-notebook/

Mary Grand is the author of eight

novels. Her ﬁrst crime novel, The

House Party, an Amazon bestseller, was

followed by two more standalones. Her

most recent books, Death At Castle Cove

and Death At St Jude’s, started a series,

The Isle of Wight Killings, featuring

amateur detective Susan Flynn. Her

crime books are all murder mysteries in the classic

whodunnit style and are published by Boldwood

Books. Website: www.marygrand.net

Kate Grifﬁn has worked for an antiques

dealer, as a journalist and in PR. Until

recently she was Head of Communications

for Britain’s oldest conservation charity.

Fyneshade is her love letter to Victorian

Gothic. It’s a murderously twisted homage

to the greats of the genre. Kitty Peck and

the Music Hall Murders, Kate’s ﬁrst book,

was shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association’s Debut

Dagger. She is also the author of three subsequent Kitty

Peck novels.

Susan Grossey can honestly say

that she made her living from crime.

She spent decades as an anti-money

laundering consultant, giving her an

obsession with criminal ﬁnance. When

she wanted to try ﬁction, dodgy money

kept elbowing its way in. For seven books

she haunted the streets of 1820s London

in the company of magistrates’ constable Sam Plank

and she now wanders her hometown of Cambridge in

the same decade with university constable Gregory

Hardiman. Website: www.susangrossey.com

Janice Hallett is the author of four

bestselling novels. Her debut, The

Appeal, was a Sunday Times Bestseller,

Waterstones Thriller of the Month and

won the CWA Debut Dagger. Her second,

The Twyford Code, won Crime & Thriller

Book of the Year in the British Book

Awards 2023. The Mysterious Case of the Alperton

Angels was an instant bestseller on its launch in

January 2023, as was her novella, The Christmas Appeal,

published in October 2023. Website: www.linktr.ee/

janicehallett

Charles Harris trained in acting with

Peter Frye of the New York Actors Studio,

before working his way up to direct award-

winning cinema and TV. His debut political

thriller novel, The Breaking of Liam Glass,

was shortlisted for Wishing Shelf and

Eyelands International Literary Awards. His

second is the psychological thriller, Room

15. He has also written books on screenwriting and police

slang, is a director of the SoA and a black belt in Aikido.

Website: www.charles-harris.co.uk

CrimeFest

Samantha Lee Howe is the author

of more than twenty-seven novels, four

novellas, four story collections and over

sixty short stories. She is the author

and screenwriter of the National Film

Awards Best Thriller, The Stranger In Our

Bed and has won multiple awards for

Best Screenplay and Best Screenwriter.

Samantha’s latest novel, The Soul Thief, will be out

later in 2024 with HarperCollins, One More Chapter.

Website www.samanthaleehowe.co.uk

M.A. Hunter (who also writes crime as

Stephen Edger) is the proliﬁc author of

psychological thrillers, including Adrift,

The Trail and Mummy’s Little Secret. In

his latest thriller, Every Step You Take

(published by Boldwood Books in March

2024), a London Marathon runner realises

her stalker is also competing and must

ﬁgure out who he is and what he wants before her race

ends prematurely. Website: www.stephenedger.com/m-

a-hunter

Sam Holland is the award-winning

author of the Major Crimes series,

following detectives as they investigate

murders committed by brutal serial

killers in the south of England. The

Puppet Master will be published in May.

She also writes as Louisa Scarr, and a

new series, about a police dog handler,

will launch in July 2024 with Gallows Wood. Sam can be

found on Instagram and Twitter at @samhollandbooks.

Website: www.samhollandbooks.com.

David J. Howe has been involved

with Doctor Who research and writing

for over forty years. He wrote the

book Reﬂections: The Fantasy Art of

Stephen Bradbury and has contributed

short ﬁction and non-ﬁction to many

publications. He is Editorial Director

of Telos Publishing Ltd, a UK based

independent press specialising in horror/

science ﬁction, crime, artbooks and factual guides to a

variety of ﬁlm and TV shows. Websites: www.howeswho.

co.uk and www.telos.co.uk

Holly Jackson is the author of the

#1 New York Times bestselling series A

Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, and Five

Survive, all having sold millions of

copies worldwide. A Good Girl’s Guide

to Murder has been adapted for TV and

will be coming to BBC 3 and iPlayer in

July 2024, starring Emma Myers. She

enjoys playing video games and watching true crime

documentaries so she can pretend to be a detective.

She lives in London.

Sherry Hostler is the author of the

contemporary psychological thrillers

Hypnotic and Free Fall. She also writes

short stories, ﬂash ﬁction and carries

out freelance work for magazines. She

has written since childhood but took

her parents’ advice and got a ‘sensible’

job instead of pursuing her literary passions. She

ﬁnally took the plunge, writing her ﬁrst novel in 2020,

and was glad she did as a month later it hit No. 2 in

the Amazon Suspense Thrillers List. Website: www.

sherryhostler.com'

A.J. (Andy) Hill is a former Customs

and Police Ofﬁcer, now working in

property. Dead Drift and Bloody Butcher

start the series, with the central

characters of Jack Lunn and Gemma

Bryce. The manuscript for book three is

with his literary agents and he’s halfway

through writing a standalone, at the

same time as Jack & Gem book four. An avid reader

and reviewer for Shotsmag, Andy has been a long-time

attendee at CrimeFest.

Hannah Hendy lives in a small town

in South Wales with her long-suffering

wife and two spoilt cats. A professional

chef by trade, she started writing to

ﬁll the time between shifts. She now

writes cosy crime full-time, a dream

job! She is the author of the bestselling

cosy crime series, The Dinner Lady

Detectives, published by Canelo Crime

and Canelo US. Hannah is represented by Francesca

Riccardi at Kate Nash Literary Agency. Website: www.

hannahhendywrites.com

CrimeFest

Jackie Kabler is an Amazon number

one bestselling author of psychological

thrillers, including The Perfect Couple,

Am I Guilty?, The Happy Family, The

Murder List and The Vanishing of

Class 3B. Her novels have sold nearly

a million copies in English and been

translated into eight languages. A

former newspaper reporter, she also spent twenty

years in television news. She now combines writing

with working as a presenter on shopping channel QVC.

Website: www.jackiekabler.com

Valerie Keogh is from Ireland, but now

lives in Wiltshire. A qualiﬁed nurse, she

became a full-time writer in 2018. She

writes crime novels and psychological

thrillers and is published by Boldwood

Books. The Nurse, published in 2023,

became an Amazon No.1 bestseller. Her

26th novel, The Mistress, was published

in March. Her next psychological thriller, The Mother, is

out in June.

Maxim Jakubowski worked for many

years in book publishing, owned the

Murder One bookstore in London and

now writes, edits and translates full-time.

He is the author of twenty-one novels,

the latest being Just A Girl With A Gun, six

short story collections including Death

Has A Thousand Eyes, over one hundred anthologies

and is a Sunday Times bestselling author under

another name and in another genre. He is a past Chair

of the Crime Writers' Association.

Antony Johnston is one of the most

versatile writers of the modern era, with

a body of work spanning books, ﬁlm,

graphic novels, videogames and non-

ﬁction. An award-winning author and

New York Times bestseller, his creations

include Atomic Blonde; the Dog Sitter

Detective murder mysteries, which won the Barker

Book Award for ﬁction; the Brigitte Sharp spy thrillers,

currently in development for TV; and many more.

Website: www.antonyjohnston.com

G.T. Karber grew up in Arkansas, the

son of a judge and a civil rights attorney.

