The Crime Warp's Harrogate Top 5 (Believe me I had trouble narrowing it down to only 5)

July would not be July for me without a trip to Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate.  Apart form the sheer joy of being surrounded by books of the crime writing persuasion, You're also surrounded by the authors themselves.  Wherever you look there's a spare one hanging around waiting to be nabbed to sign a book or discuss a character or just have a laugh.  The one thing I've noticed about crime writers is that they love to have a laugh. They are also notoriously generous with their time and invariably keen to offer support to fellow writers.  You might arrive on your own, but I guarantee you, you'll leave with a fair few friends, some of them friends for life. 

So, whilst I enjoy the craic and mingling, I also love the panels.  They for me as a crime writer myself, offer valuable insights into the industry, current issues and cutting edge writing.  I'm a firm believer in the old adage that through immersing yourself in your genre, you will become a better writer. That's why I read so much.  It informs my writing and, I think improves it.  So here are my Top 5 recommendations for this years Crime festival

Friday 20th July
Special Guest: Denise Mina in conversation with Stav Sherez             9AM
Two of my favourite authors on stage at the same time - What more could you ask for.  I saw Dame Denise Mina at Crime Story earlier in the year and she is such a witty, erudite raconteur that I'm more than happy to listen to her for an hour.  Then, when you throw Stav Sherez into the mix, you've nailed it, for Stav is also witty, clever and humorous.  This promises to be the panel of the weekend for me. 

Write What You Know Panel 3:30
Whilst I don't think writers should be constrained by an expectation to write only what they know, I believe that, on occasion, writing what you know best, can give you the edge.  This panel, consisting of Cath Staincliffe, Khurran Rahman, Matt Wesolowski, Stella Duffy and Candice Fox will be discussing the benefits of knowing your subject matter inside out. Having read Khurran Rahman's East Of Hounslow and Cath Staincliffe's poignant The Girl in The Green Dress, I have high expectations of this panel.



Saturday 21st July
New Blood Panel        12:00
Hosted as usual by Val McDermid, this years New Blooders

are:
Dervla McTiernan with The Ruin  
CJ Tudor with The Chalk Man 
Stuart Turton with The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle  Will Dean with Dark Pines.  

As ever this panel will be a heady mix of humour, inspiration and grit.  The selected novels have had high praise this year and, skillfully choreographed by Val McDermid, we'll get right to the heart of these newbies motivations, dark secrets and gory thoughts - always a pleasure to sit through!

The Truth Behind the Crime  3:30
When real life becomes  a tad criminal - when reality and fiction merge together - that's what's so fascinating about crime fiction and, in this panel, we'll be getting to the truth behind the crime, safe in the hands of some very excellent authors who have researched, experienced and lived through some of the elements of their own fiction.


Sunday 22nd July
Frozen Lands 10AM
So, we lived through The Beast From The East, were buffeted about a fair bit by Storm Emma and now, right in the heart of summer, we are once more visiting Frozen Lands. With Yrsa Siguroardottir, Samuel Bjork, Ann Cleeves and Steph McGovern, we dip our toes into the chilly waters of frozen crime.