Whitby Lit Festival Unveils First Authors for 2026

Whitby Lit Festival has announced the first authors confirmed for its 2026 programme, as the event returns from 19–22 November following a highly successful inaugural year.

Leading the first wave of announcements are Ann Cleeves OBE, Joanne Harris OBE, Dr Sian Williams, and Mark Billingham.

Ann Cleeves OBE, creator of the Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez (Shetland) series—both adapted for television by ITV and the BBC—has received widespread acclaim for her crime writing, alongside an OBE for services to reading and libraries. Her latest novel, The Dying Light, from the Detective Matthew Venn series, was published in October.

Joanne Harris OBE, best known for her bestselling novel Chocolat—later adapted into an Academy Award-nominated film starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp—has written more than 30 books. Her forthcoming novel, Sleepers in the Snow, will be published in October 2026.

Dr Sian Williams is an award-winning broadcaster and chartered counselling psychologist. After a 40-year career in television and radio, including over a decade presenting BBC Breakfast, she now hosts Life Changing (BBC Radio 4) and Classical Unwind (BBC Radio 3). Her work focuses on trauma, stress, and anxiety, including collaborations supporting emergency services personnel. Her latest book, The Power of Anxiety, published this month, combines research, case studies, and personal insight.

Mark Billingham, originally from Birmingham, is a novelist, actor, and comedian, and a familiar presence across UK media. He is best known for the Tom Thorne crime series, adapted for Sky, starring David Morrissey. The latest instalment, What the Night Brings, is released in paperback this March.

Further authors will be announced in the coming months, with the full programme continuing the festival’s commitment to showcasing both bestselling and emerging voices.

The debut festival exceeded expectations, drawing large audiences and establishing Whitby as an exciting new destination on the UK literary calendar. Building on that momentum, organisers promise an ambitious and diverse programme for 2026.

Uniquely, Whitby Lit Festival is the UK’s only literary festival headquartered in a fish and chip restaurant—Hetty & Betty.

Lois Kirtlan, Chair of Whitby Lit Festival, said:

“We were thrilled by the response to our inaugural festival in 2025. The enthusiasm from audiences, authors, and the local community was extraordinary. For 2026, we’re expanding the programme and are delighted to begin announcing what promises to be an exceptional line-up.”

Festival Patron Kate Fenton has also announced that Sir Alan Ayckbourn CBE will join as Honorary Co-Patron.

Sir Alan Ayckbourn said:

“I’m delighted to become co-patron of this exciting new venture. The festival promises to inject fresh literary energy into Whitby in a way unequalled since the days of Bram Stoker.”

Set against Whitby’s dramatic coastline and historic streets, the festival will once again feature author talks, panel discussions, workshops, book signings, and special events across multiple venues.

Whitby Lit Festival continues to champion accessibility and inclusivity, bringing readers and writers together in a vibrant cultural celebration.

Tickets and full programme details will be released in summer 2026. Early updates and exclusive content are available via the festival’s website and social media channels. 

http://www.whitbylitfest.org.uk 

‘More Than Murder’ by Jayne Chard

Published by Chapters Crime Press,
12 November 2025.
ISBN: 978-1-06832500-7 (PB)

Julie has been retired for 92 days, in that tine she has moved into Rose cottage in Little Clarsden in Berkshire. Joined a bridge group, a dominoes group, and the WI. She has also volunteered at a local animal sanctuary and read 33 Agatha Christie novels. She likes the village and the narrow High Street that boasts a butcher, a newsagents and Post Office, and Alfred’s general store, which is like a Tardis, stocked with everything. She now siting at her desk trying to think of something to write. 

Rose Cottage was left to her by her aunt Lucy, with certain conditions in her will, which are that Julie lives in the cottage for 12 months with her sister Frankie. If one sister decides to leave, the other sister inherits the cottage. Also, if one of them fails to live at the cottage within three months of her death, the cottage passes to the other sister. The three months are now nearly up. Frankie was last heard of in Thailand will she show up?  Julia has a mixture of emotions whirling round her head. She doesn’t want to lose Rose Cottage but spending a year with her flamboyant half-sister is quite a different matter. Julia still harbours an old grievance. Will she ever forgive her? Never. 