He graduated summa cum laude from

the University of Arkansas with a degree

in mathematics and English literature

before gaining a MFA from the University

of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts.

As the General Secretary of the Hollywood Mystery

Society, he has staged over thirty immersive whodunits

in the Los Angeles area. Greg is the author of the

Murdle puzzle books. Website: www.gtkarber.com

Peter Kemp has reviewed ﬁction for

the Sunday Times for more than 40 years

and was its ﬁction editor from 1994 to

2010. His most recent book, Retroland

(2023), is a survey of English ﬁction

from 1970. He edited Sleep No More, a

collection of posthumously published

stories by P.D. James, and - a long-time friend of hers -

wrote the Dictionary of National Biography’s entry on her.

Vaseem Khan is the author of two

award-winning crime series set in India.

His debut, The Unexpected Inheritance of

Inspector Chopra, was a Sunday Times 40

best crime novels published 2015-2020

pick. In 2021, Midnight at Malabar House,

the ﬁrst in the Malabar House novels

set in 1950s Bombay, won the Crime

Writers' Association Historical Dagger. In

2023, Vaseem was elected the Chair of the 70-year-old

UK Crime Writers' Association. Vaseem was born in

England. Website: www.vaseemkhan.com

CrimeFest

Pam Lecky is published by Avon and

Storm Publishing. She is a member of

the HNS, The Society of Authors and

the CWA. Her WW2 espionage series

comprises: Her Secret War (2021), Her

Last Betrayal (2022) and The Last Letter

from London (2023). Under A Lightning

Sky, a Blitz murder mystery, will be published in July

2024. Storm Publishing will be re-releasing Pam’s

previously indie Victorian mystery series, The Lucy

Lawrence Mysteries, in July this year. Website: www.

pamlecky.com

Dan Malakin has twice been

shortlisted for the Bridport Prize and his

debut novel, The Regret, was a Kindle

bestseller. His second novel, The Box,

was published in 2022 and his new novel,

The Wreckage of Us, will be out in June

2024. When not writing thrillers, he works

as a data-security consultant, teaching

corporations how to protect themselves from hackers.

He lives in North London with his wife and daughter.

Websites: www.danmalakin.com

Kate London served in the

Metropolitan Police Service, ﬁrst in

uniform, then as a detective. She

ﬁnished her service working in the Met’s

homicide command. Her ﬁrst book, Post

Mortem, was published in 2015. In 2019

she was named runner-up in Harpers

Bazaar's 2019 short-story competition.

Her books are being adapted and broadcast by ITV as

The Tower with Gemma Whelan in the lead. Kate also

executive produces the series.

Emily Koch is an award-winning

journalist and author of If I Die Before

I Wake, Keep Him Close and What July

Knew. Her books have made the shortlist

for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger

award, won France’s Prix du Bureau des

Lecteurs Folio Policier, and been selected

as a Waterstones Thriller of the Month. Waterstones

said her second novel ‘cements Koch’s place as one

of the most exciting new crime writers of our day.’

Website: www.emilykoch.co.uk

Christina Koning has worked as a

journalist, reviewing ﬁction for The

Times, and taught Creative Writing at

the University of Oxford and Birkbeck,

University of London. From 2013 to 2015,

she was Royal Literary Fund Fellow at

Newnham College, Cambridge. She won

the Encore Prize in 1999 and was longlisted for the

Orange Prize in the same year. Murder at Bletchley Park

is the eighth novel in the Blind Detective series.

Michael Kurland is the author of over

forty published books – and lives on

California’s central coast with novelist

Linda Robertson, a dog, two cats and

several dozen fruit trees. His books have

been translated into Chinese, Czech,

French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish,

Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Thai and some alphabet

with little pothooks and curlicues that he doesn’t

recognise. His latest novel is A Plague of Spies, the third

in the WAR Inc. series. Website: michaelkurland.com

J.S. Lark is the author of the

psychological suspense novels Her Last

Lie, The Secret Couple, The Twins and

After You Fell. A writer of compelling,

passionate and emotionally charged

ﬁction ﬁlled with diverse characters, J.S.

is a bestselling author in more than one

genre. In 2021 the gripping story of The

Twins earned her a ﬁnalist position for

the Jackie Collins Romantic Thriller of the Year Award.

Known as a night owl, she’s fuelled by chocolate.

Website: www.janelark.co.uk

T.E. (Tim) Kinsey was born in the

1960s. He grew up in London in the 1970s

and went to university in Bristol in the

1980s. He worked in magazines in the

1990s and for IMDb in the 2000s. He

still lives near Bristol. He’s responsible

for the popular Edwardian cosy series

The Lady Hardcastle Mysteries and the forthcoming

Fanshaw & Foster series set in the 1970s (both Thomas

& Mercer). Website: www.tekinsey.uk

Michelle Kidd is best known for the DI

Jack MacIntosh and DI Nicki Hardcastle

crime novels. After qualifying as a legal

executive, she spent ten years practising

civil and criminal litigation. However, the

dream to write was never far away. In

2008 she began writing the ﬁrst book

in what would become the DI Jack MacIntosh series.

Michelle currently works full-time for the NHS. She

enjoys reading, wine and cats – not necessarily in that

order. Website:www.michellekiddauthor.com

CrimeFest

Lucy Martin's DS Ronnie Delmar is

driven by an uncompromising quest for

justice alongside a ﬁerce commitment to

female victims of crime. Like her creator,

she’s a divorced mother of teenage

children, ready to push a few boundaries,

take risks and break the rules, not

always with the result she imagines…

Educated in Belgium and Oxford, Lucy also teaches

languages alongside her writing and lives in Devon

with her partner and scruffy fox terrier Suki. Website:

www.lucymartinbooks.com

Louise Mangos writes psychological

suspense, historical mystery (as L.S.

Mangos) and short ﬁction which has won

prizes, placed on shortlists and been

narrated on BBC radio. Her novels are

set mostly in Switzerland where she lives

in the foothills of the Alps with her Kiwi

husband and two sons, enjoying skate skiing and wild

swimming when she’s not writing. She holds a Masters in

Crime Writing from the University of East Anglia in the UK.

Blake Mara is the author of the

cosy crime, The Dog Park Detectives

(launching 6 June). Inspired by her

dachshund, it starts with two people

out walking their dogs who ﬁnd a dead

body. Determined to get justice for their

friend, the dog park pack band together

to track down the killer. Writing as Mara

Timon, she is the author of City of Spies (shortlisted

for CrimeFest’s debut of the year 2020) and the sequel,

Resistance. Website: www.blakemara.com

Bryan J. Mason took thirty years to

become a debut author. After failing to

get published, he decided to go on and

fail at something else. Which largely he

has! He has been a rent collector and tax

inspector, made radio sound effects, and

acted. He writes regular theatre reviews.

Shaking Hands with the Devil was

published in 2021, and his second serial killer black

comedy, An Old Tin Can, set in Belfast during the Troubles

appears in June. Website: www.bryanjmason.com

Simon McCleave is a multi-million

selling crime novelist living in North

Wales. His debut novel, The Snowdonia

Killings reached No. 1 in the Amazon

charts and the eighteen book series

has sold over two million copies. It is

currently in development for television.

He also has a crime series set on

Anglesey with Harper Collins (Avon) and

is currently writing a thriller for Storm. Before writing

novels, Simon was a screenwriter in ﬁlm and television.

