Kate Mosse

There has been a change to the line-up of previously announced 2012 Special Guests. Sadly, Charlaine Harris is no longer able to make the trip to the UK this summer due to family commitments. It’s not all bad news though – far from it! – as we are delighted to announce that joining the Special Guest roster in Charlaine’s place is the internationally bestselling author and co-founder of the Orange Prize for Fiction, Kate Mosse.

Kate Mosse is the author of two non-fiction books, two plays and five novels, including the multi-million selling international No. 1 bestseller, Labyrinth. The first of her Languedoc Trilogy, it was translated into 37 languages and published in 40 countries. The second in the series, Sepulchre, was also a No. 1 bestseller, as was The Winter Ghosts, a novella based on her contribution to Quick Reads 2008, The Cave. The third in her Languedoc trilogy, Citadel, will be published in September 2012.

While we are sorry not to have the pleasure of welcoming the author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels to Harrogate in 2012, we hope that we will have the opportunity in future years and wish Charlaine Harris and her family all the very best. We are sorry for any disappointment this change to the programme may cause.

Kate Mosse will appear alongside fellow 2012 Special Guests Harlan Coben, John Connolly, Peter James, Jo Nesbo, Ian Rankin and Peter Robinson. And if these names alone weren’t reason enough to make sure you don’t miss the hottest crime scene of the summer, then check out the Authors Page for details on which of the cream of the crime writing crop are so far confirmed to join them in Harrogate this July!

More names will follow in the next few weeks, so check back regularly for updates.

Next year’s event takes place 19-22 July 2012 at the magnificent Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate. Programming Chair Mark Billingham has put together an astounding line-up, with Peter James joining a stellar line-up of Special Guests including Harlan Coben, John Connolly, Charlaine Harris and Jo Nesbo.

We are pleased to announce that bestselling Norwegian crime writer Jo Nesbo will be appearing as a Special Guest at the 2012 Festival. Next year’s event takes place 19-22 July 2012 at the magnificent Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate. Programming Chair Mark Billingham has put together an astounding line-up, with Jo Nesbo joining a stellar line-up of Special Guests including Harlan Coben, John Connolly and Charlaine Harris.

You can book your place at the summer’s hottest crime scene now. Read on to find out about Weekend Break Packages and our special Nesbo-related gift for Christmas & New Year bookers (well, he did write The Snowman, after all!).

Weekend Break Packages

We are currently taking bookings for 2012 Weekend Break Packages. What’s more, book before the end of January and you will receive a complimentary copy of Jo Nesbo’s forthcoming book, Phantom, giving you plenty of time to enjoy Jo’s eagerly anticipated sequel to the No.1 bestseller The Leopard ahead of seeing him live in Harrogate next July.

Phantom will be published on 15 March 2012 by Harvill Secker in hardback and ebook. It is Jo Nesbo’s seventh internationally acclaimed novel featuring Inspector Harry Hole. Picking up several years after the events of The Leopard, Inspector Harry Hole has to uncover a conspiracy of lies and defend the innocence of someone he holds very dear.

Prices start from as little as £349 per person for double/twin accommodation and £399 per person for single accommodation.  For full information on what’s included in a Weekend Break Package, the range of hotels available and prices, please click here

To book, call tel: 01423 562303 or click here to email us.

Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival
Presents

An Evening with Patricia Cornwell

Saturday 26 November 2011, 7.30pm.
The Ballroom, Barceló Majestic Hotel, Harrogate

See the multi-award winning writer in conversation with BBC Radio Four’s Mark Lawson in her only UK event outside London this year!

‘Forget the pretenders. Cornwell reigns’ The Mirror

The Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival is proud to present a very special one-off event – an opportunity to spend an evening in the company of the queen of the forensic thriller, Patricia Cornwell.

Join the internationally bestselling author of the Dr. Kay Scarpetta series for her only UK event outside London this year. Patricia Cornwell will be talking to BBC Radio Four’s Mark Lawson about her extraordinary life and career, and the inside story on her eagerly anticipated new novel, Red Mist, released on 24 November.

Copies of Red Mist will be available to purchase & there will be the opportunity to have your book signed by the author after the event.

Doors open 7.00pm. Duration approx. 1 hr

Tickets: £10.00 / £7.50 Festival Friends

Ticket Hotline: 01423 562303
Book Online
UPDATE 22.11.2011: This event is now SOLD OUT

Booking Hours: Mon-Fri, 9.30am-5.30pm. Sat, 10am-4pm.

Please note: There is a £1.50 booking fee per transaction for all telephone bookings. Online bookings are subject to a 10% charge from the service provider, We Got Tickets.

Venue Information Venue address: Barceló Majestic Hotel, Springfield Road, Harrogate, HG1 2HU Car Parking: The Barceló Majestic Hotel has 250 parking spaces, for which use the hotel levies a £3.50 charge. Free on-street parking is available on streets nearby from 6pm. How To Get There By Car: From the South: M1 to A1 to Wetherby, then exit onto A661 to Harrogate. Follow signs to Ripon and town centre. Drive down Parliament Street, straight across at the traffic lights at the bottom, and up Ripon Road. After approximately 200 yards turn right into Springfield Avenue. From the North: A1 to A61 signed for Ripon and Thirsk. Follow signs to Ripon. Follow signs to Harrogate, through Ripley & Killinghall. Take 2nd exit off roundabout into Ripon Road. After approx. 1 mile, turn left in Springfield Avenue. From the West: M62 to A1 to Wetherby, then exit onto A661 to Harrogate. Follow signs to Ripon and town centre. Drive down Parliament Street, straight across at the traffic lights at the bottom, and up Ripon Road. After approximately 200 yards turn right into Springfield Avenue. By Rail: Harrogate Train Station 1 mile. Service via York or Leeds. By Bus: Harrogate Bus Station 1 mile. Service information at www.harrogatebus.co.uk

