Thousands descend on Harrogate for crime writing festival

Thousands of people have begun to arrive in Harrogate for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, which begins today.

The annual four-day festival sees Harrogate become the centre of the UK literary scene, with numerous best-selling authors and celebrities in town. More than 17,000 tickets have been sold.

This year’s line-up includes TV historian and author Lucy Worsley, who will be interviewed by broadcaster Natasha Knight on Sunday’s final day.

Jeffrey Deaver, who has sold 150 million books worldwide, will be interviewed by broadcaster and author Mark Lawson on Saturday.

Tomorrow’s big names include Val McDermid while tonight sees an appearance by Ann Cleeves as well as the announcement of the winner of the crime novel of the year award.

As usual, the event will be held at the Old Swan, which is where crime writer Agatha Christie was found after she went missing in 1926.

Organised by Harrogate International Festivals, 2023 festival chair and award-winning crime and thriller author Vaseem Khan has curated this year’s programme.

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Harrogate’s crime writing festival names its novel of the year

Newcastle novelist Mick Herron has won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2022, presented by Harrogate International Festivals, for his crime novel Slough House.

The announcement was made at The Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate last night during the opening ceremony of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, which runs until Sunday.

The book, which is the seventh installment in the bestselling series of the same name, follows a band of failed spies.

This year marks Herron’s first time winning the award after five appearances on the shortlist in just six years.

The author received a £3,000 prize, as well as a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by T&R Theakston Ltd.

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Mick Herron said:

“This is the most coveted trophy in the crime writing community and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have won it.”

Sharon Canavar, chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals, said there was “an incredibly strong shortlist”.

The festival will see crime fiction icons including Kathy Reichs, Tess Gerritsen, Denise Mina, Lynda La Plante, Mark Billingham, Ann Cleeves and more take to the stage to discuss all things crime fiction at the world’s biggest celebration of the genre.

For more information on the line up and tickets, visit here.

Shortlist revealed for Harrogate’s crime writing festival

The shortlist for the UK’s most prestigious crime writing award, hosted in Harrogate, has been announced today.

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2022 is hosted by Harrogate International Festivals. As well as the famous award there is a four-day festival welcoming household names to Harrogate.

The award, now in its 18th year, celebrates crime fictions at its best. This year’s shortlisted authors take readers from the streets of newly independent India to a remote Fenlands cottage, from a missing persons investigation in Manchester to a body discovery in Norfolk and from a murder in Georgian London to the murky world of espionage.

The public have until July 8 to vote for their winner with the final result announced on the festival’s opening night on July 21.

The six nominees are:

This is Ms Griffiths’ fourth time on the shortlist. The Night Hawks is the 13th instalment in her Ruth Galloway series. This novel sees forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway embroiled in a mystery involving Bronze age treasure, a series of murders and a local legend of a ghost dog.

This novel is a Sunday Times bestseller and the first standalone novel from Mr Knox. Blending fact and fiction, the book transports the reader to Manchester and encases them in a web of mystery surrounding a 19-year-old student who leaves a party to never be seen again.

The historical crime writer is back with her second novel, Daughters of Night, two years after her debut Blood & Sugar which was longlisted in 2020. This novel centres on the murder of a prostitute and brings to life the darkest corners of Georgian high society.

In the tenth instalment oh his series, Mr Herron returns with the Slough House which marks the fifth time in five years he has been on the shortlist. The series has recently been adapted by Apple TV as a spy drama called Slow Horses starting Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas.

The first in a series narrating the investigations of India’s first female police detective finds her tasked with solving the murder of an English diplomat as the country prepares to become the world’s biggest republic.

Will Dean is known for his Tuva Moodyson series but in his newest novel he has changed the setting to the derelict British fenlands. The claustrophobic tale depicts a woman’s determination to escape captivity by an unknown man in a remote cottage. This is Mr Dean’s first appearance on the shortlist.

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The crime writing festival is set to take over Harrogate and include multiple events between July 21 to July 24.

Simon Theakston, executive director of Theakston, said:

“What a fantastic shortlist, six thrilling tales which deliver shocking twists and unforgettable characters! We look forward to revealing the winner in July as we kick off the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.”

Sharon Canavar, chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals, said:

“We are delighted to announce this year’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year shortlist, featuring six novels by some of the most exciting crime writers working today. Whisking readers around the world and through time, this shortlist is a fantastic demonstration of the variety to be found in crime fiction.”

The winner will receive a £3,000 prize, as well as a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by T&R Theakston Ltd.

Programme revealed for Harrogate’s crime writing festival

Harrogate International Festivals has announced the full programme for the 2022 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.

The four-day event offers the chance to discover the next big names in crime fiction and hear giants of the genre discuss their work. It includes panels, workshops and talks.

