Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2018 Event Guide

HARROGATE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS

Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 19-22 July 2018 | Harrogate | home of crime

“The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival is the best in the world – and I know, because I’ve done all of them” - Lee Child, Author

Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate

Box Office: 01423 562 303 harrogateinternationalfestivals.com Harrogate International Festivals is a registered charity no. 244861.

2018 | festival programme | at a glance Thursday 19 July

9am – 5.30pm

Creative Thursday: Crime Fiction Writing Workshop 8pm Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 9pm Festival Opening Party with Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers

Friday 20 July

9am Special Guest: Denise Mina 10.30am I Used to Do This for a Living 12pm That’s Where My Heart Is 1.30pm Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers Book Signing 2pm Wherever I Hang My Hat Is Home 3.30pm Write What You Know 5pm Special Guests: Linwood Barclay & Laura Lippman 6.30pm Dead Good Readers Award 8pm Special Guest: John Grisham 10pm Richard Osman’s Room 101 Of Crime

Saturday 21 July

9am Special Guests: Nicci French

10.30am It Happened Twenty Years Ago…Or a Hundred

12pm New Blood

1pm Readers’ Book Group with Mari Hannah 2pm What Happened Next?

3.30pm The Truth Behind the Crime

5pm Special Guests: Sue Black & Val McDermid

6.15pm Author Dinner: Murder Mystery 8.30pm Special Guest: Don Winslow

10pm Late Night Quiz

Sunday 22 July

10am Frozen Lands

11.30am Special Guest: Sophie Hannah

Key: event included in Weekend Rover ticket,

event included in Friday Rover ticket,

event included in Saturday Rover ticket.

Please note all events excluding Special Guest: John Grisham take place at The Old Swan Hotel | Swan Road | Harrogate | HG1 2SR Special Guest: John Grisham takes place at the Royal Hall | Ripon Road | Harrogate | HG1 2RD Join the conversation online @TheakstonsCrime

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TheakstonCrime

Box Office: 01423 562 303 | Booking Fees Apply

Welcome

home of crime

Welcome! I have enjoyed this event many times before as an author, reader and fan, but this year I’m in the hot seat – chair of the programming committee. I’d like to thank the committee members and the festival staff for their talent and tireless hard work. We hope you’ll agree we’ve assembled a terrific line-up this year. As always, the reputation and ambience of Harrogate made people keen to come.

Two things to remember – first, the authors are here to see you, just as much as you’re here to see them. Don’t hesitate to walk right up and introduce yourselves.

There’s nothing an author likes better than to meet a reader.

And second – try someone new. Try a book you never heard of. Pay attention to the writers just beginning their careers. Two or three of them will be back here twenty years from now as superstars. How cool it would be if Harrogate – and you personally – gave them their start.

Lee Child | 2018 Festival Programming Chair Welcome! Yet again I find myself asking, as I do every year – can this year really be better than the last?

Well, with Lee Child as our Programming Chair, there’s no doubt he’s cemented our reputation as the best celebration of the genre, in the world!

We’ve had some iconic names over the years. 2018 is a first for two American giants of crime fiction: John Grisham and Don Winslow. And it’s a very welcome return for Special Guests: Laura Lippman, Sophie Hannah, Nicci French, Denise Mina, Val McDermid, Sue Black and Linwood Barclay. Thanks to all the authors on our panels, in conversation, and in action at the bar.

I’d like to think, as brewer of a beer that clearly has the ability to influence people in important and high places, I had a part to play in John Grisham agreeing to attend. He has said that he had his first pint of Theakston Old Peculier about 20 years ago: “Others followed,” Grisham said. “It’s my favourite beer in the world.”

He has good taste. But it was of course down to the phenomenal Lee Child, who invited his American friends.

In an ever-troubling world, there’s huge thirst for the crime genre’s moral framework where usually, justice prevails. Which explains in part why our Programming Chair is a hero to millions of readers, as well as an inspiration to his fellow writers. Thank you Lee for taking the helm and being such a supportive, warm friend of the Festival.

Thanks also to you, the readers, who make our Festival such a friendly, inclusive, inviting and uplifting event. As we mark our sixteenth festival, it’s a pleasure and delight to welcome you, old friends and new.

Simon Theakston | Executive Director T&R Theakston

harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

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Weekend Break Packages - the perfect getaway Treat yourself to a weekend at the crime hot spot of the summer by booking a combined ticket and accommodation package.

Stay in one of our specially selected festival hotels (subject to availability) and join over 80 of the world’s most celebrated crime authors in conversation, in action and in the bar! If you’re not sure which option will best suit your needs the festival team will be happy to help and advise.

Weekend Break Packages include:

3 nights bed and breakfast accommodation (19, 20 & 21 July)

Weekend Rover ticket (see below for full details)

• •

Prices start from just £429 per person.

Tailor-made packages for 1, 2 or 4 nights stay are also available.

Rooms are always in demand during the Festival Weekend; don’t miss out!

To book or talk through options, call the Festivals Office on tel: 01423 562 303 or email: crime@harrogate-festival.org.uk

Indulge your criminal tendencies and get great value for money with a Festival Rover ticket. Limited availability.

Weekend Rovers Include:

Access to all Festival events* from 8pm on Thursday 19 July to 12.30pm on Sunday Weekend Rover symbol next to the events included in 22 July. Look out for the your Weekend Rover ticket.

Delicious lunches at The Old Swan Hotel on Friday and Saturday

A complimentary Festival goody bag

Price: £225 per person (19 events in total)

• • •

Friday Rover

(20 July) and Saturday Rover

(21 July) tickets are available.

