This weekend I spent a couple of days at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2023 at the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate.
This festival is THE festival for crime fiction authors and readers, especially in the north. And given that I live fairly close (less than 30 miles away), it’s always been one I’ve wanted to go to. But I’ve always been either going on holiday or coming back from holiday and had to resort to watching from afar on Twitter, following the #TheakstonCrime hastag and seeing my favourite authors and bloggers having a splendid time just up the road.
So when I checked the calendar this year and saw that it was empty, I jumped at the chance to book a ticket for the day on Saturday. I also managed to completely miss the fact that it was my friend Mel’s birthday party in the evening. Ooops. Never mind, I could always head off after the panel I’d booked on at 3.30pm.
Then I was asked if I was going on the friday, as there was a launch event for Clare Mackintosh. I checked my work diary and promptly booked the day off and got myself a site pass for the day.
I was going to Harrogate.
Reader, it was a fantastic weekend. Fortunately, I had my blogger friends Ellen and Fran to look after me, so we acquired a table and before long was introduced to (or introduced myself to) a variety of lovely authors, other bloggers, publicists, publishers, and others.
Everyone was very friendly and before long I’d found my way around, said hello to the people I knew from other book launches and events, and finally got to say hello to a huge bunch of people I’d only talked to online, albeit in some cases for years!
Also met a bunch of other lovely authors who I completely failed to get a photo with. Next time, Nick Quantrill, Heather Fitt, Chris Whitaker, Doug Johnstone and others!
Special mentions to the fabulous Karen Sullivan of Orenda Books who pressed a copy of Will Carver’s new book, Upstairs At The Beresford into my hands. And Alison Hennessey from Raven Books who has sent me a load of brilliant books over the years, and kindly gave me a copy of West Heart Kill, out in October, which she described as “fantastically clever and original and has an ending that makes some people very happy and some very angry“
I also met a load of book bloggers who I’ve spent years talking books with online. A surprise visit from Kate & Kev Moloney! Jules Swain, Janet Emson, Anne Cater, Chris Scotland and many others all got away without selfies, but this guy didn’t!
Final book tally: 13 (my book acquisition skills were commented on…)
Phew. What a weekend. Any of those books catch your eye? Have you read any of them? I don’t know where to start first.
What I do know is that I will definitely be back at Harrogate next year.
espresso coco
Lovely to see you Dave. Glad to hear you had a fabulous time.
Glad you enjoyed it, Dave. It was my fourth time there, and it just keeps getting better.
Glad to hear you could actually make it this year. I have only met Anne and Karen out of that long list
Omg this sounds like so much fun! Glad you had such a great time. Also what a lovely haul. I miss book festivals. I went to Book Con a couple of times but they’ve cancelled it.