Capital Crime 2024 : Report by David Headley.

London’s annual celebration of crime fiction, Capital Crime, took place
from 30th May - 1st June 2024
at our beautiful venue located right next to St Paul’s Cathedral.
Focused on the reader, Capital Crime’s goal is to entertain our guests and celebrate the very best in crime and thriller fiction by attracting authors and fans from all over the world to take part in a festival that is an extension of the vibrant and culturally diverse city it is proud to call home.

Welcoming 1,000 crime fiction fans across the two and a half day festival, the weekend’s events kicked off with Capital Crime’s future generations takeover as part of social outreach initiative which aims to demystify the publishing industry and encourage the next generation of authors and publishing professionals to pursue a career in publishing.

With an innovative new event entitled
‘The Anatomy of A Crime’
audience members were treated to a raucous, yet informative, re-enactment from crime to conviction by authors who executed their day jobs on stage including:

Senior Investigating Officer Graham Bartlett

Detective (Kate London),

CSI (Kate Bendelow),

Judge (Nicola Williams)

and Barristers (Nadine Matheson and Helen Fields).

Special guests (in purely fictitious roles) included witnesses
M. W. Craven and A. J West with

Fiona Cummins

standing as the accused!

Further highlights from the festival include:

The Fingerprint Awards on Thursday, which saw authors including William Hussey, Lisa Jewell and Louise Candlish celebrated;

Lynda La Plante was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award;

and Hodder & Stoughton celebrated for their campaign for Alice Slater’s

Death of a Bookseller. 

Festival co-founder David Headley interviewed a bestselling debut class of authors including Samuel Burr, Jennie Godfrey and Sarah Brooks. Lisa Jewell and AJ Finn appeared in conversation with Nadine Matheson to discuss the epidemic of armchair detectives and what it means for authors and works of fiction, Rob Rinder hosted an event with his ‘suspect’ authors, Vera Stanhope and Jane Tennison finally met when
Lynda La Plante and Ann Cleeves took the stage with Lisa Howells, A.A.Dhan and M.W. Craven and S.J.Watson talked about compulsive crime. 

Val McDermid and Kate Moss made history at the event about incredible women throughout history, and Irvine Welsh and Ian Rankin spoke with Harriet Tyce about their incredible life works so far. (See photo far left).

Finding A Balance: Combining Social Tensions, Morality and ‘Entertainment Factor’ in Crime Fiction

 

A Culture of Armchair Detectives:

A J Finn &
Lisa Jewell
interviewed by
Nadine Matheson

Discussing the appeal of catching ‘detective fever’, and when the police get it wrong can only authors, podcasters and armchair detectives save us?

  

With something for every crime reader Capital Crime’s lineup of over 100 authors, a rooftop bar, Goldsboro Books on site bookshop and a rocking set from the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers who closed the weekend, an entertaining and engaging weekend was had by all. 

With inclusivity and a passion for crime fiction as the driving forces behind the festival, Capital Crime will return on 13th and 14th June 2025

to the Leonardo Royal St Paul’s located right next to the iconic London landmark. By continuing to make significantly discounted tickets available to frontline workers, Librarians and those on income support and benefits, Capital Crime will continue to ensure that every crime reader is able to afford to meet their crime fiction heroes.
David H Headley

Early bird tickets on sale now.

www.capitalcrime.org