Day Rovers include:

Access to all Festival events* throughout the day. Look out for the Friday Rover

& Saturday Rover symbols denoting which events are included in your day rover ticket.

A delicious lunch at The Old Swan Hotel

A complimentary Festival goody bag

Price: Friday Rover £94 per person (8 events in total)

and Saturday Rover £90 per person (8 events in total) Reduced Rovers will be available which exclude catering

• • •

How To Book Rover Tickets and Individual Tickets Box Office, tel: 01423 562 303 | Book Online: harrogateinternationalfestivals.com * Rover tickets DO NOT include the following: Creative Thursday (Thu 19 July), Dead Good Readers Award (Fri 20 July) and Dinner event (Sat 21 July). These events must be booked separately, please check event listings for details.

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Box Office: 01423 562 303 | Booking Fees Apply

Creative Thursday: From Corpse to Courtroom 9am - 5.30pm | Tickets £99

Thur 19 July

Have you ever wanted to stand in the shoes of a murder detective?

Murder Most Foul - Aided and abetted by authors and crime advisors, Mel McGrath, Kate Bendelow (also a serving CSI), Neil White (also a prosecuting lawyer) and Graham Bartlett (a former senior detective), you will first be faced with a staged murder scene. It will be your job to control the area around the brutally slain body then to identify, preserve and recover the forensic evidence. Next you will work out how the victim met their grisly end before, like your lead detective might, you will decide how to get the investigation rolling. There will be plenty of red herrings and blind alleys, just like real life!

Then the group will divide and it’s off to the first of two workshops: 1) Fact into Fiction – Kate and Graham will take you through how crime scenes and murders are actually investigated. You will learn the dos and don’ts of writing crime and procedure; what you can get away with and what you can’t. They will spend some time myth busting as well as helping you locate the hidden places where your drama may lie. Kate and Graham have spent decades in the police and will lift the lid on its culture hierarchy and jargon, all essential ingredients to writing authentic characters.

2) A (Re)Search for the Truth? – Neil will help you write compelling and cliché-free courtroom scenes, reflecting the pomp and protocol of the British Criminal Justice System and, of course, the law. You will learn how lawyers and judges behave and think and what happens if you land the nightmare client. Mel will then help you to approach research.

She will provide golden tips on how to access experts and the rules around turning all you will learn into gripping drama, avoiding the temptation to inflict your readers to an information-dump.

After a well-earned lunch, you will swap workshops so by the end of the day you will be confident in creating authentic characters and real drama from the discovery of a body to the incarceration of the killer, in a way that will be the envy of many.

NB. No human beings will be harmed for the purposes of this workshop.

The Dragons’ Pen Four brilliant publishing professionals. Two minutes to convince them that your synopsis and first chapter are worth reading. One audience full of your fellow would-be writers. Our literary version of the popular TV show, Dragons’ Den, is not for the faint-hearted.

Sponsored by:

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2018 | Sponsors and Supporters Title Sponsor

Crime Novel of the Year Partners:

Sponsors:

Premier Partners:

Special Projects

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Community Partners

Media Partners

Regular Funder

Box Office: 01423 562 303 | Booking Fees Apply

2018 Crime Novel of the Year Crime writing’s most wanted accolade, the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, returns to highlight the cream of the crop of crime novels by British and Irish authors published over the last year.

2018 Longlist Announcement Want You Gone by Chris Brookmyre The Midnight Line by Lee Child The Seagull by Ann Cleeves Little Deaths by Emma Flint The Chalk Pit by Elly Griffiths The Dry by Jane Harper Spook Street by Mick Herron A Death at Fountains Abbey

by Antonia Hodgson He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly

Sirens by Joseph Knox You Don’t Know Me by Imran Mahmood Insidious Intent by Val McDermid The Long Drop by Denise Mina A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee Rather Be the Devil by Ian Rankin The Intrusions by Stav Sherez Persons Unknown by Susie Steiner The Accident on the A35

by Graeme Macrae Burnet

Outstanding Contribution Award The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival’s Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award is presented annually. This award honours writers who have made a lasting and distinct impression on the genre over the span of their careers and are often people who have provided inspiration for other great authors following in their wake.

Thur 19

Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year & Festival Opening Party | 8pm | Tickets £17

...And the award goes to… It’s the crime writing fraternity’s equivalent of the Oscars with host Mark Lawson. Find out Who Won It for the best Who Done It as six short-listed authors vie for one of the most hotly anticipated awards. What’s more, an icon of the genre will be honoured with the Outstanding Contribution accolade. Steady the nerves with a pint of Yorkshire’s finest ale, then continue the celebrations, and commiserations, at the Festival opening party.

Following blistering performances at book festivals across the country over the last year, the crime-fiction super-group, Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers, are finally coming to Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival. The band, made up of bestsellers Val McDermid, Mark Billingham, Chris Brookmyre, Luca Veste, Doug Johnstone and Stuart Neville, will be happily murdering songs for fun, from Johnny Cash to Elvis Costello by way of Talking Heads and Bruce Springsteen. The most rocking night out this side of a library.