Website: www.simonmccleave.com

Linda Mather is the author of the Jo

and Macy Mysteries: Forecast Murder,

A Sign for Murder, Murder as Predicted,

The Hanged Man, A Future Murder

and Perfect House for Murder, all

published by Joffe Books and available

on Amazon. Linda has recently landed

a contract with Joffe for 3 books in a

police thriller series set in the New Forest. She is also

writing the next Jo & Macy Mystery. Follow her on X

@ILindaMather, Instagram @lindamather.writer

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CrimeFest

Syd Moore is best known for her

Essex Witch Museum Mysteries. The

series was shortlisted for the 2018 Good

Reader Holmes and Watson Award. She

has twice been shortlisted for the CWA

Short Story Dagger in 2019 and 2020. Two

standalone novels, The Drowning Pool

and Witch Hunt also look at historic witch hunts in

Essex, where she lives. The ﬁrst book in a new series,

The Grand Illusion, set in 1940, was published in April.

N.J. Moss is a thriller author who has

been called both 'twisty' and 'twisted.'

His work often explores dark and

shocking themes. He has published

nine novels, the bestselling of which,

The Husband Trap, heavily drew upon

the Depp-Heard trial. His latest work,

Nowhere to Run, involves a psychopathic

kidnapper. When he isn’t torturing his readers, you can

ﬁnd him rollerblading, spending time with his wife and

walking his dogs.

Abir Mukherjee is the bestselling

author of the Wyndham & Banerjee

novels set in colonial-era India. His

books have been translated into ﬁfteen

languages and won various awards

including the CWA Dagger for Best

Historical Novel and the Prix du Polar

Européen. His ﬁrst standalone thriller,

Hunted, is out in May. He also co-hosts the 'Red Hot

Chilli Writers' podcast which takes a wry look at the

world of books, writing, and the creative arts. Website:

www.abirmukherjee.com

Guy Morpuss writes speculative crime

ﬁction: twist one aspect of the real

world, add a dead body and play with

the consequences. His debut novel, Five

Minds, is about ﬁve people sharing one

body, one of whom is trying to murder

the others. His second novel, Black Lake

Manor, is a locked room murder mystery

with a killer who can unwind time. Before taking up

full-time writing, Guy worked as a barrister in London.

Website: www.guymorpuss.com

Ian Moore’s Death & Croissants and

the follow-ups in the cosy mystery series

Death & Fromage and Death at the

Chateau have proved hugely popular. The

Man Who Didn’t Burn, the ﬁrst in a new

thriller series, was critically acclaimed.

He has appeared on BBC 2’s Richard

Osman’s House of Games, and won many

plaudits for his performance in the last series of BBC

Radio 4’s long-running The Now Show. Website: www.

ianmoore.info

Jane McLoughlin was born and raised

in the USA but has spent most of her

adult life in the UK. A former teacher,

she has previously published novels for

young people, which were nominated for

various awards, including the Carnegie

Award and the Branford Boase Prize. She

has two grown-up children and lives in Brighton. The

Perfect Couple is her debut novel for adults. Website:

janemcloughlinwriter.com

Ada Moncrieff is the author of Murder

Most Festive, Murder at the Theatre

Royale and Murder at Maybridge Castle.

She lives and works in London.

Donna Moore, CrimeFest’s co-

host, also works as a literacy tutor for

marginalised women and has a PhD

in creative writing. Her ﬁrst novel, Go

To Helena Handbasket, won the Lefty

Award for most humorous crime ﬁction

novel and her second novel, Old Dogs,

was shortlisted for both the Lefty and Last Laugh

Awards. Her third novel, The Unpicking, spanning three

generations of ‘hysterical women’ who experience

systemic corruption and injustice, was published in

October 2023. Website: www.donnamooreauthor.com

C.L. Miller is the author of the

internationally bestselling novel – The

Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder, which

was published in Feb 2024 and translated

in over sixteen languages. The second

in the Antique Hunter’s series will be

out in 2025. Cara started working life in

publishing before moving into hospitality

and events and now writes full time from her medieval

cottage in Dedham Vale, Suffolk where she lives with

her family. Website: www.clmillerauthor.com

Adrian Muller graduated from the

Reinwardt Academy for Museology

in Holland. After moving to Bristol

he worked at Watershed Media

Centre, subsequently becoming

a journalist specialising in interviews with crime

writers, also editing four Times Crime & Thriller Guides.

Adrian organised events for London’s Crime in Store

bookshop, was a co-founder of Manchester’s Dead

on Deansgate festival and the International Thriller

Writers' organisation. Having co-hosted Left Coast

Crime’s 2006 Bristol visit, the organisers continued the

US convention as CrimeFest.

Alex North’s ﬁrst novel, The Whisper

Man, was a Sunday Times, New York

Times and international bestseller. It has

been published in over 30 languages

and is currently being adapted for ﬁlm. It

was followed by The Shadow Friend and

his most recent thriller is The Half Burnt

House. Alex is the pseudonym for a previously award-

winning crime novelist and he lives in Leeds with his

wife and son.

CrimeFest

Ayo Onatade is a freelance crime

ﬁction commentator and blogger. She

has written articles, given papers as well

as taking part, and moderating panels on,

all aspects of crime ﬁction.

Orlando Murrin’s career has seen

more twists than the Cresta Run,

including spells as a restaurant pianist,

magazine editor and chef. He was a

semi-ﬁnalist on Masterchef but is more

remembered for having set ﬁre to Mary

Berry with a blowtorch, in front of 3600

fans at the Good Food Show. Now he’s

discovered what he should have been doing all along

– writing cosy crime: Knife Skills For Beginners is his

debut. Website: orlandomurrin.com

Leonora Nattrass lectured on the

literature and politics of the 18th

century for ten years before running

away to Cornwall, where she now lives

in a seventeenth-century house with

seventeenth-century draughts and

knits the wool of her Ryeland sheep

into elaborate jumpers. Her ﬁrst novel, Black Drop

was a Times Book of the Year and her second, Blue

Water, was a Waterstones Thriller of the Month and

shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger. Website:

www.leonoranattrass.co.uk

Stella Oni’s debut police procedural,

Deadly Sacriﬁce, featuring detective Toks

Ade, was shortlisted for the SI Leeds

Literary Prize. She has contributed to

various publications like Mystery Readers

Journal and short stories in anthologies

including Midnight Hour published by

Crooked Lane. She is writing book two of the Toks

Ade Mystery series, and book 1 of The London House

Mystery series, her contemporary crime cosy. Stella is

an International Thriller Writers and Jhalak Prize 2024

judge. Website: www.stellaonithewriter.com

Nell Pattison’s ﬁrst novel, The Silent

House, was a USA Today bestseller and

the series has been optioned for TV by

Hot Coals and Banijay. Nell’s ﬁrst and

subsequent novels, Silent Night, The

Silent Suspect, Hide, Friends Don’t Lie,

all feature d/Deaf characters. She is

passionate about disability representation in ﬁction.

David Penny is the author of the

Thomas Berrington Historical Mysteries,

set in the chaotic ﬁnal years of Moorish

Andalusia in Spain and the early Tudor

period. David’s work is available in

eBook, print and audio, as well as

translations into Spanish and German.

David’s latest release is The Murder Trail,

the ﬁrst in the Izzy Wilde crime thriller series, written

under D.G. Penny. Website: www.davidpenny.com

Christie J. Newport is the author

of thrillers, The Raven’s Mark and The

Ordinary Man. She won the inaugural

Joffe Books Prize for Crime Writers of

Colour. The ﬁrst of Christie’s standalone

historical thrillers is due to be published

later this year by Storm Publishing.

