Tag Archives: Theakstons Crime Writing Festival

Theakstons Crime Writing Festival 2012 – Wanted For Murder: The ebook #TOPcrime2012

Chair: Mark Lawson, BBC Radio 4 Front Row
Panel members: writers Steve Mosby & Stephen Leather; literary agent Philip Patterson; bookseller Patrick Neale; President of The Publishers Association and CEO and Publisher of Little, Brown Book Group Ursula Mackenzie.

During the opening discussions we heard that Steve Mosby sells predominantly in print format and does well on overseas sales.  Phil Patterson noted that ebooks are ‘here’ but he prefers the physical and believes that children need the physical format.  He said that on a physical device the bookshelf becomes almost invisible. Whatever the format, Patterson sees the encouragement of reading as the driving force and believes ‘too many are obsessed with formats’. He reminded the audience that for every book on a device (or on a shelf) there is an author behind it.

Bookseller Patrick Neale stated his belief that we are underselling the value of physical books.  He is looking for ‘beautiful things, beautifully made’ and he reminded the audience that it was not so long ago that the hardback was thought to be a dying breed.  The ebook has changed that, with resurgence in the sales of hardbacks – the collectible end of the market – hence his views taking consideration of the beauty of the product.  Neale emphasised that the ebook is not everything, so we should not undersell the physical.  He considers the ebook to be the ‘new toy here’ and that we will have to wait and see how the market settles. Continue reading →

The Aurelio Column: Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2012 Update #TOPcrime2012

Ciao, my bellas!

Please accept my apologies for the lack of my esteemed column over the weekend.  (I have just heard that the great festival-going, author-in-shades Kevin Wignall is a big fan of mine. Thank you Kevin!)

Even she-who-is-in charge didn’t get to put up a post.  She took the laptop with her and left me the mouse to play with.  Well, she didn’t leave it intentionally, she forgot it and I played with it.  Luckily for her it’s cordless so there’s little damage; only a few scratches from my claws.  She then discovered that the mousepad on the laptop wasn’t working.  It was an IT disarrster of a weekend.

We should be up and running again properly tomorrow.  I just got given ten minutes for this fluff-fill column.  (Nowhere near enough for you all, I know.)  She wants the laptop back to do some research, she says.  And she keeps talking about dwarfs.  Don’t ask me.  What have dwarfs got to do with crime?  Answers on a postcard please and don’t forget to lick your stamps before application.  This licking business is being mentioned a lot too…

Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival: Colin Dexter to Receive Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award

**Strictly embargoed until 00.01 GMT Thursday 5th July, 2012**

On Thursday 19th July, the opening night of the 10th Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival a special presentation will be made to the winner of the third Theakstons Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award, which this year is awarded to Colin Dexter, creator of Inspector Morse.

Born in Lincolnshire in 1930, Dexter won a scholarship to the local grammar school and, after completing his National Service, went on to study at Cambridge. Since 1966 he has lived in Oxford with his wife, with whom he has two children. After retiring from a 13-year teaching career, he began writing mysteries in 1973 while on a family holiday. His debut novel, Last Bus to Woodstock, was published in 1975 and introduced the world to Inspector Morse for the first time. One of the most iconic detectives ever to have been created, Morse’s crime-solving talents found a whole new audience in the successful TV series, bringing further acclaim for Dexter. Inspector Morse has appeared in 13 novels and numerous short stories. Dexter has won many awards for his novels, including the CWA Silver Dagger twice and the CWA Gold Dagger for both The Wench is Dead and The Way Through the Woods. In 1997, he was presented with the CWA Diamond Dagger for outstanding services to crime literature and, in 2000, was awarded the OBE in The Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Dexter said: “Never had I thought that the gods would be kindly enough to give me such a huge honour so late in my life. Yet here I am, in my early eighties, feeling a profound and heartfelt gratitude for the great honour bestowed on me.” Continue reading →

Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award shortlist 2012

**Strictly embargoed until 00.01 GMT Thursday 5th July, 2012**

The shortlist in full:

  • Now You See Me by SJ Bolton (Transworld)
  • Where the Bodies are Buried by Chris Brookmyre (Little, Brown)
  • The Burning Soul by John Connolly (Hodder & Stoughton)
  • The End of the Wasp Season by Denise Mina (Orion)
  • Black Flowers by Steve Mosby (Orion)
  • Before I Go to Sleep by SJ Watson (Transworld)

Comments from the press release:

Chilling suspense thrillers lead the way on this year’s Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award shortlist. One of the most prestigious crime writing prizes in the country, the 2012 shortlist reflects the ever increasingly popularity of psychological and suspense-driven narratives. Continue reading →

2012 Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of The Year Longlist

From the press release:

FROM SECRET AGENTS AND SMASH HIT THRILLERS TO MAGIC IN THE MET: 2012 THEAKSTONS OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR LONGLIST REVEALED

A mix of writers old and new will do battle in this year’s Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, one of the most prestigious crime writing prizes in the country. Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London which imagines magical mayhem in the Metropolitan police force goes head to head with SJ Watson’s smash hit debut Before I Go To Sleep and Tom Rob Smith’s Agent 6, the final in the trilogy about a former MGB agent, Leo Demidov. Power-house authors John Connolly, Ian Rankin, Robert Harris, and Val McDermid are represented by The Burning Soul, The Impossible Dead, The Fear Index, and The Retribution respectively and former journalist and screenwriter Belinda Bauer makes the longlist for the second year running with Darkside, following her critically acclaimed debut, Blacklands. Neil Cross, who will be discussing the hit TV series Luther at this year’s Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, also makes the list with The Calling.

Now in its eighth year, the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, in partnership with Asda, and in association with the Daily Mirror, was created to celebrate the very best in crime writing and is open to British and Irish authors whose novels were published in paperback from 1st June 2011 to 31st May 2012.

The longlist in full:

  • Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch (Gollancz)
  • Darkside by Belinda Bauer (Corgi)
  • Now You See Me by SJ Bolton (Corgi)
  • Where the Bodies Are Buried by Chris Brookmyre (Abacus)
  • The Burning Soul by John Connolly (Hodder Paperback)
  • The Calling by Neil Cross (Simon & Schuster)
  • The Hanging Shed by Gordon Ferris (Corvus)
  • Bryant and May and the Memory of Blood by Christopher Fowler (Bantam)
  • Blue Monday by Nicci French (Michael Joseph)
  • The Fear Index by Robert Harris (Arrow)
  • The Retribution by Val McDermid (Sphere)
  • The End of the Wasp Season by Denise Mina (Orion)
  • Black Flowers by Steve Mosby (Orion)
  • Collusion by Stuart Neville (Vintage)
  • The Impossible Dead by Ian Rankin (Orion)
  • Mice by Gordon Reece (Pan Books)
  • Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith (Simon & Schuster)
  • Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson (Black Swan)

The longlist will then be whittled down to a shortlist of six titles which will be announced on Thursday 5th July.

The public vote opens on Thursday 5th July and closes on Tuesday 17th July at www.theakstons.co.uk.

The overall winner will be decided by a panel of experts which this year comprises of DI Tom Thorne actor David Morrissey; Festival chair Mark Billingham; journalist and crime novelist Henry Sutton; Ruth Lewis, Fiction Buyer at Asda; and Simon Theakston, Executive Director of T&R Theakston Ltd; as well as members of the public. 

The winner of the prize will be announced by broadcaster and festival regular Mark Lawson on Thursday 19th July, opening night of the tenth annual Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate. The winner will receive a £3,000 cash prize, as well as a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakstons Old Peculier.

Crime Writing Competition – British Thyroid Foundation – ‘Go For The Throat’

With thanks to Harrogate resident Graham Richards (@GrahamRichards) for drawing our attention to this one.

GO FOR THE THROAT:

BRITISH THYROID FOUNDATION CRIME WRITING COMPETITION

The British Thyroid Foundation based in Harrogate, is celebrating its 21st birthday by running a Crime Writing Competition to win a pair of tickets to the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and Festival Opening Party, hosted by Mark Lawson in Harrogate on Thursday 19 July.

One in 20 people will be diagnosed with a thyroid disorder at some stage in their lives. The BTF is a national charity that helps people avoid isolation and gain information, support and understanding about their condition.

The British Thyroid Foundation is calling for crime stories of up to 2000 words on our theme Go for the Throat which is where the thyroid is situated. The panel of judges are:

  1. Eileen Robertson, author of Miss Maguire is Missing and Blackmail for Beginners
  2. Gill Knox, a novelist based in Harrogate and author of The Legacy of Talents
  3. Neil Harrison, co-producer of feature film The Spell and author of Chosen.

Send your stories with a cheque for £3 to British Thyroid Foundation, 2nd floor, 3 Devonshire Place, Harrogate HG1 4AA by 30 June 2012.

Go here for further details including terms and conditions.