Ticket price includes a glass of wine or pint of Old Peculier

harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

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CELEBRATING THE 20 THANNIVERSARY OF THE AWARD-WINNING CRIME DEBUT FROM

WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY VAL McDERMID

‘One of the

most original voices in crime fiction’ DAILY MAIL

‘Mina can chill your blood and break your heart in the same sentence’

‘One of the

finest crime writers of her

‘The most exciting

generation’

to have emerged in Britain for years’

MARK BILLINGHAM

DAILY TELEGRAPH

IAN RANKIN

crime writer

READ CHAPTER ONE www.deadgoodbooks.co.uk/garnethill

Special Guest:

Denise Mina Friday 20 July | 9am | Tickets £14

Mina switched waitressing for night school to study Law, ‘adapting’ her student grant to write her first novel. Celebrating 20 years since her award-winning debut, Mina’s mantelpiece is surely a sight to behold. The only author to have won Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award in two consecutive years, she was also the first woman to win The McIlvanney Prize for The Long Drop. With plays, short stories, and graphic novels, including adaptations of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series on top, Mina means business.

Scotland’s crime writing supernova will be interviewed by Stav Sherez. The Intrusions was acclaimed by critics for its echoes of Emile Zola, Graham Greene and Dostoyevsky, no less.

Expect the exceptional from two smart, sassy, socially-engaged minds.

Sponsored by:

Box Office: 01423 562 303 | Booking Fees Apply

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Who would believe that this elegant and romantic hotel in the heart of

Harrogate could be the scene of such treachery and dark goings-on! But with its links to Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime, it’s no surprise really that The Old Swan is the perfect place for an intriguing Murder Mystery event.

Look at the facts, check the alibis, and solve the crime at one of our special dinners or weekends. Bring friends and join in the fun.

It can be

Murder at

The

Are you an amateur sleuth?

Can you solve the crime and spot the culprit?

Test your skills at one of our famous Murder Mystery Events.

Friday 3rd August 2018 - Ancient Curse Friday 14th September 2018 - How to Murder a Millionaire Friday 19th October 2018 - Pipers Grave Saturday 10th November 2018 - Catherine’s Wheel Friday 7th December 2018 - Christmas Card Company Friday 28th December 2018 - Auld Lang Syne DINNER: £51 per person DINNER, B&B: £110 per person Call us on

01423 500055

or email: murder.oldswan@classiclodges.co.uk See our website for full details of plots and menus.

Accommodation based on two people sharing a twin or double room.

In association with

THE OLD SWAN HO T E L

Harrog ate

Swan Road, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 2SR | classiclodges.co.uk | events.oldswan@classiclodges.co.uk

Fri 20 I Used to Do This for a Living |

10.30am | Tickets £11

Picture the scene, you’re sipping a Theakston’s, when someone orders something shaken not stirred. Having ‘Spy’ on your CV beats that stint on Morrisons checkout in your destiny as the perfect crime author.

Working at the coalface of real life crime may offer a rich mine of storytelling gold, but which irresistible nuggets get in the way of narrative?

Does job experience hurt, hinder or help?

Check out the remarkable CVs of Alafair Burke, once a prosecutor in America’s police precincts and courtrooms, Karen Cleveland a former CIA analyst, Chris Morgan Jones who worked for investigation company Kroll, and Joseph Finder who was recruited to the CIA. Charles Cummings - approached by MI6 for a job – is licenced to thrill as chair. Sit next to them at the bar and ask for career advice.

That’s Where My Heart is |

12pm | Tickets £11

There’s no place like… Click your heels three times. Where would you go? Bradford! Drawing comparisons with Baltimore in The Wire, A.A. Dhand’s Streets of Darkness delivered a tense slice of neo-noir his books are a dark love song to the city. For Nigerian writer Leye Adenle Lagos is an active participant in his pacy, acclaimed debut Easy Motion Tourist.

Luca Veste was born and raised in Merseyside, reflected in his Murphy and Rossi thrillers (he’s even appeared in Scouse soap, Brookside). Smart and stylish, Susie Steiner’s hyper-realistic police procedurals feature cold case queen DS Manon Bradshaw. Set in Cambridge, Huntingdon and London, Missing, Presumed inspired a geo-targeted’ campaign by her publisher. Inspector Banks creator Peter Robinson whose heart is in Yorkshire (naturally), keeps it down to earth as Chair.

Wherever I Hang My Hat is Home |

2pm | Tickets £11

Pack the pocket toothbrush. Our Programming Chair Lee Child created the iconic ‘noble loner’ with Jack Reacher. Four authors cut from the same cloth explore the enduring appeal. Gregg Hurwitz’s Orphan X series became an instant international bestseller, featuring the Nowhere Man - an orphan raised as a trained assassin - on a personal mission to help those with nowhere else to turn.

Parker Bilal’s Cairo-set The Makana Series, features his noir hero with a life in exile - an updated version of Chandler’s hardboiled loner. Tim Weaver’s novels feature missing persons’ investigator, David Raker, a widower, an outsider, and a lonely soul, with an affinity for the disappeared and the lost. Rod Reynolds’ world-weary, angry narrator is the disgraced New York reporter, Charlie Yates, on a quest for personal redemption.

Laura Wilson reaches out to the drifters, and throws a lifeline, as Chair.

Box Office: 01423 562 303 | Booking Fees Apply

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Come and meet your favourite authors for book signings, special offers and a great range of crime novels.

Please visit the WHSmith Bookshop located in the Papakata tents at The Old Swan Hotel.

Fri 20 Write What You Know |

3.30pm | Tickets £11

How does life experience influence fiction? Novelist, playwright, actress and theatre-maker Stella Duffy completed Money in the Morgue, the unfinished novel left by New Zealand’s Ngaio Marsh. Stella spent her childhood in New Zealand. Author of the bestselling Crimson Lake and daughter of a parole officer, Candice Fox, spent her Australian childhood eavesdropping on tales of violence, madness and evil.