Christie’s books have received high

praise from bestselling authors, bloggers, reviewers

and readers. Lisa Jewell said The Raven’s Mark was ‘the

most assured crime debut I have ever read’.

Christine Poulson was a respectable

academic with a PhD in History of

Art. Then she turned to crime. Deep

Water (2016) was the ﬁrst in a series

of medical thrillers featuring scientist

Katie Flanagan. Cold Cold Heart (2017) is

set in Antarctica, An Air That Kills (2019)

in a high security lab. She has written

numerous short stories and in 2018 was shortlisted for

both the Margery Allingham Prize and the CWA Short

Story Dagger. Website: www.christinepoulson.co.uk

Rachel North has written six books

about what makes us resilient and gives

us hope. In her seventh novel, Happily

Never After, she has allowed herself to

go deeper into the labyrinth and explore

the darker motivations of our psyches.

She has discovered that envy and

obsession – when allowed headspace –

create some great plot twists. She is now spending a

lot of time gleefully researching wrath and lust… for

her next book, of course.

CrimeFest

Mystery People

For readers and writers of mystery

A group dedicated to the promotion of

crime ction, which is especially encouraging

of new authors. But we’re not just a

writers’ group. As without readers,

what would writers do?

Everyone is welcome to

Join us!

As a member you will receive a regular newslet-

ter, which includes reports on recent conferenc-

es, news, interviews, articles and book reviews.

To subscribe visit our website

www.mysterypeople.co.uk and click on ‘Join

us’, or contact Lizzie Sirett on

mysterypeople@outlook.com

We look forward to welcoming you

Vanessa Savage is the author of

three thrillers published by Sphere:

The Woman in the Dark, The Woods,

and The Night They Vanished, which is

currently in development for a television

series. Her work has been shortlisted

for numerous prizes, including the

Caledonia Fiction Prize. As well as writing crime novels,

Vanessa is a graphic designer and illustrator. She lives

by the sea in South Wales with her husband and two

daughters. Website: www.vanessasavage.co.uk

Barry Ryan has been in television for

an eternity. Co-founder of Free@Last TV,

he has produced across the genre for

most of the major channels including

ITV’s Martina Cole's Ladykillers. He is

joint showrunner of Agatha Raisin for

Sky TV. More adaptations are in the

works including Cathy Ace's Cait Morgan

mysteries, Simon Brett's wonderful Charles Paris novels,

Ian Moore's signature Follett Valley books and Tom

Benjamin's Daniel Leicester series. He is addicted to

books, television and laughter. Website: www.freeatlasttv.

co.uk

Brian Price is the West Country-based

author of the DC Mel Cotton series and

of a guide for authors on the scientiﬁc

aspects of crime such as poisons,

knockouts and DNA. A chemist and

biologist, he has worked for the NHS,

the Environment Agency, as a consultant

and was an OU tutor for twenty-six years.

Website: www.brianpriceauthor.co.uk

Caro Ramsay started her career

writing the Anderson and Costello novels.

She now enjoys writing the Christine

Caplan series, the second of which In Her

Blood was published in August 2023. Out

of the Dark will be published in August

2024. As well as writing, Caro plays the

lead role in Carry On Sleuthing, an acting company

of crime writers who push the boundaries of comedy

i.e. their plays are beyond a joke. Website: www.

caroramsay.com

L.F. Robertson has written three

novels, Two Lost Boys, Madman Walking,

Next of Kin. Like her protagonist, Janet

Moodie, she is a practising lawyer who

represents death row inmates in their

appeals and in her spare time tends

a struggling garden and orchard. She

lives in San Luis Obispo, a quiet college

town on the central coast of California. Website: www.

lfrobertson.net.

Brooke Robinson is the author of The

Interpreter (Harvill Secker/Vintage) and

the forthcoming The Negotiator (June

2024). The Interpreter is translated into

German, Italian, Czech and Russian and

is in development in Hollywood. Brooke

originally trained as a playwright and has

had plays produced in the UK and Australia. Website:

www.brookerobinsonwriter.com

S.J. Richards writes a crime thriller

series based in and around Bath in

Somerset. His main protagonist, Luke

Sackville, is an ex-DCI now working in

the private sector, and the series mixes

in humour with the murder and mayhem.

There are four books out so far with the

5th due to be published in August 2024.

Website: www.sjrichardsauthor.com

CrimeFest

Jeffrey Siger ﬂed his position as a

name partner in his own NYC law ﬁrm

to write Greece-based mystery thrillers

on Mykonos. The New York Times picked

him as Greece’s thriller novelist of record,

and Reader’s Digest Select Editions

described him as among its 'new favorite

authors'. He’s received Lefty and Barry

'Best Novel' nominations for his CI Andreas Kaldis

series, been Chair of Bouchercon and served as an

adjunct college professor teaching mystery writing.

www.jeffreysiger.com

Fiona Veitch Smith writes Golden Age

mysteries and historical crime ﬁction

and has been shortlisted for the CWA

Historical Dagger. Her breakthrough

series was Poppy Denby Investigates

about a reporter sleuth in 1920s London.

Her new series, the Miss Clara Vale Mysteries with

Embla Books, is set in and around Newcastle in the

late 20s & early 30s, featuring a female forensic

scientist who inherits a detective agency. The Pyramid

Murders is due out in May. Website: www.ﬁona.

veitchsmith.com

Alex Stone was an accountant from

the West Midlands who uprooted her life

to pursue her dream of living by the sea

and becoming a writer. She is proof that

if you stick at it, anything is possible.

Alex is now based in Dorset and is the

author of bestselling psychological

thrillers, The Perfect Daughter, The

Other Girlfriend and The Good Patient. Her latest novel,

The Quiet Sister, will be out in 2024. Website: www.

alexstoneauthor.com

Linda Stratmann is the author of

three crime ﬁction series with Victorian

settings. Linda’s current series, The

Early Casebook of Sherlock Holmes,

shows a youthful Holmes, before he

knew Watson, becoming the legendary

detective. In the Bayswater mysteries

Frances Doughty combats wily criminals and prejudice

against lady detectives. In Brighton diminutive Mina

Scarletti exposes fraudulent spirit mediums. Linda’s 35

books also include biography and true crime, notably a

history of nineteenth century poison murder. Website:

www.lindastratmann.com

Isobel Shirlaw’s debut novel, A

Proper Mother, is published by Point

Blank (June). She has written for the

TLS, the Daily Telegraph, the i and the

Catholic Herald (UK) and the Daily Star

and New Age (Bangladesh). She won

the 2019 Fresher Poetry Prize and was

shortlisted in Poetry London’s 2023

pamphlet competition. She has worked for the British

High Commission, Bangladesh, several NGOs including

Refuge (UK’s largest domestic abuse charity) and lives

in Berkshire with her family.

Michael Stanley

is the pen name for

writing partnership

Michael Sears and

Stanley Trollip.

Their mystery

series, featuring

Detective Kubu, is

set in Botswana, a

fascinating country with magniﬁcent conservation

areas, varied peoples and intriguing backstories. They

have won a Barry Award and have been ﬁnalists for an

Edgar, an ITW and a CWA award. The latest book in the

series is a prequel, titled A Deadly Covenant. They also

wrote a thriller about rhino poaching, Dead of Night,

set in South Africa, featuring investigative journalist

Crystal Nguyen. Stanley also wrote a Crystal Nguyen

thriller, Wolfman, set in Minnesota. Website: www.

michaelstanleybooks.com

Alex Shaw spent the late 1990s in

Ukraine, teaching and running his

business before joining Siemens to work

across the former USSR and the EMEA.