Julie awakes to an almighty crash from downstairs, picks up a vase and prepares to defend herself, but ends up showering Frankie with water. Then as always, an altercation occurs. Frankie, early Sixties is a free spirit. She has meandered through life enjoying herself, but wonders, where does she actually belong. Can Julie manage 12 months of Frankie. 

The day of the autumn fete dawns and Julie and Frankie head off to the village green. Frankie decides to visit Madam Zoltar who doesn’t tell her that good fortune will be coming her way, but that she is in danger, when Frankie asks ‘what sort of danger? Madam Zoltar says ‘murder’.  However, despite Madam Zoltar dark warning Frankie wins the raffle which turns out to be a murder mystery weekend at the grand Medfield House Estate in the rolling hills of Somerset. 

The estate has been owned by the same family since Victorian times, passing to Arthur Quinten thirty years ago. When he died Charles Quinten became the new owner. Charles is like a sloth with attitude and has no interest in the estate. The event is being organised by Kirsty Taylor, whose lives locally. Kirsty has also assumed the role of director. Unfortunately, disaster has struck the lead character who has been taken away by ambulance. Charles agrees to step in. 

They sisters have decided to work together to solve the crime as their best chance of winning. As they assemble in the drawing room they meet the other guests, Mrs Robertson and Simon Henson from Chealsea, Laura Harding, mid-thirties, Jack Standed, twenties, late Major Hamilton, Professor Arbara and Miss Scully. Also from the US, Larry and Sarah Reynolds. 

After the first evening’s supper, a “poisoned dart” “kills” one of the guests. In the classic whodunit style of a country house mystery, the game of tracking down the “killer” is on. After everyone has retired, the sisters return to the scene of the crime to attempt to see if they can suss out the killer. But they are not the only ones to be scouring the house for clues. Then the sisters find a real dead body in a secret passage. However, when they report their finding of a body it is not there.  But now they are looking for a real murderer, although none of the guests take them seriously until a second murder occurs.

With interesting characters, this is a truly teasing mystery that kept me turning the pages. I am looking forward to the next book.  Recommended.
--------
Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett 

Jayne Chard started writing plays when she was eight and wrote her first “book” at fourteen. After graduating with a degree in psychology and drama, Jayne went on to win the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Buzz Goodbody’s Director Award. Whilst continuing to write, she started working as a professional theatre director, and two of her plays were performed at the London Fringe. Attracted to the small screen, Jayne became absorbed in TV drama directing. Now a multi-award-winning film and TV drama producer, her credits include the BBC flagship brand Silent Witness. In addition to a successful film and television career, Jayne was integral in setting up a veterinary clinic on the remote island of Koh Tao in Thailand. She has also worked as a radio presenter. Jayne lives in the West Country with her partner.  

April Fool Mysteries:

AUTHOR	YEAR	TITLE
ABBOTT, Victoria	2015	The Marsh Madness
BENNETT, Virginia K	2024	Maple Fools' Day (2024)
BUSH, Christopher	1933	TCOT April Fools
CIESCLWICZ, Edna May	2008	April's Fool
DEMAREE, Steve	2018	A Body on April Fool's Day (2018)
DEVERELL, William	2005	April Fool
FIELDS, Robert J	2002	The April Fool
HARRIS,Lee	2001	The April Fool Murder
HART, Carolyn G	2002	April Fool Dead
KEATING. H R F	1975	A Remarkable Case of Burglary
LOURY, Jess	2019	April Fools
NOVAKOVICH, Josip	2004	April Fool's Day
ROVIN, Jeff	1986	April Fool's Day

‘Left in the Ashes’ by Anna Britton

Published by Canelo London,
18 September 2025. 
ISBN: 978-80436-528-1(PB)

This unusual and complex novel opens with two very different scenes of crime.  The first describes a child’s body found in a barrel floating in Hythe Shipyard in Southampton, whilst the second is a suspected arson attack that has taken place within the grounds of Dunlow Estate.  The Hythe incident bears all the hallmarks of a child killer who has evaded the law for years and is known as The Barrel Man.  DI Paul Willis along with DS Nicole Stuart are tasked with interviewing the shocked informant who made the gruesome discovery.  Their colleagues, DI Juliet Stern and DS Gabe Martin, meanwhile, are sent to the scene of the fire, but their enquiries are put on hold until the scene has been made safe. 