Khurrum Rahman grew up in west London and has been working in IT for a Local Authority for over 18 years. His debut East of Hounslow is a rip-roaring spy adventure with a strong dose of reality. Since his teens Matt Wesolowski has read a great many books about real murders and serial killers. His unique, ingenious Six Stories and follow-up Hydra, are inspired by his fascination with true crime. Cath Staincliffe keeps it real as chair. The Girl in the Green Dress sprang from something close to home - her experience as the parent of a transgender child.

HARROGATE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS

Laura Mvula

27 July 2018 | Royal Hall | Tickets from £24

Box Office: 01423 562 303

harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

the

A GUIDE TO 2018 EVENTS

INCIDENT ROOM hotel room 166 • the old swan hotel

ALL EVENTS

FREE!

TICKETS AV AILABLE NOW

THURSDAY 19 july 4.30 - 5.30pm

An infusion of fresh blood: Afternoon Tea For FESTIVAL Newcomers

First time at Harrogate? Crime writers Mari Hannah & Stephanie Marland share tips for having a fun-packed weekend.

FRIDAY 20 july

SATURDAY 21 july

10.30 - 11.30Am

10.00AM - MIDDAY

CREATIVE WRITING KICKSTART

Two Crime Writers and a Microphone presentS: THE Hungover GAMESHOW

Following last year’s sell-out workshop, author Isabel Ashdown returns with another exclusive crime writing class. No experience needed!

2.30 - 3.30Pm

Crime writers put their obscure true crime knowledge to the test, with quizmasters Steve Cavanagh & Luca Veste, and some very special guests . . .

MEET THE SILENT PATIENT

Bag your limited edition free copy of THE SILENT PATIENT – the most anticipated thriller of 2019 – and get it signed by author Alex Michaelides.

3.00 - 4.00Pm

Which witch are you?

Join us for mischief and magic by candlelight with Sunday Times bestselling author Sharon Bolton.

4.30 - 5.30Pm

The Book Club presents: New Talent

The Book Club’s Tracy Fenton introduces four of the most exciting debut authors of 2018: Niki Mackay, Clare Empson, Elle Croft & Emma Rowley.

4.30 - 5.30Pm

SERIAL OFFENDERS PANEL

Marnie Riches interviews Mason Cross, Rob Sinclair, Daniel Cole & Emma Kavanagh about their ongoing crime series.

6.00 - 7.30Pm

THIRTEEN: LIVE!

6.30 - 7.15Pm

To celebrate Steve Cavanagh’s rip-roaring thriller THIRTEEN, join us for a live jury selection featuring some very special crime writing guests . . .

AN EVENING WITH: LINWOOD BARCLAY Hear Linwood Barclay talk in his most intimate event of the year – and have a drink on us!

* PLUS ALL-DAY EVENTS & ACTIVITIES *

SOLVE A LOCKED ROOM MYSTERY • TRY YOUR HAND AT GUESS WHO • TAKE US ON AT HANGMAN PLUS: MORE SURPRISES AND BOOK GIVEAWAYS! FOLLOW @ORION_CRIME ON TWITTER FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS! THE INCIDENT ROOM • hotel room 166 • the old swan hotel, HARROGATE

Special Guests:

Linwood Barclay Laura Lippman

Friday 20 July | 5pm | Tickets £14

Laura Lippman was a journalist on the Baltimore Sun before becoming one of the most acclaimed novelists in America. Garnering huge respect from readers and writers alike with her award-winning standalone novels and Tess Monaghan detective series, she writes stories that are ‘deeply moving explorations of the human heart.’ Her latest, Sunburn, is a tantalising modern version of the traditional noir novel.

Linwood Barclay also worked in the newspaper trade, moving from chief copy editor to columnist on the Toronto Star. His standalone thriller in 2007, No Time for Goodbye, catapulted him to the #1 internationally bestselling spot.

He knows how to put readers through the wringer with page-turners of pulsequickening pace. Parting Shot is his latest. Enjoy the ride with this doubleact destined to hit the headlines.

Sponsored by:

Box Office: 01423 562 303 | Booking Fees Apply

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BREWERY TAP & GIFT SHOP Visit the

Black Bull in Paradise

BUY A ‘PECULIER’ GIFT TAKE A TOUR ROUND

Theakston Brewery Tap & Gift Shop, Masham, HG4 4YD W: theakstons.co.uk E: info@theakstons.co.uk T: 01765 680000 Theakston Brewery

Theakston1827

theakstonbrewery

Fri 20 Dead Good Reader Awards |

6.30pm | Tickets £12

Join Dead Good for drinks as they present the Dead Good Reader Awards 2018 as voted for by you. Best Detective Duo, Most Recommended Book and Best Small Town Mystery are all up for grabs with attendees walking away with a goody bag full of brilliant crime novels.

Don’t forget to head over to www.deadgoodbooks.co.uk this April when nominations open!

HARROGATE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS

JULY 2018

The Luminarium from Architects of Air comes to Harrogate

Welcome to a wonderful world of light and colour.

For full details and programme please visit:

harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

WHERE JUSTICE IS

SERVED

THE INTOXICATING NEW THRILLER FROM JOHN GRISHAM Out now in paperback

Special Guest:

John Grisham

Interviewed by Lee Child

Friday 20 July | 8pm | Tickets £18

Hold onto your hats your seats, and that pint of Theakston’s. In Harrogate for the first time is a veritable Giant of the Genre, John Grisham.