An ITW and CWA member, his Aidan Snow,

Jack Tate and Sophie Racine thrillers are

published by HarperCollins and Luzifer

Verlag. Total Blackout was shortlisted

for the 2021 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Award –

Best Published Novel. Alex and his family divide their

time between homes in Ukraine, England and Dubai.

Website: www.alexwshaw.co.uk

Zoë Sharp spent her childhood living

aboard a catamaran on the northwest

coast of England. She opted out of

mainstream education at twelve and

wrote her ﬁrst novel at ﬁfteen. She

began writing crime thriller ﬁction after

receiving death threats in the course

of her work as a photojournalist and

has been nominated for numerous awards. Her latest

book concerns police corruption and exploitation of

the homeless: The Girl In The Dark, Bookouture, March

2023. Website: www.zoesharp.com

Michael Sears (see Michael Stanley)

CrimeFest

B.P. Walter is a Sunday Times

bestselling author of suspense

thrillers. He studied Film & English at

the University of Southampton, is an

alumnus of the Faber Academy and

formerly worked in social media. His

novel, The Dinner Guest, was a Sunday

Times Top 10 bestseller and a Number 1

Times bestseller. His most recent books are Notes on

a Murder (2023) and The Garden Party (July 2024). His

debut horror, Scuttle, publishes this autumn. Website:

www.bpwalter.com

Sarah Ward is a crime novelist who

writes gothic historical thrillers as

Rhiannon Ward. The Birthday Girl, the

ﬁrst book in her new Welsh-based series,

was published in 2023 and described

in the FT as 'channelling Christie-esque

tropes' and was followed by The Sixth

Lie. She has also written Doctor Who

audio dramas. Sarah is Vice-Chair of the Crime Writers'

Association and Treasurer of Crime Cymru, the Welsh

crime writing collective.

Joanna Wallace studied Law at

Birmingham University before working as

a commercial litigation solicitor in London.

She now runs a family business and lives

in Buckinghamshire with her husband,

four children and two dogs. Her ﬁrst

novel, You’d Look Better as a Ghost, was

published by Viper in 2023 and won the

Crime Fiction Lover Debut Novel Award. Her second novel,

The Dead Friend Project, will be published in July 2024.

Bridget Walsh's Variety Palace

Mysteries are a series of detective novels

set in a down-at-heel Victorian London

music hall. The Tumbling Girl, Bridget’s

debut novel, won the UEA Little Brown

Award for Crime Fiction in 2019. The

second in the series, The Innocents, was

published in April. Bridget lives in the

ﬁne city of Norwich with her husband and two dogs.

Website: www.bridgetwalsh.co.uk

Stanley Trollip - see Michael Stanley

Tania Tay is the debut author of The

Other Woman, published by Headline

Accent, May 2024. Her writing explores

female friendship and motherhood.

She’s also the author of Spellcasters,

a magical middle grade series under

pen name Crystal Sung. She developed

a screenplay with BBC Writersroom, worked as an

advertising copywriter and studied History of Art at the

University of Edinburgh. She organises writers events

for SCBWI and lives with her family in East London.

Teri Terry is a new voice in

psychological thrillers. The Patient

is a medical thriller published with

Bookouture earlier this year. She is

also an award-winning, international

bestselling author of over a dozen young

adult thrillers, including Slated and,

most recently, a ghost story, Scare Me.

Website: www.teriterry.com

Emma Styles writes Australian noir

about young women taking on the

patriarchy. She loves a road trip, grew

up in Western Australia and lives in

London. Emma’s debut thriller No

Country for Girls, described as ‘Thelma

& Louise meets The Tourist’, won the

2023 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing

Prize, was a New Blood pick at Theakston’s Crime

and was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey Dagger

and the ACWA Ned Kelly Award for best debut. www.

emmastylesauthor.com

Tim Sullivan is a crime writer,

screenwriter and director whose ﬁlm

credits include A Handful of Dust, Jack

and Sarah and Cold Feet. He directed

Jeremy Brett in his iconic portrayal of

Sherlock Holmes in ITV’s The Casebook

of Sherlock Holmes¸ cementing his

passion for crime ﬁction. Tim’s crime

series, featuring the socially awkward but brilliantly

persistent DS George Cross, has been widely acclaimed

and topped the book charts. The Teacher is the sixth in

the series. Website: timsullivan.co.uk

CrimeFest

James Woolf works in legal

professional ethics. His job inspired

his debut novel, Indefensible, a thriller

published by Bloodhound Books in

January 2024 which quickly became

an Amazon bestseller. James' second

thriller, The Company She Keeps, will

also be published by Bloodhound in

July 2024. James has had about twenty stage and radio

plays professionally produced and many short stories

published, including four in Ambit Magazine. He is

married with two daughters.

Ovidia Yu is a Singapore-based writer

of Singapore-based mysteries who’ll be

travelling to the UK just for Crimefest.

Her ‘tree’ books, The Angsana Tree

Mystery, The Mimosa Tree Mystery, The

Mushroom Tree Mystery, The Yellow

Rambutan Tree Mystery are history

mysteries and her ‘Aunty’ books, Aunty Lee’s Delights

and Aunty Lee’s Chilled Revenge etc are contemporary

foodie mysteries. Website: www.ovidiayu.com

G.B. Williams specialises in complex,

fast-paced crime novels, most recently

the Elaine Blake Novels – Breaking Free

and Play the Game – and the standalone

novel, The Chair. G.B. is a member of the

Crime Writers' Association, Crime Cymru,

and is working with others to organise

the Gŵyl Crime CYmru Festival. Website:

www.gailbwilliams.co.uk

Marrisse Whittaker has been

creating characters for all of her working

life, ﬁrst in the world of TV and ﬁlms

and now writing crime thrillers. In 2021,

Marrisse was offered a three-book deal

by Bloodhound Books, creating the DSI

Billie Wilde crime thriller series. Her

ﬁfth book, Deepfake, in the spinoff Wilde & Darque

series, will be published in July. Website: www.

marrissewhittaker.com

Kate Wells is the author of the Malvern

Farm Mystery series, published by

Boldwood books, which is inspired by

her upbringing on the Worcestershire/

Herefordshire border and her time spent

living and working on farms. When not

writing, she is frequently found in a

ﬁeld talking to the sheep, or out on the

Malvern Hills walking her border collie cross. She also

writes books for children under the name Kate Poels.

Website: www.katewellscrime.co.uk

Nicola Williams is a part-time

crown court judge and was a criminal

law barrister for sixteen years. She

joined the Police Complaints Authority

in 2001, before her appointment as

a Commissioner at the Independent

Police Complaints Commission. She

was the ﬁrst ever Service Complaints Ombudsman for

the Armed Forces in 2016. Her debut novel, Without

Prejudice, was published in 1997 and was republished

in 2021. Her second novel, Until Proven Innocent, came

out in 2023.