What complicates, and provides an interesting twist, to these two investigations is that whilst Gabe is professionally involved with the arson enquiry, the Barrel Man case affects her personally because she and her brother were abducted by the twisted killer when she was a little girl.  She lives with the memory of her ordeal and still grieves for the sibling killed by the “Bad Man” as she calls him.  Since her dreadful experience, Gabe has been routinely interviewed each time the killer strikes.  This latest atrocity requires her to confront her demons again.  Yet she must remain strong; she has her own investigation to consider and does not want her loss and trauma to impede her professionalism.  Her partner, Juliet, is herself recovering from the pair’s last traumatic encounter and both women are dealing with tricky relationships on the home front.  However, for now they must put personal considerations to one side because the discovery of a woman’s body Left In The Ashes at Dunlow, means Juliet and Gabe are now dealing with a murder enquiry.

 

The narrative unfolds through a variety of text types such as police reports, text messages, newspaper articles and Gabe’s first person narrative.  These enable the writer to echo not only the intricacies of the two cases, but also Gabe’s inner turmoil as she struggles with destructive and haunting memories.  Juliet is more reserved than Gabe, indeed she often presents as cold and aloof.  At times Gabe struggles to reach out to the higher-ranking officer, only to be rebuffed.  As the story nears its conclusion, however, more of Juliet’s situation peeks through – possibly the focus of a future novel?  I hope so.  In this book, though, it is Gabe’s character, is centre stage and invites the reader’s empathy.  Other characters in the book provide plenty of suspects to keep our intrepid officers on their toes as they investigate the killers, new and old.

 

Left In The Ashes explores the reality of life for police officers dealing with difficult and complex cases whilst juggling with personal issues.  This is the third in the series featuring the Gabe and Stern duo.  It works very well as a standalone.  The resolution is unexpected, and the author leaves a tantalising taste of what might come next in the final pages.

 

A well-structured and fascinating novel with believable characters, intertwined plots and an unusual ending. Recommended.

------
Reviewer Dot Marshall-Gent

Anna Britton lives on the Isle of Wight with her husband and their chronically clumsy Labrador. An avid reader, she began writing around ten years ago and hasn’t stopped since. Anna works as a freelance editor and loves helping out other authors. When not filling her head with stories, Anna enjoys baking (and eating) cakes and exploring rivers in her kayak.  

Dot Marshall-Gent worked in the emergency services for twenty years first as a police officer, then as a paramedic and finally as a fire control officer before graduating from King’s College, London as a teacher of English in her mid-forties.  She completed a M.A. in Special and Inclusive Education at the Institute of Education, London and now teaches part-time and writes mainly about educational issues.  Dot sings jazz and country music and plays guitar, banjo and piano as well as being addicted to reading mystery and crime fiction.  

‘The Shrine’ by Lesley Thomson

Published by Head of Zeus,
12 March 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-03592024-2 (HB)

When an author creates interesting characters who belong to a world outside her familiar series, sooner or later they're going to turn up in that series. And that's exactly what has happened in Lesley Thomson's latest foray into the world of the Detective's Daughter. Stella Darnell, whose nickname emanates from the fact that she's exactly that, prefers cleaning other people's houses to solving crimes, but that doesn't stop the dead bodies from turning up wherever she goes.

 This time she's in a campervan on a campsite in the Cotswolds, trying to sort out her feelings after a rift with her train driver partner Jack, over his attempts to contact his long-dead mother through a medium. In a cottage in the nearby village are a couple of those interesting characters from other books (and incidentally, other parts of the country). Mobile fishmonger Freddy Power is covering for a colleague's holiday, and D I Toni Kemp is on holiday herself. 

And inevitably, Stella stumbles across a body. She's out with Freddy on her fish-selling round, and they pass, or rather don't pass, a shrine to a popular teacher killed decades ago in a hit-and-run accident. The teacher's body is safe in the cemetery, but a much more recent one is propped up at the shrine: an unpopular builder and conman. It's the mixture as before for reluctant sleuth Stella. 

Equally inevitably, who should turn up at the campsite but Jack, in the company of Lucie May, their investigative journalist friend, who, conveniently for them both, lives in a large motorhome. Between the five of them, they set out to unravel the knottiest of tangled webs. Not only is there a murder to solve (the local police don't appear to be up to the job); the mystery of the long-ago hit-and-run has to be resolved, Stella has to resolve her differences with Jack, and Lucie May has to file a suitably dramatic story. 