In the late 1980s, with a busy day job as a lawyer, Grisham started to write his first novel, A Time to Kill. His second, The Firm, remained on The New York Times bestseller list for 47 weeks. Grisham’s 25th legal thriller, The Rooster Bar, will be published in paperback this July to coincide with his visit to Harrogate. ‘America’s favourite storyteller’, he’s sold 300 million books worldwide, with nine adapted by Hollywood, featuring megastars Julia Roberts, Samuel L Jackson and Tom Cruise.

Grisham will square up to a man who has also achieved global domination - Programming Chair Lee Child. The New York resident author’s 23rd Reacher novel, Past Tense, is out in November. This American Dream team promises to go down in Harrogate history.

Please note this event takes place at the Royal Hall, Harrogate.

Box Office: 01423 562 303 | Booking Fees Apply

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STIVAL . . .

E F ’S R A E Y IS H T CATCH TH E M AT IF YOU CAN

Fri 20 Richard Osman’s Room 101 Of Crime |

10pm | Tickets £11

Star of TV’s Pointless, Richard Osman is an avid crime reader (and soon to be crime writer). In this light-hearted, latenight event, he teams up with bestsellers Martyn Waites, Laura Lippman and Mark Billingham to discuss the tics, tropes and tiresome clichés of crime fiction that really cheese them off. What will end up consigned to their criminal Room 101? Will it be mysteries solved by cats? Overly fiendish serial killers? Belgian detectives with ridiculous moustaches? Surely not! Richard and his guests will each take a good, hard (and possibly sweary) look at the things that get on their nerves as well as talking on topics that have particularly annoyed members of the audience. If there’s one thing better than a panel of experts, it’s a panel of experts who are also highly opinionated and extremely gobby, so whether you agree with them or not, you can expect a full-on exchange of verbal fisticuffs and plenty of laughs.

Long Table Dinner

5 July 2018 | Valley Gardens | Tickets £70 Dine under the stars, on one very long table…

Celebrity Chef Stephanie Moon will deliver a bespoke menu at this unique dining experience.

Ticket includes: Arrival Cocktail, Canapes, Bespoke Three Course Meal

HARROGATE Box Office: 01423 562 303 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS harrogateinternationalfestivals.com Box Office: 01423 562 303 | Booking Fees Apply

Special Guests:

Nicci French Saturday 21 July | 9am | Tickets £14

Nicci Gerrard and Sean French are the murderously good crime-writing couple behind the Nicci French books. You’d think it would be the perfect recipe for murder – a husband and wife writing novels together. Perhaps their survival is explained by the fact she writes in the attic and he in the shed.

Whatever their secret, the partnership in crime and life has resulted in 20 novels, including their utterly addictive series about the indomitable Frieda Klein, the latest of which is Sunday Silence. Both attended Oxford University, both have distinguished careers in journalism: Nicci on The Observer for many years; Sean, at the New Statesman. Delving into the duo is the author of The Woman Who Ran and fellow seasoned journalist, Sam Baker. Sam has edited some of the UK’s biggest magazines and co-founded The Pool.

Sponsored by:

Box Office: 01423 562 303 | Booking Fees Apply

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No twists in the tale from just expert accounting

No twists in the tale from us, just expert accounting HW Fisher & Company’s Authors and Journalists Group is dedicated to writers.

We have a thorough understanding of the relevant tax regulations and many years’ experience in helping clients minimise their tax liability and manage their finances effectively. We also specialise in forensic accounting, including royalty audits for both authors and agents.

Managing your finances is time-consuming; we can take care of all your accounting, leaving you free to concentrate on your plot twists.

HW Fisher & Company is a top 25 UK chartered accountancy firm with offices in London and Watford.

Please contact Andrew Subramaniam for a free consultation.

T 020 7380 4947 E asubs@hwfisher.co.uk www.hwfisher.co.uk @HWFWriters

Sat 21 It Happened Twenty Years Ago…or a Hundred 10.30am | Tickets £11

Five masters of the past travel through time to uncover the enduring appeal of historical crime fiction. Joe Kanon’s novels include Leaving Berlin and The Good German, filmed with George Clooney and Cate Blanchett. His latest, The Defectors, is set in Moscow at the height of the Cold War. Antonia Hodgson traipsed in the footsteps of the Brontes across Haworth Moor as a teen, foreseeing her destiny as an author inspired by Yorkshire’s wild landscapes and heritage. A Death in Fountains Abbey is her third novel featuring her hero, Thomas Hawkins, in the year 1728. The fourth is out this year.

In his first adult novel, Mad Blood Stirring, Simon Mayo is inspired by the true story of a group of American sailors imprisoned in Dartmoor in 1815. The story is so extraordinary that film rights were snapped up on the basis of just a four-page synopsis. Conspiracy is the fifth in S.J. Parris’ bestselling series featuring the 16th century heretic philosopher and spy Giordano Bruno.

Triple winner of the CWA Historical Dagger Andrew Taylor keeps their feet in the here and now as chair. His latest, The Fire Court – is a sequel to The Ashes of London.

Sponsored by:

New Blood |

12pm | Tickets £11

It’s one of Harrogate’s most anticipated panels. Val McDermid is one of the biggest names in crime writing history, but can a hot, new upstart contest her title? Get ready for The Next Big Thing as Val hand picks her writers to watch, introducing four exciting debut talents: The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan, The Chalk Man by CJ Tudor, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton and Dark Pines by Will Dean.

Sponsored by:

Readers’ Book Group |

1pm | Tickets FREE

Join Reader-In-Residence Mari Hannah at this year’s festival for a foray into 2018’s chosen Big Read title and discover this classic novel yourself. Mari is inviting readers to investigate James Patterson’s Along Came A Spider.