Jay Warton lives and writes on a

narrowboat called Daisy moored in

Ely. He splits his time between Ely and

Cambridge, reading, writing and drinking

in all the best pubs. Always happy to

discuss the process of writing, Jay is

a founder member of the Cambridge

Scribblings writers club. Twitter: @

JoeDoeBooks. Website: www.jaywartonauthor.

wordpress.com

Kaaron Warren is an award-winning

Australian writer based in Canberra,

Australia. Kaaron was a Fellow at the

Museum for Australian Democracy,

where she researched prime ministers,

artists and serial killers. Her novel,

The Underhistory, from Viper Books,

came from this Fellowship. Her other

novels are Slights, Mistiﬁcation, Walking the Tree, The

Grief Hole and Tide of Stone. She has seven short

story collections. Her writing podcast, Let the Cat In,

showcases ideas, objects and inspirations. Website:

www.kaaronwarren.wordpress.com

CONVENTION ROOMS

Ground ﬂoor

Mezzanine ﬂoor

12.00 – 18.00: REGISTRATION DESK OPEN

DUCHESS 1 - 2 DUCHESS 3 - 4

13.30–14.20

PACING YOURSELF: BUILDING MENACE AND

TENSION

• Tana Collins

• James Delargy

• Christie Newport

• Caro Ramsay

Participating Moderator: L.F. Robertson

14.40–15.30

AN ABSENCE OF MALICE?: THE LIGHTER TOUCH

OF THE TRADITIONAL COSY

• Alice Bell

• Simon Brett

• T.E. Kinsey

• Linda Mather

Participating Moderator: Liz Fielding

FINDING YOUR PLACE: LANDSCAPE AND SETTING

• Cathy Ace

• Christina Koning

• Ian Moore

• Ovidia Yu

Participating Moderator: Michael Stanley (Michael

Sears)

15.50–16.40

A GENRE FOR ALL: CRIME FICTION’S APPEAL

FOR ALL AGES

• Holly Jackson

• Jane McLoughlin

• Fiona Veitch Smith

• Teri Terry

Participating Moderator: Tracy Darnton

PLOTTING AND SCHEMING: THEY ARE ALL OUT TO

GET ME

• D.V. Bishop

• Charles Harris

• Samantha Lee Howe

• Dan Malakin

Participating Moderator: Alex Shaw

17.00–17.50

AUTHORS REMEMBERED

• Ian Moore (on Fred Vargas)

• Christine Poulson (on Clifford Witting)

• Jane Mcloughlin (on Patricia Highsmith)

• David J. Howe (on Hank Jansen)

Participating moderator: Martin Edwards (on

John Bingham)

OVERSTEPPING THE MARK: ABUSES OF PRIVILEGE

AND POWER

• Ajay Chowdhury

• Kate Ellis

• Alex North

• Jeffrey Siger

Participating Moderator: Sam Holland

Book room

20.00–21.30 MURDLE @ CrimeFest with G.T. Karber

in association with Souvenir Press and Proﬁle Books - Prizes to be won! (Ticket holders only)

Panel and Events Schedule Thursday, 9 May 2024

CrimeFest

47 Henleaze Road, Bristol, BS9 4JU

www.maxminervas.co.uk

8.30 – 18.15: REGISTRATION DESK OPEN

Panel and Events Schedule Friday, 10 May 2024

DUCHESS 1 - 2 DUCHESS 3 - 4 MARLBOROUGH

9.00–

9.50

DEBUT AUTHORS: AN INFUSION OF

FRESH BLOOD

• C.L. Miller • Isobel Shirlaw

• Tania Tay • Joanna Wallace

Moderator: Donna Moore

CLOAK AND DAGGER: SPIES AND

INTRIGUE

• Stuart Field • Michael Kurland

• Jay Warton • G.B. Williams

Moderator: Maxim Jakubowski

NOT ALL WORK: THE PRIVATE

LIVES OF PROTAGONISTS

• Judi Daykin • Paul Durston

• Kate London • Stella Oni

Participating Moderator: Caro

Ramsay

A SKELETON IN THE CUPBOARD:

KEEPING SECRETS

• Mark Ellis • Felix Francis

• Simon McCleave • Kaaron Warren

Participating Moderator: Caroline

England

COLUMBO: JUST ONE MORE THING…

• G.T. Karber • Vaseem Khan

• Laura Lippman

Participating Moderator: Adrian

Muller

COMPLEXITY: TELLING TALES AND

SPINNING WEBS

• Tana Collins • Paul Gitsham

• A.J. Hill • Vanessa Savage

Participating Moderator: Lucy

Martin

10.10–

11.00

UNCANNY HAPPENINGS: WHEN

CRIME IS SINISTER AND SPOOKY

• Alice Bell • Jane McLoughlin

• Syd Moore • Wendy Turbin

Participating Moderator: Linda

Stratmann

DISHONEST DEALINGS:

MISCONDUCT, MANIPULATION AND

MISREPRESENTATION

• Graham Bartlett • Megan Davis

• Valerie Keogh • Lucy Martin

Participating Moderator: Zoë Sharp

11.20–

12.10

ROAD TRIP: CROSSING BORDERS

AND CROSS COUNTRY CHASES

• Holly Jackson • Denise Mina

• Abir Mukherjee • Emma Styles

Participating Moderator: Stella Oni

(Please note that Denise Mina and

Holly Jackson will be signing in the

bookroom at 11am)

IT’S ALL ANCIENT HISTORY: CRIME

FICTION ACROSS TIME

• Louise Mangos • Bryan J. Mason

• Leonora Nattrass • Bridget Walsh

Participating Moderator: David

Penny

12.30–

13.20

YOU’RE A LIAR: DECEIT AND

DISHONESTY

• Tina Baker • Lucy Banks

• Charlotte Barnes • Tracy Darnton

Participating Moderator: Jen

Faulkner

TA-DA!: CONFESSIONS AND

REVELATIONS

• Heather Fitt • Emily Koch

• N.J. Moss • Kaaron Warren

Participating Moderator: D.V. Bishop

13.40–

14.30

OUT WITH THE OLD: CRIME FICTION

SET IN TIMES OF STRIFE AND

CHANGE

• Vaseem Khan • Pam Lecky

• Fiona Veitch Smith • Linda

Stratmann

Participating Moderator: Mark Ellis

WHOSE STORY?: REPRESENTATION,

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN

CRIME FICTION

• Christie Newport • Nell Pattison

• Emma Styles • Tim Sullivan

Participating Moderator: Elizabeth

Chakrabarty

TWISTED TALES: SUBVERTING

EXPECTATIONS

• Blake Mara • Michael Stanley

(aka Michael Sears)

• B.P. Walter • Nicola Williams

Participating Moderator: Megan

Davis

14.50–

15.40

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD:

CRIME FICTION IN SPLENDID

ISOLATION

• Heather Critchlow • James Delargy

• Mary Grand • Lexie Elliott

Participating Moderator: Sarah Ward

A QUESTION OF ETHICS: MORAL

DILEMMAS AND DIFFICULT CHOICES

• Liz Fielding • Felix Francis

• Alex Shaw • Alex Stone

Participating Moderator: Michael

Stanley (aka Stanley Trollip)

ALFRED HITCHCOCK AND THE ART

OF ADAPTING TERROR

• Tina Baker • Denise Mina

• Barry Ryan

Participating Moderator: Gavin

Collinson

16.00–

16.50

DOMESTIC NOIR: WHEN MURDER IS

CLOSE TO HOME

• Emma Curtis • Caroline England

• Laura Lippman • Dan Malakin

Participating Moderator: Louise

Mangos

PRESUMED GUILTY: WHO DO WE

BELIEVE?

