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06
Jul 2021
Harrogate International Festivals apologises for lack of diversity
Harrogate International Festivals has issued an apology for not including any female writers of colour in its 2021 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.
The prestigious four-day festival takes place this month at the Old Swan in Harrogate.
Many leading crime writers, including Pointless star turned best seller Richard Osman, Mick Herron, Elly Griffiths and Ann Cleeves are due to attend and events take place across the four days.
But the lack of diversity among the line-up attracted criticism, which prompted Harrogate International Festivals' programming committee to post on Twitter:
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The apology prompted writers A A Dhand and Abir Mukherjee, who were invited to this year's festival, to release a joint statement, which said:
Their statement added that "Harrogate has always been at the forefront of championing new voices, so the commitment to changing practices and widening the diversity of the planning committee is a very welcome step."
They added they recognised diversity and inclusion were tricky subjects and that problems were not specific just to the Harrogate festival.
The festival's crime novel of the year award carries a £3,000 prize.
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