Also in the village, and somehow involved, are Amanda Proudie, daughter of a notorious medium who is nominally dead but still around in spirit despite her elaborate grave in the village cemetery, and Jane Cato, a retired pharmacist who has her own agenda. And an old flame, or possibly adversary, of Stella's is lurking in the background. 

It all comes to a satisfactory conclusion, of course; it always does in fiction. And it does it with Lesley Thomson's sure hand on the tiller, creating a wealth of characters you'd recognize if you met them, locations you could step into, and situations and misdirection’s that will keep you guessing right to the final page. Stella, Jack, Lucie and their partners in crime-solving will feel like old friends by the end of the book. Not that you'll want it to end, at least not till the next one is there to replace it.
------
Reviewer: Lynne Patrick 

Lesley Thomson was born in 1958 and brought up in Hammersmith, West London. She went to Holland Park Comprehensive and graduated from Brighton University in 1981 and moved to Sydney, Australia. Returning to London she did several jobs to support writing. Her novel A Kind of Vanishing won The People's Book Prize in 2010. In 2013 her first book in The Detective’s Daughter series was published, featuring Stella Darnell (MD of Clean Slate Cleaning Services) and Jack Harmon, driver on London Underground’s District Line. There are now nine books in the series.  Lesley combines writing with teaching creative writing at West Dean College. She lives in Lewes with her partner.

 

www.lesleythomson.co.uk/

Lynne Patrick has been a writer ever since she could pick up a pen, and has enjoyed success with short stories, reviews and feature journalism, but never, alas, with a novel. She crossed to the dark side to become a publisher for a few years and is proud to have launched several careers which are now burgeoning. She lives in Oxfordshire in a house groaning with books, about half of them crime fiction.

‘A Dangerous Train of Thought’ by Faith Martin

Published by HQ Digital,
15 January 2026.
ISBN: 978-000873843-2 (PB)

Sir Bayard Cherville surveyed his lovely Georgian Manor house and his gently rolling acres of south Yorkshire only six miles from the coast. Although the Great War, taxes and the changed times had made inroads into his coffers, the family were still an important part of society.  Lady Sybil was not over keen on country living and hosted lavish weekend parties which Sir Bayard bore stoically.

A Thursday in 1926 finds Bayard is contemplating the arrival of his first guests. While Sybil his wife is uneasy, he couldn’t know, could he?  She’s been so careful. 

Meanwhile, Arbuthnot 'Arbie' Lancelot Swift is looking forward to the promise of a lavish weekend party.  He has no idea that he has been cast as a celebrity, but he is a happy go-lucky kind of chap simply looking forward to a spot of fishing, maybe a bit of cricket and a few games of billiards. However, Sybil is an avid reader of Arbie’s books and is eager to show him off to her distinguished guests. Arbie is also tasked with investigating rumours of a ‘ghost train spitting fire’ for the third instalment of the increasingly popular (to Arbie’s great surprise) Gentleman’s Guide to Ghost-hunting. Sitting opposite to him on the train is Miss Valentina Coulton-James, a vicar’s daughter, who keeps Arbie’s nose to the grindstone re his ghost-hunting. He has tried desperately not to sign another contract for a third book, but Val has other ideas, she also harbours feelings for Arbie, of which he is totally unaware. 

Also on route is Miss Agnes Warren, who is so excited that she finds it difficult to sit still, for something beyond her wildest dreams has happened. And not far away is Bill Endicott, an adonis just over six feet with, blue eyes and a strong jaw. But Bill is not looking forward to the weekend party, but sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and grin and bear things.  Roger and Daphne Potts-Gibson have very different reasons for looking forward to this weekend break. 

But when the guests start dying, Arbie finds himself thrust into the middle of a murder investigation.  Will he and Val be able to uncover the truth? 

With a terrific mix of characters this is an intriguing mystery. But can Val and Arbie solve it? Cleverley plotted this is an exciting mystery. I look forward to the next instalment'
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Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett

Faith Martin is a pen name of English author Jacquie Walton who was born in Oxford. She is best known for writing a series of books set around Oxfordshire, with the starring character being DI Hillary Greene. She also has a series set in Oxford in 1960 featuring PC Trudy Loveday, who is assigned to help coroner Clement Ryder. Writing as Joyce Cato, she has published 7 books featuring Jenny Starling, a travelling cook and amateur detective. And four books featuring Monica Noble, a vicar's wife with a taste for solving crimes. Her latest series is set in the featuring Val and Arbie.