• L.F. Robertson • Brooke Robinson

• Alex Stone • James Woolf

Participating Moderator: Jackie

Kabler

P.D. JAMES

GHOST OF HONOUR

• Frances Fyﬁeld • Peter Kemp

• Dr. Beatrice Groves

Participating Moderator: Simon

Brett

17.10–

18.00

WHAT A THRILL: PAGE-TURNERS

AND CLIFF HANGERS

• Chris Curran • Antony Dunford

• Charles Harris • Christine Poulson

Participating Moderator: Jeffrey

Siger

UNWELCOME?: WHEN HOSPITALITY

MEETS MURDER

• J.G. Goodhind • Hannah Hendy

• Ian Moore • Orlando Murrin

Participating Moderator: Ajay

Chowdhury

SHADES OF GREY: DEVELOPING

PLOTS AND CHARACTERS

• Alison Bruce • Paul Gitsham

• Kate Grifﬁn • Nell Pattison

Participating Moderator: Kate

London

BOOK ROOM

18.30–

19.30 CrimeFest RNIB rafﬂe launch and the Crime Writers’ Association’s Dagger Announcement Reception

CrimeFest

8.30 – 17.00: REGISTRATION DESK OPEN

DUCHESS 1 - 2 DUCHESS 3 - 4 MARLBOROUGH

9.00–

9.50

DEBUT AUTHORS: AN INFUSION

OF FRESH BLOOD

• Bryan J. Mason • Orlando Murrin

•Brooke Robinson • James Woolf

Moderator: Donna Moore

PARTNERS IN CRIME: WHEN TWO

OR MORE HEADS ARE BETTER THAN

ONE

• Ruth Dudley Edwards • A. J. Hill

• C.L. Miller • Marisse Whitaker

Participating Moderator: Cathy Ace

TICK TOCK: A RACE AGAINST TIME

• Michelle Kidd

• Simon McCleave

• Brian Price

• Michael Stanley (aka Stan Trollip)

Participating Moderator: Martin

Edwards

10.10–

11.00

*WESSEX ROOM*

FEATURED GUEST INTERVIEW:

DENISE MINA

Interviewer: Abir Mukherjee

11.20–

12.10

PARENTAL ISSUES: CRIME IN THE

FAMILY

• Jackie Kabler • J.S. Lark

• Isobel Shirlaw • Tania Tay

Participating Moderator: M.A.

Hunter

NOT IN MY JOB DESCRIPTION:

CRIME-SOLVING AMATEURS

• J.G. Goodhind • Ada Moncrieff

• Kate Wells • Ovidia Yu

Participating Moderator: Dolores

Gordon-Smith

HISTORY’S UNTOLD STORIES: THE

JOYS OF HISTORICAL CRIME FICTION

• Martin Edwards • Kate Grifﬁn

• Christina Koning • Abir Mukherjee

Participating Moderator: Donna

Moore

12.30-

13.20

*WESSEX ROOM*

FEATURED GUEST INTERVIEW:

LAURA LIPPMAN

Interviewer: Ayo Onatade

13.40-

14.30

BAD PEOPLE: SERIAL KILLERS,

PSYCHOPATHS AND SCARY

STRANGERS

• C.V. Chauhan • Sam Holland

• Joanna Wallace • Sarah Ward

Participating Moderator: Alex

North

NEW TRADITIONS: WRITING THE

MODERN COSY

• Katherine Black • Fliss Chester

• Janice Hallett • Antony Johnston

Participating Moderator: David

Brawn

GENRE BENDING: FINDING YOUR

NICHE

• Jane Adams • Guy Morpuss

• Rachel North • Teri Terry

Participating Moderator: Vaseem

Khan

14:50 –

15:40

*WESSEX ROOM*

FEATURED GUEST INTERVIEW:

2024 CWA Diamond Dagger

Recipient: LYNDA LA PLANTE

Interviewer: Maxim Jakubowski

in association with the Crime

Writers' Association

16.00-

16.50

*WESSEX ROOM*

2024 CWA DIAMOND DAGGER

RECIPIENT:

James Lee Burke

(through video link)

Interviewer: Vaseem Khan

in association with the Crime

Writers' Association

WESSEX ROOM

17.30–

18.15 Pre-Gala Dinner Reception (all Full Pass holders welcome)

18.15 CRIMEFEST Awards Dinner (ticket holders only)

BOOK ROOM

19.45 Eurovision Song Contest Final Screening (all Full Pass holders welcome)

CrimeFest

Panel and Events Schedule Saturday, 11 May 2024

9.00 – 13.15: REGISTRATION DESK OPEN

DUCHESS 1 - 2 DUCHESS 3 - 4

9.30–10.20

WHO’S OUT TO GET ME? WATCHERS, STALKERS

AND UNKNOWN ASSAILANTS

• Elizabeth Chakrabarty • C.V. Chauhan

• M.A. Hunter • Jen Faulkner

Participating Moderator: Alison Bruce

THE INDIE ALTERNATIVE

• Nikki Copleston • Susan Grossey

• Sherry Hostler • Abby Davies

• S.J. Richards

Participating Moderator: Zoë Sharp

10.40–11.30

LEADER OF TOASTS INTERVIEW:

Cathy Ace

Interviewer: Barry Ryan

BETWEEN THE WARS: CRIME FICTION IN THE

1920S AND 30S

• Jane Adams • Dolores Gordon-Smith

• T.E. Kinsey • Ada Moncrieff

Moderator: Kate Ellis

11.50–12.40

CRIMINAL MASTERMIND QUIZ

• Laura Lippman (on Columbo)

• Stuart Field (Washington Poe novels of M.J.

Craven)

• Zoë Sharp (on Reacher: Seasons 1 and 2)

Inquizitor: Maxim Jakubowksi

Prizes to be won!

CrimeFest

CRIMINAL CALENDAR 2024-2025

CAPITAL CRIME

30 May - 1 June

Leonardo Royal Hotel St Paul's, London

https://www.capitalcrime.org/

THEAKSTON OLD PECULIER

CRIME WRITING FESTIVAL

18 - 21 July

Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate

https://harrogateinternationalfestivals.

com/crime-writing-festival/

ST HILDA’S CRIME & MYSTERY WEEKEND

9 - 11 August

St. Hilda’s College, Oxford

https://www.st-hildas.ox.ac.uk/

events/2024-crime-ﬁction-weekend

BLOODY SCOTLAND

13 - 15 September

Stirling

www.bloodyscotland.com

BOUCHERCON WORLD MYSTERY

CONVENTION

28 August - 1 September

Nashville, Tennessee, USA

https://www.bouchercon2024.com/

ICELAND NOIR

20 - 23 November

https://icelandnoir.weebly.com/

LEFT COAST CRIME

13 - 16 March 2025

Denver, Colorado, USA

https://leftcoastcrime.org/2025/

GŴYL CRIME CYMRU FESTIVAL

April 2025

https://gwylcrimecymrufestival.co.uk/

CRIMEFEST

8-11 or 15-18 May 2025

Bristol

www.crimefest.com

Panel and Events Schedule Sunday, 12 May 2024

THE 2024 CRIMEFEST AWARDS SHORTLISTS

Winners will be announced at the CrimeFest Gala Awards Dinner on Saturday 11 May

Eligible titles were submitted by publishers and a team of British crime ﬁction reviewers voted

to establish the shortlist and the winning title. All winners receive a commemorative Bristol

Blue Glass Award

Awards

SPECSAVERS DEBUT CRIME NOVEL AWARD

eDUNNIT AWARD

For the best crime ﬁction ebook ﬁrst published in

both hardcopy and in electronic format in the United

Kingdom in 2023.

