This year’s Henley Literary Festival runs from 24 to 30 September. Here are the events with crime/thriller authors:
Wednesday 26 September
Crime and Wine – Sophie Hannah and Simon Kernick
LICENSED TO THRILL
7pm Bix Manor £8 including glass of Laithwaite’s wine
You’ve read their books, now meet two of the best writers at pulling the nerves taut.
In what should be a fascinating meeting of minds, it’s a chance to learn about the skill of creating tension in words. Sophie’s psychological crime novels feature Simon Waterhouse and Charlie Zailler and her seventh is Kind of Cruel. There is mystery, there is suspense and there is Amber Hewerdine who has lost her best friend in an arson attack and then is arrested for the murder of a woman she has never heard of.
Simon’s latest is bound to be a bestseller. It is another step in a career that has seen him gain a legion of followers around the world. Siege is set in a hotel in London’s Park where a normal afternoon turns into a nightmare when gunmen burst into the Stanhope Hotel begging the question …who will survive? Brace yourself to hear the secrets of suspense from two surprisingly charming writers. Kind of Cruel – Hodder and Stoughton. Siege – Arrow
Friday 28 September
Writing Workshop
2-4pm Town Hall Chamber £7
John Murray, the leading publisher returns with its successful workshop. Three top writers of historical novels share their knowledge and skill. The workshop is led by John Murrary fiction editor Kate Parkin.
Marina Fiorato – Marina Fiorato is half-Venetian. Born in Manchester and raised in the Yorkshire Dales she is a history graduate of Oxford University and the University of Venice. After university she studied art and has since worked as an illustrator, actress and film reviewer. The Venetian Contract – Hodder
Rory Clements – Author Rory Clements has had a long and successful newspaper career including being features editor and associate editor of Today, editor of The Daily Mail`s Good Health pages and, most recently, editor of the health section at The Evening Standard. He is now writing full-time in an idyllic corner of Norfolk. Traitor – Hodder
Anthony Riches – Following a childhood which featured a deep interest in the military, rooted in his father and grandfather’s service in the two World Wars Anthony took a degree in Military Studies at Manchester University. After years working as a freelance project manager around the world, Anthony’s determination to be a writer bore fruit and he is and has now had the fourth in the Empire series published. The Leopard Sword: Empire IV – Hodder
Saturday 29 September
Gyles Brandreth
WILDE TALES
11.30 am – 1pm Christchurch £14
A man of many talents – best-selling writer, actor, former MP and government whip – Gyles returns to Henley to delight us with his 90 minute one-man show covering all aspects of his life. Currently a reporter on The One Show on BBC1 and a regular on Radio 4’s Just a Minute, you have a chance to see why he is so sought-after. Prepare yourself to be amused and thoroughly entertained by Gyles’ unique brand of humour and observation. The splendid raconteur will also reveal how he turned Oscar Wilde into a detective with his best-selling series of books, the latest of which is set in Reading. Oscar Wilde and the Murders at Reading Gaol – John Murray
Thanks For this Rhian, It sounds an interesting festival. I can’t make the Sophie Hannah event which is a shame as I’m reading ‘Kind of Cruel’ at the moment and really enjoying it. I’ll see if I can get to any of the other events.
I went in its inaugural year in 2007. It has certainly grown a lot since then!