‘The Body at Rookery Barn’ by Kate Hardy

Published by Storm Publishing,
12 September 2023.
ISBN: 978-1-80508084-8 (PB)

Following the death of her husband Stephen, Georgina Drake moves to Little Wenborough in rural Norfolk. To supplement her income, she rents out her converted barn as a holiday cottage to holidaymakers.  Her current tenant Professor Roland Garnett, an arrogant and unpleasant man had booked the cottage for three weeks which had terminated this morning.  As she walks to the cottage to change the linen and clean the cottage for the next arrivals, she hears a female voice say, ‘I wouldn’t go in there if I were you’. 

The voice had a local Norfolk accent but wasn’t a voice Georgina recognised.  It continued, ‘Call the police and Ambulance’.  Looking around her Georgina cannot see anyone. Maybe, she thinks it is her new hearing aids, that have somehow picked up a radio. Ignoring the voice, Georgina lets herself into the cottage and immediately picks up a smell of strong stale vomit.  ‘I did tell you not to open the door,’ said the voice plaintively. 

Leaving the kitchen door open, Georgina checks each room. Clearly the professor hadn’t left as his things were strewn over every room. He was in the bedroom and dead. In panic and struggling to breathe Georgina dials 999. 

While waiting she asks the voice to show herself. ‘That’s a bit tricky says the voice’. 

The first police response is a Sergeant Kennedy, followed by Inspector Colin Bradshaw.  Pathology rules that Roland Garnett was poisoned. The news in the village travels fast, no doubt helped by Jodie, who does the cleaning of the guest cottage for Georgina. 

Although none of the villagers liked Roland Garnett, as in his short stay in the area he managed to offend most of them. But as a relative newcomer to the village, Georgina is suspect No I.  So, she feels that she has no choice but to investigate herself. In doing so she finds an unlikely team to help her, aristocratic gardener, Sybbie, Francesca and Jodie.  But Georgina in her endeavours to clear herself of the crime finds herself in the killer’s firing line. 

And what of the disembodied voice? Just who is it? 

A fascinating and gripping cosy crime novel. Recommended.
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Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett

Kate Hardy started writing stories about ponies and dogs, moved onto ghosts and history, and then into local history and romance, and is now thoroughly enjoying her new life of crime!  She loves learning new things, which is why you'll always discover something different in a Kate Hardy book. She lives in Norwich with her husband

 

Unsung Heroes of Crime Fiction by Lynne Patrick

 An occasional series which looks at the work of authors whose books qualify as bestsellers, but who still aren’t quite as famous as they deserve to be.

Caroline England

A Yorkshirewoman by birth, Lancastrian by adoption. After university in Manchester, Caroline England trained as a solicitor, and after a brief early encounter with the criminal fraternity, moved into divorce and professional indemnity. Her work only served to deepen her fascination with the human condition: the differences and similarities between people, their failings and frailties, the masks they wear to cover their hidden depths and secrets. Later, voluntary mediation work gave her an insight into the nature of storytelling: how there is always more than one point of view, and multiple versions of the truth. 

The leap from writing divorce petitions and court reports to making up stories for her three daughters was a short one, and the jump into fiction for adults even shorter. Early in her writing career she put her legal background to good use in a two-book mini-series with a village setting, featuring a feisty feminist solicitor, written under the pen-name Caro Land. 

Her debut psychological thriller Beneath the Skin was a tense mystery based around the secrets and lies she finds so intriguing, and she has gone on to write seven more highly acclaimed standalones under her own name. They are all a perfect fit for the domestic noir sub-genre, set in the home, family and friendship ties at their heart with all the consequent frictions, conflicts and convolutions. 

As C E Rose, she writes darker thrillers with an element of the gothic, in which the location acts almost as another character in the story and adds a sinister layer to the atmosphere. Who knows what goes on behind the closed doors of a crumbling stately home, a spooky farmhouse, a mysterious cottage? 

Spirited solicitor, domestic noir or gothic thriller, her books have acquired a considerable following. She writes about characters who are fallible and all the more human for it; their relationships have unexpected twists, and their secrets are well hidden until the layers are peeled away. They are complex, often tense and menacing, the kinds of books that keep you up all night because the itch to know what happens won't go away. 

