In advance of their appearances at the Festival, top crime authors have been talking to the paper about the Festival and their own lives and work. Thanks to the Yorkshire Post online you can go undercover yourself and eavesdrop on brand new conversations with 2009 Programme Chair Laura Wilson and aclaimed author Martyn Waites, as well as catching up with authors from last year’s Festival. You can listen to the interviews on the website or download the podcasts to your computer to listen to at your leisure.

Visit the Yorkshire Post’s own Festival page for the full lowdown.

Laura Wilson 2009 interview – click here.

Martyn Waites 2009 interview – click here.

As part of our website revamp we are proud to bring you a series of interviews with some of the UK’s best crime writers. Mark Billingham, Val McDermid, Simon Kernick and Laura Wilson are among the first to talk exclusively to the Festival about their work, how they cope with the oddities that come along with life as a writer, and, of course, their thoughts on the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival. Click here to read the interviews in full >>

The writers are only one part of the Festival

Just as important to the atmosphere and growing success of the event are the book lovers, the readers, and the devotees of the dark art of crime fiction. These are the people who truly make Harrogate what it is – one of the friendliest and most fun events in the literary calendar. In The Fan Files some regular attenders give their tips for making the most of the weekend and explain what it is that keeps them coming back to the Festival – and surprisingly it’s not just the Theakstons ale!