– Rachel Abbott for Don't Look Away (Wildﬁre)

– Jane Casey for The Close (HarperCollins)

– Martin Edwards for Sepulchre Street (Head of Zeus)

– Christina Koning for Murder at Bletchley Park

(Allison & Busby)

– Laura Lippman for Prom Mom (Faber & Faber)

– Craig Russell for The Devil's Playground (Constable)

In association with headline sponsor, the Specsavers

Debut Crime Novel Award is for debut authors

ﬁrst published in the United Kingdom in 2023. The

winning author receives a £1,000 prize.

– Stig Abell for Death Under a Little Sky (Hemlock

Press/HarperCollins)

– Jo Callaghan for In The Blink Of An Eye (Simon &

Schuster)

– Megan Davis for The Messenger (Zaffre)

– Jenny Lund Madsen for Thirty Days of Darkness

translated by Megan Turney (Orenda Books)

– Natalie Marlow for Needless Alley (Baskerville)

– Alice Slater for Death of a Bookseller (Hodder &

Stoughton)

LAST LAUGH AWARD

The Last Laugh Award is for the best humorous crime

novel ﬁrst published in the United Kingdom in 2023.

– Mark Billingham for The Last Dance (Sphere)

– Elly Grifﬁths for The Great Deceiver (Quercus)

– Mick Herron for The Secret Hours (Baskerville)

– Mike Ripley for Mr Campion's Memory (Severn House)

– Jesse Sutanto for Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for

Murderers (HQ)

– Antti Tuomainen for The Beaver Theory (Orenda

Books)

H.R.F. KEATING AWARD

The H.R.F. Keating Award is for the best biographical

or critical book related to crime ﬁction ﬁrst

published in the United Kingdom in 2023. The award

is named after H.R.F. ‘Harry’ Keating, one of Britain’s

most esteemed crime novelists, crime reviewers and

writers of books about crime ﬁction.

– M, J, F & A Dall'Asta, Migozzi, Pagello & Pepper for

Contemporary European Crime Fiction: Representing

History and Politics (Palgrave)

– Lisa Hopkins for Ocular Proof and the Spectacled

Detective in British Crime Fiction (Palgrave)

– Kate Jackson for How To Survive a Classic Crime

Novel (British Library Publishing)

– Steven Powell for Love Me Fierce In Danger: The Life

of James Ellroy (Bloomsbury Academic)

– Nicholas Shakespeare for Ian Fleming: The

Complete Man (Harvill Secker)

– Adam Sisman for The Secret Life of John le Carré (Proﬁle Books)

THE 2024 CRIMEFEST AWARDS SHORTLISTS

Winners will be announced at the CrimeFest Gala Awards Dinner on Saturday 11 May

Awards

THE 2024 CRIMEFEST AWARDS SHORTLISTS

Winners will be announced at the CrimeFest Gala Awards Dinner on Saturday 11 May

Eligible titles were submitted by publishers and reviewers of ﬁction for children and young

adults voted alongside volunteering members of the School Library Association (SLA) to

establish the shortlist and the winning title. The winners receive a commemorative Bristol Blue

Glass award.

Awards

Best Crime Fiction Novel For

Children (ages 8-12)

This award is for the best crime novel for children (aged

8-12) ﬁrst published in the United Kingdom in 2023.

– A.M. Howell for Mysteries At Sea: Peril On The Atlantic

(Usborne Publishing)

– Lis Jardine for The Detention Detectives (Penguin Random

House Children's UK)

– Beth Lincoln for The Swifts (Penguin Random House

Children's UK)

– Marcus Rashford (with Alex Falase-Koya) for The

Breakfast Club Adventures: The Ghoul in the School

(Macmillan Children's Books)

– Robin Stevens for The Ministry of Unladylike Activity 2:

The Body in the Blitz (Penguin Random House Children's

UK)

– J.T. Williams for The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries: Portraits

and Poison, illustrated by Simone Douglas (Farshore)

Best Crime Fiction Novel

For Young Adults (ages 12-16)

This award is for the best crime novel for young adults

(aged 12-16) ﬁrst published in the United Kingdom in 2023.

– Jennifer Lynn for Barnes The Brothers Hawthorne

(Penguin Random House Children's UK)

– Nick Brooks for Promise Boys (Macmillan Children's

Books)

– Ravena Guron for This Book Kills (Usborne Publishing)

– Ravena Guron for Catch Your Death (Usborne Publishing)

– Karen M. McManus for One of Us is Back (Penguin

Random House Children's UK)

– Elizabeth Wein for Stateless (Bloomsbury YA)

CRIMEFEST PRESS AD 2024 – ACORN

CUTTER TERRITORY MATERIAL DESCRIPTION TITLE NLAG NO. DATE OPERATOR

BLACKYELLOWMAGENTACYAN

210x297mm UK RLJE PRESS ADVERT CRIMEFEST PRESS AD 2024 17/04/24 Jola

AVxxxx

Out now on DVD or stream on

with a 14-day free trial.

Optional subscription following trial period. £4.99/month or £49.99/year. No adverts. No contract. Cancel anytime.

THE 2024 CRIMEFEST AWARDS SHORTLISTS

Winners will be announced at the CrimeFest Gala Awards Dinner on Saturday 11 May

Awards

THALIA PROCTOR MEMORIAL

AWARD FOR

BEST ADAPTED

TV CRIME

DRAMA

This award is for the best

television crime drama

based on a book and ﬁrst

screened in the UK in 2023.

Eligible titles were collated

from the Radio Times

and CrimeFest newsletter

readers established the

shortlist and the winning title. The winning author

and production company each receive a Bristol

Blue Glass commemorative award.

The award is named after Thalia Proctor, a true fan

of crime ﬁction and drama. Thalia worked in specialist bookshops, and went on to work with

many crime writers in publishing. She was a much-loved and valued member of the CrimeFest

team, and known and loved by many members of the crime writing community.

– Dalgliesh (series 2), based on the Inspector Dalgliesh books by P.D. James (Channel 5)

– Reacher (series 2), based on the Jack Reacher books by Lee Child (Amazon Prime)

– Shetland (series 8), based on the Shetland books by Ann Cleeves (BBC)

– Slow Horses (series 3), based on the Slough House books by Mick Herron (Apple)

– The Serial Killer's Wife, based on the Serial Killer books by Alice Hunter (Paramount+)

– Vera (series 12), based on the Vera Stanhope books by Ann Cleeves (ITV)

NO TWISTS IN THE TALE FROM US,

JUST EXPERT ACCOUNTING

HW Fisher is a top accountancy practice with unparalleled experience advising

professionals in the media and entertainment industries.

For over 50 years, we have supported authors across many genres and at different

stages of their writing careers with all their tax needs.

To find out more, visit hwfisher.co.uk, or contact:

Andrew Subramaniam:

ASubramaniam@hwfisher.co.uk

+44 (0)20 7388 7000

WWW.HWFISHER.CO.UK

EXPRESS YOUR TALENT.

DEPEND ON OURS.

Notes...

NO TWISTS IN THE TALE FROM US,

JUST EXPERT ACCOUNTING

HW Fisher is a top accountancy practice with unparalleled experience advising

professionals in the media and entertainment industries.

For over 50 years, we have supported authors across many genres and at different

stages of their writing careers with all their tax needs.

To find out more, visit hwfisher.co.uk, or contact:

Andrew Subramaniam:

ASubramaniam@hwfisher.co.uk

+44 (0)20 7388 7000

WWW.HWFISHER.CO.UK

EXPRESS YOUR TALENT.

DEPEND ON OURS.

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