With all these best-seller ingredients in place, you'd imagine that Caroline England had earned a place at the top of the crime-writing tree. So why hasn't she? It's a mystery. 

                  Books by Caroline England

                            The Wife's Secret (2017)
                             aka Beneath the Skin
                       My Husband's Lies (2018)
                       Betray Her (2019)
                       Truth Games (2020)
                       The Sinner (2022)
                       The Stranger Beside Me (2023)
                       The Return Of Frankie Whittle (2025)
                       Behind Her Smile (2025)

                Books Written as C E Rose 

                The House of Hidden Secrets (2021)
                      The House on the Water's Edge (2021)
                      The Shadows of Rutherford House (2022)
                      The Attic at Wilton Place (2023)

                By Caro Land

                 Convictions
                 Confessions. 

Home - CAROLINE ENGLAND  

‘A Country Manor Murder’ by Alice Castle

Published by Bookouture,
13 February 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-80550458-0 (PB)

Sarah Vane has barely waved off her two daughters and two tiny granddaughters, when Daphne Roux, Sarah’s oldest friend and next-door neighbour rushes in with the news that she has signed them both up for the Vanstone Fair bake-off, and that they should make some scones and win first prize. Sarah is sceptical of this, but says OK, when is the contest? This afternoon says Daphne crunching a biscuit. 

Three hours later they are on their way to Vanstone complete with scones. Driving through the picturesque village they head for Coates House, which is a Jacobean manor complete with sweeping lawns, owned by Madeleine Brett-Coates. As they join a slow-moving queue of cars seeking a parking space.  Sarah asks what time does the competition start? 4pm says Daphne, we need to get our scones on the judging table quickly as it’s now. Oh! 4pm. And she off sprinting across the car park. Sarah makes her way to the big white tent, to display their scones. It’s gloomy and dark inside the tent. Then she sees two feet sticking out from beneath a pile of coloured flags. 

The arrival of Police Constables Dumbarton and Deeside, known as Tweedledum and Tweedledee, followed by Daphne’s daughter Mariella, who has just transferred to the Canterbury police force, sets the ball rolling, announcing that the dead body is that of as the Madeleine Brett-Coates. 

The three children of the late Mrs Brett-Coates’s, (Mumsy! to her children), Bernard, Helena and Jonathan appear heartbroken over the death of their mother, but Sarah soon learns that matriarch ruled her children with a rod of iron. Keeping them all living at the house. They all clearly disliked each other.  Without doubt even more when the terms of her will are read out. Oops! 

The discovery of a second dead body muddies the water and poses even more questions. 

Like all good murder mysteries, it is soon revealed that everyone at the manor, even the staff, have secrets. Can Sarah aided by Hamish her black Scottie dog, and Mariella track down the killer before, yet another victim is claimed?

It kept me guessing to the end.  Heartily recommended.
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Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett 

Alice Castle had a long career as a feature writer on national newspapers including the Daily Express, The Times and The Daily Telegraph, before turning to crime. Alice has also written a nine-book crime series set in south east London.  Her recent series features Sarah Vane. There are six books in this series. Alice grew up in south London and, after a stint in Brussels (where her first novel, Hot Chocolate, is set) she is back in the UK, dreaming up adventures for her heroine’s. She writes psychological thrillers for HQDigital as A.M. Castle. Alice is married with two children, two stepchildren. Follow Alice on Twitter as @DDsDiary or visit her website at

http://www.alicecastleauthor.com  

'Beware' by Roger Corke

 “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts,” said Virgil’s Aeneid about the Trojan Horse. Trust Artificial Intelligence to come up with its very own version.  

A year ago, my first crime thriller was published. Deadly Protocol is about the murder of a man researching the Holy Grail of medicine – a cure for cancer: who killed him and why? And it features a feisty American female protagonist, Dr Ronnie Ackerman who has to solve the mystery to save her career – and her life. All that information is easily available online. You’ll soon see the relevance of that.  

Deadly Protocol has had far more plaudits from my fellow crime writers than I ever dared to hope for – but nothing like as glowing as the praise, I’ve suddenly started receiving in my inbox from a whole string of people supposedly running book clubs.  

 “Your book is on our radar,” said one. “The authenticity of the world you create is unmistakeable,” wrote another. 

