Lynda La Plante, Laura Lippman and Robert Goddard to headline 2020 CrimeFest!

Lynda La Plante, Laura Lippman and Robert Goddard to headline 2020 CrimeFest.

Headline authors for CrimeFest - one of Europe’s biggest crime fiction conventions - have been announced. 

The 2020 convention sponsored by Specsavers is hosted from 4 to 7 June at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel and will feature icon of the genre, Lynda La Plante, the award-winning author of more than 30 internationally bestselling novels.

La Plante was a pioneer with her 1980’s series, Widows. The show received the Hollywood treatment with a movie adaptation by director Steve McQueen in 2018.

The BAFTA award winning screenwriter and former RADA trained actress went on to create one of television’s greatest characters, DI Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect. Played by Helen Mirren in a career-defining performance, the hugely influential character transformed the TV landscape.

She’ll be discussing her career in her debut appearance at CrimeFest alongside Buried - the first novel in her much-anticipated new series featuring DC Jack Warr.

Laura Lippman is one of America’s most admired crime writers. The New York Times bestselling author of acclaimed standalones and the award-winning Tess Monaghan series, is lauded by readers, critics and writers alike.

A reporter for twenty years, Laura worked with the Baltimore Sun before becoming a novelist, hailed by the Washington Post as, “one of the best novelists around, period.” Along with her fiction, Lippman will be discussing her latest book of essays, My Life As A Villainess.

Robert Goddard will also feature after the author was awarded the Crime Writers’ Association’s highest accolade in 2019, the Diamond Dagger, for a lifetime achievement in crime writing.

Goddard's first novel, Past Caring, was an instant bestseller and his books went on to captivate readers worldwide with their edge-of-the-seat pace and their labyrinthine plotting. His books have been translated into over thirty languages. His 28th novel, One False Move, was published last year.

Specsavers co-founder, Dame Mary Perkins, said: “As a personal fan of the crime genre and with my own personal connection to Bristol, it’s fantastic to be involved in this annual showcase of world-class crime fiction. It’s also great to see CrimeFest developing its community activity to help make reading accessible to everyone.”

CrimeFest, now in its 11^th year, is a hotbed for readers who dip into the occasional crime novel alongside die-hard fans, as well as drawing top crime novelists, editors, publishers and reviewers from around the world. It runs a series of educational and community outreach events alongside the convention.

Director and co-founder of CrimeFest, Adrian Muller, said: “CrimeFest is the most democratic of crime conventions as it’s open to all authors to take part. As such, it’s not just established names but offers an exciting and fertile ground for aspiring and new talent. There’s a friendly energy for readers and attendees, fitting the independent, vibrant spirit of our host town, Bristol.”

Up to 150 authors will descend on Bristol appearing in over 50 panels delving into diverse topics from politics to historical crime, the Golden Age of crime fiction to police procedurals, serial killers to cosy crime. There’ll also be a panel on crime fiction reviewers, honouring the late Marcel Berlins, and a ‘Ghost of Honour’ remembering Dick Francis.

Highlights include the coveted ‘Pitch an Agent’ for aspiring writers and the annual CrimeFest Awards featuring the inaugural Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award.

Other big names include award-winning bestselling crime writer and broadcaster Dreda Say Mitchell, and Sarah Pinborough, the New York Times bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes, adapted by Netflix for broadcast this year.

The no. 1 bestselling Icelandic writer, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir also features with an appearance by the writer, broadcaster, dramatist and journalist Lynne Truss, famed for Eats, Shoots and Leaves alongside her comic crime novel, A Shot in the Dark.

Joining them as the Toastrix at the Gala Dinner is Zoë Sharp, creator of the Charlie Fox series of crime thrillers.

www.crimefest.com

Lee Child Takes Helm of Theakson Crime Festival!!

