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Jun
Harrogate International Festivals has announced the shortlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2024.
Six books have been shortlisted for the award, with the winner being revealed on the opening night next month.
Two former winners in contention are 2022 champion Mick Herron, the author behind Apple TV series Slow Horses, who is nominated for his standalone spy thriller The Secret Hours and two-time winner Mark Billingham, shortlisted for the first time in eight years with The Last Dance, the first novel in the new Detective Declan Miller series set in Blackpool.
They face competition from two rising stars of the genre who are shortlisted for the first time: William Hussey with Killing Jericho and Jo Callaghan for Blink of An Eye.
Two bestselling authors hoping to add the award to their trophy cabinets are Lisa Jewell, shortlisted for her domestic noir None of This is True, and four-time Irish Book Award winner Liz Nugent, nominated for Strange Sally Diamond.
The award is open to full-length crime novels published in paperback between May 1, 2023 and April 30, 2024.
The winner will receive £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by T&R Theakston Ltd.
The shortlist for the inaugural McDermid Debut Award, named in recognition of crime writer Val McDermid, showcases six new voices writing across a broad range of subgenres.
Sharon Canavar, chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals, said:
Awards night is always a special way to open the festival but this year it promises to be more exciting than ever with the new McDermid Debut Award being presented alongside our other awards.
The winners of both awards will be revealed on the opening night of the festival on Thursday, July 18.
Crime fiction fans are invited to vote for their favourite book to win by clicking or tapping here.
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