Sponsored by:

Box Office: 01423 562 303 | Booking Fees Apply

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Q. What do Samuel Taylor Coleridge, James Joyce and Ivy Compton-Burnett have in common?

A. They all received grants from the Royal Literary Fund.

Royal Literary Fund

Helping authors since 1790.

What can we do for you?

Find out about what we do... rlf.org.uk eileen.gunn@rlf.org.uk 020 7353 7159

Registered Charity no. 219952

Sat 21 What Happened Next? |

2pm | Tickets £11

Alumni of Val McDermid’s New Blood panels from years past tell us how it went with their second books - and their third, fourth and fifth. Liam McIlvanney appeared in 2010 with All the Colours of the Town acclaimed by Val as, ‘authentic, atmospheric and ambitious.’

The Quaker is out this year. Kate Rhodes’ Crossbones Yard was picked in 2012, with Val praising the ‘fresh voice of the protagonist’.

With five books in the Alice Quentin series, her latest, Hell Bay is out now.

Eva Dolan was a 2014 New Blood for Long Way Home. Three more in her acclaimed Zigic and Ferreira series followed. Val described her first standalone This is how it Ends as ‘imbued with passion.’ A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee in the class of 2016, was hailed as ‘One of the most exciting debut novels I’ve read in years.’ His sequel in the Sam Wyndham series is A Necessary Evil. Voracious reader, Lee Child, chairs.

The Truth Behind The Crime |

3.30pm | Tickets £11

Straight out of a novel, or a movie plot, Dirk Kurbjuweit’s suburban life dramatically changed when a stalker terrorised his family; his lawyer advised him to get a gun. Fear is his bestselling novel, based on those events. In He Said, She Said Erin Kelly writes about how criminal justice can fail victims of sex crimes. She spoke to rape survivors and sat through a serial voyeurism trial to research the background to her novel.

Chris Brookmyre has said Black Widow was inspired by stories told by his wife Marisa Haetzman, an anaesthetist. They’ve now tapped into her Masters in the history of medicine to co-write historical crime, inspired by real events. Criminal defence barrister Imran Mahmood took on the voice of his inner-city clients in his debut novel, You Don’t Know Me, which puts the reader in the jury box at a murder trial. Mel McGrath’s Give Me the Child, was inspired by a true life case of a disturbed, adopted child.

She keeps it real as Chair.

HARROGATE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS

Dedicate a tree to someone you love and help us plant the future.

To sponsor a tree please see our website or contact our Festival Office: 01423 562 303 harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

ALL OF THESE BOOKS!

WWW.THECRIMEVAULT.COM

UNMISSABLE AUTHORS. UNBEATABLE WRITING

HARROGATE 2018

Special Guests:

Val McDermid Sue Black

Saturday 21 July | 5pm | Tickets £14

DNA and forensics have transformed detection, taking the genre from the puzzle in the library to the minutiae under the microscope. Val McDermid is one of the most admired crime authors at work, selling 10 million copies of her novels worldwide. As the ‘Queen of psychological thrillers’, her most enduring creation is the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series, adapted for TV as Wire in the Blood.

Dame Professor Sue Black is a forensic anthropologist and Val’s go-to expert.

Founding director of the award-winning Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification at Dundee University, she was awarded an OBE for her International Human Identification work on mass graves. Working with police teams, she provided innovative evidence that led to the conviction of Scotland’s largest paedophile ring. Sue is author of All That Remains: A Life in Death.

Box Office: 01423 562 303 | Booking Fees Apply

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Author Dinner

6.15pm Tickets: £32

Sat 21 July

Programming Chair, Lee Child, writes the script for this year’s Author Murder Mystery Dinner. Fill the wine glasses and sort out the double bluffs in this delightfully devious dinner.

You will have one of these brilliant authors seated at your table to help you unravel the mystery over dessert…

CJ Daugherty, Teresa Driscoll, Mark Edwards, Patricia Gibney, Elly Griffiths, Mick Herron, Sarah Hilary, Olivia Kiernan, Colette McBeth, Caroline Mitchell, Liz Nugent, B.A. Paris, C.L. Taylor. Further authors to be announced.

Includes 2 course dinner and a glass of wine.

Sponsored by:

HARROGATE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS

Spiegeltent and Children’s Festival Returns 29 June - 8 July 2018

Check our website for further information harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

DON’T MISS OUR KILLER LINE-UP AT THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL!

Charles Cumming © Philippa Gedge

Christi Daugherty

Don Winslow © Robert

© JackJewers

Gallagher

Liam McIlvanney © Michael McQueen

S J Parris

Sophie Hannah

Susie Steiner © Jonathan

Ring

FOR ALL THE LATEST NEWS ON OUR CRIME AND THRILLER AUTHORS, EXCLUSIVE CONTENT, INTERVIEWS, COMPETITIONS, AND MUCH MORE, VISIT

HELPING YOU DISCOVER THE BEST IN CRIME AND THRILLERS WWW.KILLERREADS.COM • FIND US ON

KILLERREADS • FOLLOW US ON

KILLERREADS

Special Guest:

Don Winslow Saturday 21 July | 8.30pm | Tickets £14

Be wowed by Winslow. Don has sold over 100 million books worldwide. Dubbed ‘America’s leading crime writer’, he has been profiled in Rolling Stone magazine.

Hollywood directors such as Oliver Stone and Ridley Scott have turned his novels into blockbusting films.