The line-up has been curated by this year’s festival chair, the novelist Denise Mina.

Special guests headlining the festival include crime fiction authors Lynda La Plante, Paula Hawkins, Tess Gerritsen, Michael Connelly, Lucy Foley, Charlie Higson, John Connolly, CL Taylor and Kathy Reichs.

Other speakers set to appear include broadcaster and crime fiction debut author, Rev Richard Coles, comedian Frankie Boyle and TV chef Rosemary Shrager.

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This year’s programme will also feature two author dinners, attended by popular crime and thriller writers including: politician and debut novelist Alan Johnson, author Andrew Hunter Murray and bestselling thriller writer Syd Moore.

The festival runs from July 21-24 at Harrogate’s Old Swan Hotel.

Sharon Canavar, chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals, said:

“We are absolutely thrilled to announce the programme for this year’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival. Denise has done a wonderful job curating a line-up which demonstrates the amazing breadth of crime fiction writing and points to an exciting future for the genre.

“We can’t wait to hear all these brilliant speakers take to the stage and share their insights, stories and predictions of what lies ahead for crime fiction and thriller writing!”

For more information visit HIF’s website.

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:

“It has been brought to our attention that our 2021 crime writing festival programme contains no female writers of colour. It should not have been necessary for this to be pointed out to us.

“We work hard on diversity at the crime writing festival but, although there have been many unique challenges this year, we got this wrong, and we apologise.

“We will be examining our planning processes, changing our practices — including expanding our programming committee — and working hard to make sure it never happens again in future years.”

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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:

“We are pleased that the concerns raised over this year’s Harrogate festival programme containing no female writers of colour have been recognised and that constructive conversations have taken place resulting in a welcome change in policy for future literary festivals.”

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.

 

‘Give us a clear plan’, say Harrogate hospitality businesses

Hospitality businesses in the Harrogate district have called for a clear plan as they await the Prime Minister’s “road map” out of lockdown.

Boris Johnson is expected to announce the next steps to ease lockdown in his public broadcast later today.

For local hospitality, the most important thing is for there to be sufficient detail to allow them to plan the next steps in reopening – and that enough businesses can be opened to make the whole sector viable.

Kimberley Wilson, chair of guesthouse association Accommodation Harrogate, said reopening hotels would only be viable if other facilities were also able to open:

“Visitors want to know everything else is open before they book. One guy said to me, ‘I don’t want to come and sit in my hotel room with nothing to do – I want to know the shops are open and I can eat out’. It has to be a package.”

Dan Siddle, general manager of the Crown Hotel, said he doesn’t want to see restrictions eased and then reintroduced, and would rather wait longer until the country is “clear of the woods” before welcoming guests back. He added:

“Hospitality has suffered from March last year, and while there has been some positive support throughout, it’s important that we as an industry are not forgotten about and that that support continues. The VAT reduction, business rates cut, [and] furlough pay to support teams, could all be continued to help us through the recovery period.”

Harrogate BID said it was working on supportive measures for businesses which had been forced to close repeatedly, and will be carrying out projects including street cleaning and floral displays to make the town centre attractive again.

Harrogate BID carried out extra street cleaning at the end of the first lockdown

Chair Sara Ferguson said:

“Ideally, we would like to see all non-essential shops and the hospitality industry back open in time for Easter. This traditionally marks the start of the tourism season, and with hopefully warmer weather and lighter nights, those in the hospitality sector will again be able to make use of the pavements and other open spaces.

“However, I have a feeling the hospitality sector will be lockdown until after the holiday as the Government won’t want to face the issues it did at Christmas.

“Any rules and guidelines, national or local, must be clear and not leave room for any ambiguity which has occurred in the past. They also need to be strictly and consistently enforced.”

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While it is likely indoor events on the scale which Harrogate is used to seeing will be some way off, outdoor events are being planned from March onwards.

Harrogate International Festivals is working with other organisations on projects to encourage people back into the town centre from next month, if restrictions allow. Chief executive Sharon Canavar said:

“We must have made 50 plans and torn them up last year. What we’ve done this year is look at how we could put on events if rules are relaxed but there is still social distancing in place.”

Plans are also being made to stage the organisation’s larger festivals later in the year. The first of these is likely to be the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in July – though it could be under canvas with reduced numbers compared to previous years.

All the changes needed will impact on events’ viability, but HIF – which has already cut its staff numbers down to just three – is looking at the long-term picture, both for its own events and as part of the town’s overall attraction to visitors. Sharon added:

“Do we want to just survive or do we want to make sure there’s a recovery there? What will the diary in Harrogate look like after this, for the arts and for business events? It’s not just about this year, but about what we’re creating for the future.”