Listen to clips from Lee Child's sell-out Room 101 event

If you missed any of our stellar Special Guest Events at this year’s Festival, then this one’s for you! We bring you some exclusive audio clips from across the weekend, bringing you a brilliant mixture of personalities, moments of hilarity and some wondeful insights into the crime writing genre, with particular focus on the 2011 Festival’s theme of ‘true crime’

We open with a beautiful acceptance speech from P. D. James, as she takes to the stage at the opening night of the Festival to receive the 2011 Theakstons Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award, continuing with live clips from Martina Cole, Linwood Barclay & Lisa Gardner, Howard Marks, Tess Gerritsen, David Baldacci & Joseph Finder, Lee Child and Dennis Lehane.

Click here to listen to clips from the events as they unfolded across the weekend.

We have also added new images to this year’s Festival Gallery. Visit the site to take a trip through some of the Harrogate Highlights of 2011.

Books In The News
We debate the end of Waterstone’s 3 for 2, ask you – Kindle or Book? and show our support for The Bookseller’s ‘Fight for Libraries’ campaign

Competitions
Submit a book review in our Reader Reviews section for your chance to win a goody bag filled with top crime reads. We’ve also got 5 signed copies of Alan Glynn’s new thriller ‘Bloodland’ up for grabs and they could be yours, just answer our simple question correctly!

Book of The Month
Linwood Barclay’s new thriller ‘The Accident’.

Author’s Bookshelf
Leigh Russell shows us around her tidy shelves!

Ian Rankin
Thursday 13 October, 8pm
Morley Town Hall, Leeds, LS27 9DY

Ian Rankin, the UK’s number one best-selling crime writer, famous Edinburgh resident and creator of the award-winning Detective Inspector Rebus novels, will appear live at the Morley Literature Festival on 13 October.

His books have been translated into 36 languages and he is the recipient of no fewer than four CWA Dagger Awards. Ian’s new book, The Impossible Dead, is the second in a new series featuring Inspector Malcolm Fox, and the book’s subject matter – police corruption, political turmoil, terrorism and secession – seem astonishingly prescient.

Ian will be interviewed by N J Cooper, author of the Trish Maguire and Dr Karen Taylor series’ of novels, making this a must for crime fans!

Tickets: £5
Available from Leeds Grand Theatre: 0844 848 270 or via the festival website www.morleyliteraturefestival.co.uk

We want your book reviews!

If you regularly find yourself extolling the virtues, and downfalls, of the latest crime offerings then let us know. Maybe you’ve found a new author you think everyone should know about or have rediscovered a chilling classic. Whatever takes your fancy, be it a detective whodunit, legal thriller, courtroom drama, police procedural, private eye, suspense, thriller, or anything else outside and in between, we want to know what has stuck with you long after the last page.

All reviews submitted on our Reader Reviews section during September and October will be entered into a competition for the chance to win an exclusive goody bag filled to the brim with tempting reads, giving you a chance to discover some new crime gems.

To submit your review click here

Terms and conditions: Entries must be received by 31 October 2011. One winner will be selected and will be notified by email.

2012 Programming Chair, Mark Billingham, has put together an astounding line-up of Special Guests, with Harlan Coben, John Connolly and Charlaine Harris already confirmed. Watch this space for further announcements…

2012 Weekend Break Packages

For one long weekend, the greatest crime writing authors gather in one luxurious hotel. It sounds like the perfect set-up for an Agatha Christie novel. And yet in all the sex, violence and corruption crime authors excel at (and that’s just in the bar) there’s always a surprising twist: crime authors are some of the nicest people you’ll meet! Join us for a weekend you won’t forget.

Don’t miss a minute of the drama with our exclusive Weekend Break packages. We are now accepting deposits for 2012 Weekend Break Packages. For just £50 per person secure your place today!

Weekend Break Packages include:

• 3 nights bed & breakfast accommodation (19, 20 & 21 July).

• Weekend Rover Ticket with access to all Festival events, from the Award event on Thursday evening to the last event on Sunday (excluding the Dinner event on Saturday evening), delicious lunches at The Old Swan Hotel on the Friday and Saturday, complimentary tea and coffee throught the weekend and a complimentary Festival Goody Bag.

To place a deposit, call the Festival Office on 01423 562303. Place your deposit before 30 September to receive our Early Booker Rate!

Old Swan Hotel

The Old Swan is the venue for all 2012 Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival events. The hotel dates back to 1840 and is set within five acres of beautiful gardens at both the front and to the rear. Most famous for the ‘disappearance’ of Agatha Christie in 1926, the hotel retains the air of cool sophistication and style.

The hotel has 136 luxuriously decorated bedrooms overlooking the town or the peaceful hotel gardens and free car parking for 175 cars. It sits in the centre of the spa town of Harrogate, nestling just off the beautiful Valley Gardens and the cosmopolitan chic of the Montpellier Quarter.

The full range of Festival Hotels for 2012, including prices, will be confirmed by the end of September.

To place a deposit for the 2012 Festival, contact us on the following details:

Tel: +44 (0)1423 562303
Email: crime@harrogate-festival.org.uk

Share your valuable feedback by taking our online survey.

Gathering Festival feedback from our audience is extremely important to us.  The best way to share your thoughts is to complete our online questionnaire.

Please click here to complete the 2011 Festival Questionnaire.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to let us know what you thought about this year’s Festival.