Well, I’m not going to argue with that…if only they really meant it. But I’m not sure they do. In fact, I’m not sure some of them exist at all. So far, none of the book clubs I have checked out have a website. A few feature on
Instagram but by no means all of them. Curiouser and curiouser. 

Out of interest, I picked one these emails to follow up. Claire W Johnson introduces herself as the organiser of the Feminist Book Club and at other times describes herself as representing the Feminist Readers Guild. 

“As we welcome the New Year, our community is curating a New Author Introduction & Feature to highlight selected authors and books our readers are genuinely excited about as part of our fresh reading line-up for the year ahead,” she says. 

“I’m delighted to share that your book has resonated strongly with our readers and is currently ranked among the top titles based on member interest and engagement. As part of this New Year feature, we’ll be spotlighting a select group of authors whose works truly stood out to our community. 

“Your book would be introduced through a New Year Newspaper-Style Spotlight, a thoughtfully designed, editorial-style feature that presents your work in a format that feels timeless, credible, and engaging.” 

Spotting a sales pitch coming, I write back: “I would be delighted to take part, as long as it doesn't cost me any money! I have several approaches similar to yours each week and, after several back-and-forth emails, it usually seems that the writer wants money out of me. If you do, then I don't want to waste your time in pursuing me. But if not, I would love to take part.” 

“Thank you for explaining your concern so clearly,” replies Claire.  “I genuinely appreciate your openness, and I completely understand why you’d want clarity upfront. 

“To be fully transparent: the feature itself is free. There is no fee simply to be included or introduced to our readers, and there is absolutely no obligation to purchase anything in order to participate in the New Author Introduction. 

“Some authors choose to opt into optional professional services, such as editorial polishing, layout refinement, or print-ready design support for the newspaper-style spotlight. Those services do involve a fee, as they cover
professional editing and production work, but they are entirely optional, clearly explained in advance, and never a requirement for being featured.”

This is the first time Claire has talked about a fee of any kind. Once again, I make it clear that I’d like to take part, but I don’t want to pay her anything.  

She sends me a Q&A sheet, asking for further details about me, the book and how I came to write it. 

“The background you’ve provided is excellent and gives us exactly the depth we need to present Deadly Protocol and Ronnie’s story accurately and thoughtfully,” she responds. “As we’re now moving into final production for the upcoming feature slot, the next step is to confirm your participation in the Author Spotlight. Once confirmed, I’ll send over the payment details and the exact publication timeline so we can lock everything in and begin editing.”

“Payment details?” I reply.

“Thank you for confirming!” gushes Claire. “The Author Spotlight fee is $200. Could you let me know whether you’d like to pay via PayPal or receive an invoice? Looking forward to featuring Deadly Protocol and Ronnie to our readers!”

 “I think I made it clear - please look back at my previous emails - that I don’t pay for marketing, and you agreed that I didn’t have to,” I reply.

“I want to be completely clear so there’s no confusion,” says Claire. “While we do occasionally offer complimentary editorial mentions, inclusion in our scheduled feature line-up for the Feminist Book Club does require the Author Spotlight, which includes editing, formatting, and coordinated presentation to our readers. That element carries a small fee and is part of how we deliver a consistent experience for all featured authors.” 

It felt a bit like pulling teeth by this point, but I wasn’t going to give up.

“What can you do for me without me paying anything?” I ask. “Your emails certainly indicated that either I could pay for one service or get another that is free.”

 After a couple more emails went back and forth, Claire wrote with good news.

“I’m happy to let you know that Deadly Protocol will be featured with our Feminist Book Club members tomorrow,” she said. “This is a pre-prepared editorial feature there’s no live session or Zoom required. Once it’s shared, our readers will also be encouraged to drop reviews and share their feedback on your book. I’ll follow up afterward so you can see how it appears.” 

I’m still waiting to hear from Claire – despite a couple of emails from me prompting a reply. And I don’t expect to hear from her, because I ran all of her billets-doux through an AI checker. It said that 100 per cent of them were written… by Artificial Intelligence. 

Roger Corke is a TV journalist who has travelled the world producing and directing documentaries for flagship current affairs series like the BBC's Panorama, Channel 4's Dispatches and ITV's World in Action and Tonight. That experience was invaluable in writing his first crime thriller and it was a chance conversation with a scientist whilst on a filming trip in America that led him to devise the plot for Deadly Protocol. 

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