His latest, The Force, about a corrupt New York cop, has earned him the best reviews of his career. Fans include Stephen King, who said it was: ‘Mesmerizing, a triumph…Think THE GODFATHER, only with cops. It’s that good.’ Winslow spent five years researching the novel on NYPD stakeouts. He said it was ‘the book I’ve wanted to write my whole life.’ Ex-publisher turned crime author, Daphne Wright, otherwise known as NJ Cooper, author of the Karen Taylor and Trish Maguire series, keeps procedures calm and asks the questions.

Sponsored by:

Box Office: 01423 562 303 | Booking Fees Apply

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Sat 21 Late Night Quiz | 10pm | Tickets £11 It’s THE quiz! Mark Billingham and Val McDermid have both created a side-line in quiz-land, starring in Pointless, winning Celebrity Mastermind and beating The Eggheads. Mark’s taken on The Chase, and Val made a killing on University Challenge. No pressure. Isn’t it time someone gave them their own quiz show?? Remember, it’s the winning that counts!

Sponsored by:

Sun 22 Frozen Lands |

10am | Tickets £11

Why do cold climates inspire such gory thrills? From the frozen north, civil engineer Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is an award-winning, No. 1 best-selling author of the Gudmundsdóttir series, dubbed Iceland’s answer to Stieg Larson.

Samuel Bjørk is often compared to fellow Norwegian, Jo Nesbo.

Blasting in from biting Oslo, the novelist, playwright and singer is author of Scandinavia’s bestselling Munch and Krüger series, of which The Owl Always Hunts at Night is his latest. Jimmy Perez is often clad in a fetching woolly jumper in the TV adaptation of Shetland. Ann Cleeves latest in the series, Cold Earth, features torrential rain, leading to a gruesome discovery. Meanwhile, her other sleuth, Vera is ready for the British weather with her trench coat and floppy hat; The Seagull is set in the chilly seaside town of Whitley Bay. Keeping everyone warm is our chair, BBC Breakfast and Watchdog’s Steph McGovern.

HARROGATE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS

Three Peaks

Team HIF aim to scale the Three Peaks covering 26 miles in under 12 hours to raise funds for the work of the Festivals in the future.

Donate through our Just Giving page or text donate using HIFC99 (followed by the amount) to 70070. Thankyou for your support!

Charity no. 244861.

Special Guest:

Sophie Hannah Sunday 22 July | 11.30am | Tickets £14

Only the bible and Shakespeare outsell Agatha. The woman who gave butlers a bad name has sold over two billion books. It takes a brave author to crack the Christie code. An internationally bestselling crime novelist in her own right and Christie fan, Sophie Hannah rose to the Hercule-ian challenge with her bestselling Poirot novels.

Renowned for her psychological crime fiction, published in 32 languages and 51 territories, Sophie’s Waterhouse and Zailer novels were adapted for ITV in the 2011 series Case Sensitive. Her successful poetry collection Pessimism for Beginners was shortlisted for the T S Eliot Award. The ballroom where the missing Agatha was famously discovered sees Sophie interviewed by Steve Mosby, author of ten psychological thrillers.

Box Office: 01423 562 303 | Booking Fees Apply

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HARROGATE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS

Plotted by Harrogate International Festivals

January - April

Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival:

Harrogate International Sunday Series:

Chamber music concerts and coffee in the magnificent surroundings of The Old Swan Hotel.

The Big Read:

World class, award-winning programme of events celebrating the very best in crime fiction.

October

June

Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival:

Encouraging as many people as possible to read a classic work of crime fiction, increasing links across the region between libraries and reading groups, and inspiring new readers.

Bringing bestselling authors, influential politicians and stars of the stage to share their stories.

The Big Write:

Three fascinating expert speakers are brought together to present one-off events exploring the most stimulating ideas in art, science and psychology.

Presented in association with Ashville College is an exciting an exciting opportunity for young writers across the Harrogate District to participate in a giant day of writing at the iconic Royal Hall, working with literacy partners Pobble.

July

Harrogate Music Festival:

Featuring the best of international musical talent spanning classical, jazz and folk and including the prestigious Young Musicians Series.

HARROGATE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS

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HIF+

Berwins Salon North:

Musical Mums:

Free weekly music-making sessions where young parents and their babies can learn together, developing skills, confidence and positive bonds.

Presented in partnership with NYMAZ. For full programme of our work and to be kept up-to-date visit

harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

Big Read Returns

We will be announcing our full line up of the Big Read for 2018 shortly. Check our website for full details.

Box Office: 01423 562 303 | Booking Fees Apply

About Us Harrogate International Festivals is the flagship arts Festival for the North of England. A charitable organisation, our passion and ambition maintains our position as an arts organisation delivering Festivals of national importance and dramatically increasing the cultural opportunities for Harrogate and the wider region.

Patron HRH The Prince of Wales Honorary President Dame Fanny Waterman DBE Vice Presidents Lady Solti Mrs Frainy Ardeshir Lesley Garrett CBE Malcolm Neesam Peter Blackburn CBE David Haxby Christine Woods Board of Trustees Fiona Movley Chairman Matthew Osbourne Treasurer Sofia Cann Jenny Harris Craig Ratcliffe Susan Rumfitt David Salter Kate Spencer Observer: Stanley Lumley Councillor, Harrogate Borough Council Programming Committee Lee Child, 2018 Programming Chair Jane Gregory Mari Hannah Val McDermid Steve Mosby Julia Wisdom Daphne Wright

Festival Staff Team Sharon Canavar | Chief Executive Gemma Rowland | Operations Manager Helen Donkin | Literature Festivals Manager Charlotte Woods | Music & Education Manager Lizzie Brewster | Development Manager Natalie Dalkiran | Literature Festivals Co-ordinator Mary Mulloy | Music and Education Co-ordinator Beth Walker | Marketing and Events Assistant Ruth Moody | Financial Controller Kathy Sanderson | Financial Assistant Support Services Cause UK Conrad Davies Creative Harrogate Convention Centre Kate Robey Consultancy Tim Garbutt Events Thanks With special thanks to all our volunteers without whom the Festival could not happen.