The biggest celebration of the crime genre in the world has announced one of the biggest crime writers in the world will take the helm of its 2018 Festival.
Lee Child, author of the global bestselling Jack Reacher series, is Programming Chair of the 2018 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, which takes place 19-22 July in Harrogate.
Established in 2003 by crime author Val McDermid, agent Jane Gregory and arts charity Harrogate International Festivals, 2018 marks the 16^th Festival, held at Agatha Christie’s haunt, The Old Swan Hotel.
The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival is regarded as the world’s best, achieving international acclaim for the programming, organisation and inclusive atmosphere. Over the years, it has hosted iconic names such as PD James, Jo Nesbo and JK Rowling (as Robert Galbraith).
Lee Child said: “It’s a challenge to follow in the footsteps of authors such as Peter James, Val McDermid and Ann Cleeves as previous Programming Chairs, but I guarantee I’ll be bringing some very special names to 2018’s Festival.”
“Harrogate is by far my favourite on the circuit, so it is a real honour – and a delight - to be taking the helm. My grandma lived in Otley so Harrogate is a place that has fond memories for me, and the Festival has a real warmth and laid back atmosphere. It’s a chance for readers and writers alike to hang out in a beautiful part of England. I’m looking forward to welcoming new and old friends.”
2017’s event sold out with 16,500 tickets over the four day festival. It is routinely cited as one of the UK’s top literary festivals. As well as over 90 authors, it attracts stars of stage and screen. Past events featured comedians Eddie Izzard, Susan Calman and Rory Bremner, actors Brenda Blethyn, Jodie Whittaker and Robson Green, alongside media heavyweights James Naughtie, Mark Lawson, and Jeremy Vine.
Lee Child, who resides in New York, launched his new Reacher thriller, The Midnight Line, on November 7 in the UK. It sees his iconic 6ft 5 inch hero on a quest for justice in the wilds of Wyoming. His last book, Night School, was the UK’s biggest selling hardback novel of 2016.
With over 100 million books sold, it is said a Reacher novel is sold somewhere in the world every nine seconds. As well as being published in over one hundred territories, the novels have been adapted to two Hollywood films starring Tom Cruise.
Lee Child won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award in 2011 and received the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award in 2017, joining the pantheon of Colin Dexter, Ruth Rendell, PD James, Reginald Hill, Lynda La Plante, Sara Paretsky and Val McDermid, who have received the honour.
Title sponsor and executive director of T&R Theakston, Simon Theakston, said: “Lee Child is nothing short of a phenomenon, and as a regular Special Guest at our festival, it’s wonderful that he’s now our next Programming Chair. He is an inspiration to his fellow writers, but most importantly a hero to his millions of readers. No doubt, he will make 2018 a very special year indeed.”
Sharon Canavar, CEO of Harrogate International Festivals, said: “It’s hard to top the success of the festival year-on-year, but with Lee as Chair it really electrifies the programme. He is a huge advocator and supporter of the genre.”
2018 Special Guests will be announced in the coming months. harrogateinternationalfestivals.com 

Sharing Cop Secrets!!

Sharing some secrets with Peter James and other fictional greats! ....The Real Cops behind our LIFE OF CRIME...

The Ruth Rendell Short Story Competition now open for entries!

Monday 22nd June sees the launch of the fifth Ruth Rendell Short Story Competition.

The challenge for writers is to write a piece in any genre in no more than 1000 words. The winner of the competition will receive £1000 and will be commissioned to write four further stories for InterAct over the course of one year. The closing date for submissions is Thursday 29 October 2015, World Stroke Awareness Day. The winner will be chosen by Lynda La Plante, who will present the award to the winner at a ceremony to be held in 2016.

Terms and conditions of entry:
1. The length of each story must not exceed 1000 words.
2. Entrants can write in any genre.
3. Entrants can submit multiple stories.
4. The winner of the Ruth Rendell Short Story Competition will receive £1,000 and will be commissioned to write four further short stories for InterAct Stroke Support over the course of one year.
5. The closing date for all entries is 5pm, Thursday 29th October (World Stroke Day).
6. A £15.00 entry fee is applicable to each story entered. Payment by paypal with online entry or cheques and postal orders payable to: InterAct Stroke Support with postal entries.
7. The competition is open to anyone, including non-UK applicants, over 16 years.
8. Stories must be entirely the work of the entrant and must never have been published, self-published, published on any website or public online forum or broadcast.
9. While the copyright of any story submitted to the Ruth Rendell Short Story Competition will remain with the author, the submission of a story is done with the understanding that InterAct has the right to copy, distribute and publish the story to support the charity’s work.
10. Writers should be aware that if stories are to be read on hospital wards they will have to be sensitive to such a ward enviroment, and shortlisted stories will be judged on their abiliity to be effectively read on a hospital ward.
Disclaimer: Due to the expected volume of entries, the charity is unable to offer individual feedback to entrants. The decision of the judges is final.

How to Enter:

a) Online entries will receive an ID number on submittion of your entry form and this must be entered with the paypal payment of £15.00 per entry. The filename of online entries must be the title of the story and it must be either a .doc .docx or .pdf file. The entrants name and contact details must not appear anywhere on the manuscript of the submitted story. Online entries are confirmed by the email receipt of your payment to paypal. Alternatively you can pay by cheque, quoting your unique ID number on the reverse of the cheque. Any online entry will not be complete until payment has been received.

b). Postal entries must be typed, single sided, with pages numbered and unstapled, with payment by cheque for £15.00 per entry.
Please include a covering letter including the entrant’s name, contact details and word count of the story. The entrants name and contact details must not appear anywhere on the manuscript of the submitted story. Send postal entries to:

Short Story Competition,
InterAct Stroke Support,
Victoria Charity Centre,
11 Belgrave Road,
London, SW1V 1RB.
Please enclose a stamped addressed postcard marked ‘ACKNOWLEDGEMENT’ if you require acknowledgement of receipt of your postal entry.

Emailed entries will not be accepted. It is not possible to confirm receipt of entries by phone or email.

Online Entry Form: HERE