And a great time was had (Part 1) Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2017

Jill and Sue from Think Forensic

Harrogate was the place to be this weekend! The annual crime writing festival is a highlight for many crime readers, but surprisingly also for the Old Swan Hotel staff. 

I spoke with two lovely waitresses originally from Paris, Fatou and Alvina. In fact, Fatou chose to work in the Old Swan because of its connection with Agatha Christie. Despite the hectic schedule and long hours, she loves working the festival and says the crime guests are good fun and very friendly. 

Last night she and the rest of team managed a new record. Between events they changed the ballroom over from 700 chairs - theatre style - to 350 chairs - cabaret style - in 9 minutes 29 seconds! An impressive feat!

Once again, Think Forensic held super CSI workshops sponsored by Pan Macmillan's Thin Blue Spine for both crime writers and keen readers. I couldn't decide if I preferred the skeleton or the blood splatter head. 

An innovation was the relaxation tent with the comfy sofas, which I took advantage of when it got too busy around the beer tent. 

One of the best bits is meeting people. You never know who you might stand beside in a queue or while having a drink in the sun (yes, we did have some sun). I met two interesting writers that way, Tana Collins (The Inspector Carruthers Series) and Malcolm Hollingdrake (The DCI Bennett Series). Tana sets her books in Fife (seeing as we’d both studied in St Andrews we had lots to talk about) and Malcolm sets his books in Harrogate, which I thought I knew pretty well, but I now know better - there is at least one creepy tunnel I’m not familiar with.

Another innovation was the Agatha Christie exhibition in the garden, which I enjoyed. I’m particularly interested in book cover design and was fascinated by her letters to her publisher in which she complains about the design of one of her covers and also a publicity photo which she claims made her look old!

Agathe Christie Letter

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I didn’t make it to all the panels, but the ones I did see were very entertaining and thought-provoking. Val McDermid and Mark Billingham were, as usual, on form and chaired their panels with aplomb. The New Blood talent looks eminently readable and I was intrigued with two European authors, Kati Hiekkapelto from Finnland and Melanie Raabe from Germany. ‘The Dark Side’ chaired by Clare Donoghue, was fascinating with its exploration of the supernatural in relation to crime fiction. Disappointingly, no one owned up to believing in ghosts.

two crime readers enjoying the sun

(more about the Crime Writing Festival next time in Part 2)