Festival Events will begin punctually at the time stated. The use of mobile phones, cameras and audio/visual recorders is strictly prohibited.

Please note the auditorium can become very warm due to the number of customers and the weather. Due to the Victorian nature of the property and to ensure the event is not disturbed by sound we are unable to have air-conditioning running throughout the events. We do ensure we cool the room between as much as possible. Please dress appropriately.

The management reserves the right to refuse admission and change or cancel the advertised programme.

Harrogate International Festival Ltd | 32 Cheltenham Parade I Harrogate I North Yorkshire I HG1 1DB 01423 562303 | Harrogateinternationalfestivals.com | Registered Charity No. 244861. | Company Registration: 858029

harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

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HARROGATE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS

Save the Date 18-21 October 2018 The Crown Hotel

Box Office: 01423 562 303 harrogateinternationalfestivals.com Harrogate International Festivals is a registered charity no. 244861.

FAQs and Site Information

By Phone: 01423 562 303 Online: harrogateinternationalfestivals.com In Person: Harrogate International Festivals,

32 Cheltenham Parade, HG1 1DB Opening Times: 10am - 5pm Monday - Friday Payment: Harrogate International Festivals accept all major credit/debit cards (except American Express), cash or cheques. Cheques should be made payable to ‘HARROGATE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS’. In order to cover the cost of postage there is an additional £1.50 charge for postal bookings, however, you can choose to collect your tickets on the door or at the Festival office prior to the event.

Booking Fee: Harrogate International Festivals charges a £1.75 transaction fee per booking. Ticket sales alone do not cover the costs of our Box Office and booking fees are vital to the development, maintenance and running of our in-house Box Office. For more information and for full Terms and Conditions please visit our website: harrogateinternationalfestivals.com Tickets on the door: Tickets will be available to purchase from the Festival desk in the Old Swan Hotel from Thu 19 – Sun 22 July, subject to availability. Be aware events can sell out in advance. Early booking is recommended.

Tickets for sold-out events: We run a waiting list for sold out events which you can join. Alternatively, it is worth visiting the onsite Festival Reception desk to see if we have had any returned tickets. As events are attended by those with a mix of Rovers and Individual tickets there can be last-minute space at events and so it is worth coming to the venue 10 minutes before the start of each event as we will be able to assess availability on the day.

Bag Searches: Please note there may be random bag searches.

Royal Hall: Patrons carrying bags larger than A4 paper size will not be admitted to the Royal Hall for the John Grisham Event.

Returned Tickets: The Box Office cannot refund money or exchange tickets, except in the case of a cancelled performance. We are happy to try and re-sell returned tickets for sold-out events for a small charge.

Concessions: Concessions are available for under 18s, students in full time education and those receiving unemployment benefits. Appropriate identification must be provided. May not be used in conjunction with any other offers.

Seating, Queuing and Departing: Seating for all events at the Old Swan Hotel is unreserved. We kindly ask that queue etiquette is observed prior to each event and you

leave the room promptly when the event has finished to allow us to get the room set for the following event.

Doors will open approximately 10 minutes before each event. Friends of the Festival are entitled to priority entry, and this will be gained through the Festival Friends’ lounge. Many events are nearly or completely sold out.

We ask you to help us accommodate all ticket holders by making use of every seat in the auditorium and not leaving gaps. At the end of each event please stay seated until the authors have left the stage and exit the Ballroom by the door at the back to go to the WHSmith Tent for book signings.

Lost Property: Will be removed from the main auditorium and taken to the Old Swan Hotel reception desk.

Visitors with disabilities: Both the Old Swan Hotel and the Royal Hall are wheelchair accessible. We offer free tickets for carers and special provisions can be arranged for visitors with disabilities. Please call the Festival Office on tel: 01423 562303 or visit the festival desk in the foyer of the Old Swan Hotel to obtain a blue badge to allow priority entry to unreserved events.

Parking: Parking is available at The Old Swan Hotel on a first come first served basis. Please note, if using this car park, a valid parking permit must be displayed and can be obtained for free from the hotel reception. There is also metered on street parking available nearby.

Photography & Recording: The use of photographic, video or audio equipment is strictly prohibited.

Festival Bookstore: WHSmith will provide the Festival bookstore at The Old Swan Hotel and will host book signings after each event. The bookshop will be located within the Papakata tents, on the lawn outside the hotel.

You will be required to show a ticket for each event to have book signed. Limit of 3 books per person.

Friends’ Lounge: The Festival Friends’ lounge is located in the Red Lounge (adjacent to the Ballroom) and priority entry to the auditorium will be available through the Red Lounge. This room will also work as an anteroom adjacent to the auditorium with screens and a live link through to all of the events. Please note – the John Grisham event at the Royal Hall will not be live linked into the Friends’ Lounge.

All information in the guide is correct at the time of going to press and we reserve the right to make such alterations as may become necessary.

Changes to the programme will be communicated in advance where possible and clearly signposted on site.

A large print version of the event guide can be ordered by calling 01423 562 303.

Harrogate International Festivals is a registered charity no. 244861.

harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

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Lising Evidence Theakston are proud to sponsor the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival

#theakstonscrime W: theakstons.co.uk

Theakston Brewery

Theakston1827