Durham Book Festival

Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant leads star-studded

Durham Book Festival line-up celebrating stories forged in the North

Neil Tennant, Christopher Eccleston, Susanna Clarke, James Marriott, Lucy Foley, Hollie McNish and Louise Doughty
headline 2026 festival

Durham Book Festival’s 2026 line-up features some of the UK's most exciting writers, thinkers, performers and broadcasters exploring literature, politics, history, music, and poetry.

Taking place from 9–11 October, mainly at Gala Durham, this year's festival features music icon Neil Tennant, actor Christopher Eccleston, and an array of bestselling and award-winning writers including Susanna Clarke, Lucy Foley, Louise Doughty, Kit Fan, and Sarah Hall
and poets Hollie McNish and Kayo Chingonyi.

Tickets are now on sale for the festival, which is a Durham County Council event produced by New Writing North.  In addition to the best-selling line-up, the festival will include an action-packed programme of activities and workshops at council-run libraries linked to the 2026 National Year of Reading.

Festival highlights this year include Tyneside-born Neil Tennant, who will join Durham University Chancellor and former US presidential adviser Fiona Hill for an exclusive talk as part of the Forged in the North series, exploring how the North East shaped one of Britain's most influential songwriters.
The event coincides with the 40th anniversary
of Pet Shop Boys' debut album
and the reissue of Tennant's One Hundred Lyrics and a Poem.

Hill also talks to The Times columnist James Marriott – also from Tyneside - whose acclaimed work explores the impact of smartphones on reading, human cognition and democracy, themes developed through his BBC Radio 4 series How Reading Made Us and his debut book The New Dark Ages.

One of Britain's most acclaimed fantasy writers makes a rare public appearance as Susanna Clarke discusses her new Durham-inspired novella, 
The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City.
Set in 1110, this atmospheric prequel to the bestselling Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell will be explored in the very city that inspired and anchors its story.

Award-winning actor Christopher Eccleston and poet Jo Clement take part in a special live recording of the Working-Class Library podcast, celebrating the legacy of the late poet Tony Harrison.

Lucy Foley's bestselling thriller The Hunting Party has been selected as the festival's 2026 Big Read, with 3,000 free copies distributed through libraries, schools, hospitals and community organisations across the North East to celebrate the National Year of Reading. A Durham University graduate, Foley will also discuss Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel, her landmark commission for the Agatha Christie estate, introducing a brand-new Miss Marple, picking up Christie’s reins 50 years on.

Bestselling novelist Louise Doughty (Apple Tree Yard, Platform Seven) joins filmmaker Nicola Wilding to discuss their new memoirs, while acclaimed poet Hollie McNish teams up with Edinburgh Makar Michael Pedersen for an evening of poetry, humour and performance. The Poetry Book Society Showcase also brings together three of the UK's most exciting contemporary poets -
Clementine Ewokolo, Helen Mort and Padraig Regan.

Rebecca Wilkie, Durham Book Festival Director at New Writing North, said: "We're delighted to be back celebrating stories rooted in the North, while welcoming voices from across the UK and beyond. Working-class writing is a major theme, from the legacy of Tony Harrison to our exciting showcase, New Northern Voices. The festival is also firmly rooted in place, exploring how the North East has shaped writers, artists and their work.”

Cllr Karen Allison, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for leisure, tourism, regeneration and high street, said: “Durham Book Festival is not only a longstanding and popular event on the county’s cultural calendar, but it’s now a firm favourite on the UK literary scene too. Each year it delivers a fantastic programme of talks, events and activities that entertain and inspire people of all ages.

“What’s more, it attracts thousands of people into Durham city centre, helping to boost the local economy, while also promoting our wonderful libraries and cultural venues.

“The festival is ultimately about spreading the joy of reading and writing, and – thanks to the return of the Big and Little Read and the activities taking place in our libraries – this tradition is set to continue in 2026. In fact, this year is extra special as it coincides with the National Year of Reading, a campaign that encourages people to get behind the pages of a book. We have a programme of activities taking place throughout the year and Durham Book Festival is of course one of the highlights.”

Other festival highlights include North East thriller writers, Jo Murray and Rebecca Philipson, a social history of Newcastle United with Dan Jackson, and the feminist writers Clare McGlynn and Natasha Walter tackle the urgent issues of online misogyny and women’s rights.

A new short stories commission for the podcast Sleep Stories sees acclaimed writers Romalyn Ante, Naomi Booth and Sarah Hall join sleep scientists to discuss the challenges of getting a good night’s kip. And the festival embraces innovative storytelling, with a festival ‘Game Jam’ and discussion on the relationship between gaming and fiction.

Subjects range from Greek mythology to Tarot reading, with comedy from the Door-to-Door poet, Newcastle’s Rowan McCabe. There’s a chance to indulge with local restauranteur Anna Hedworth and food writer Kit Fan, and swoon over Regency romance with the Georgette Heyer continuation novelist, Sophie Iriwn in conversation with The History Gossip influencer, Katie Kennedy.

The festival continues its commitment to championing emerging northern talent with events for aspiring authors keen to learn about the publication process, and a day-long writing workshop with Faber Academy author, Amy Key.

Founded in 1990, Durham Book Festival is part of Durham County Council’s Art Council supported National Portfolio Organisation festival programme. It is produced by New Writing North, with additional support from Durham University.

 Professor Janet Stewart, Executive Dean (Arts and Humanities), at Durham University, said: “The Festival embodies the very best of our university: curiosity, creativity and the vibrant exchange of ideas. Each year, it brings an extraordinary wealth of talent to our city, including graduates, University colleagues and our Chancellor, Dr Fiona Hill, creating opportunities to challenge and connect. We celebrate the enrichment it brings—not only to our university, but also to the wider community, fostering cultural experiences that resonate long after the festival ends.”

Tickets are on sale now, with many events also available via livestream.

For the full programme and to book tickets visit 
www.durhambookfestival.com.

Whitby Lit Fest unveils star-studded programme

John Boyne, Ann Cleeves, Si King, Joanne Harris, Mark Billingham, Greta Scacchi, Corinne Bailey Rae and
Dr Sian Williams are heading to Whitby

The town that inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula and has fired the imaginations of generations of writers is preparing to welcome some of the biggest names in books for the 2026 Whitby Lit Fest.

Over 50 author events are scheduled across four days from 19–22 November, featuring bestselling authors, broadcasters, actors, historians, poets and performers.

Headliners include one of the most celebrated and internationally acclaimed novelists of our time, John Boyne, whose
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide. He’ll be discussing his new novel,
The Weight of Angels, with broadcaster and novelist, Steph McGovern.

Hairy Biker Si King cooks up a storm with his first solo cookbook, Proper Home Cooking, while discussing his remarkable career taking food and friendship on the road.

A press gang descends, as former BBC Breakfast presenter
 Louise Minchin teases her upcoming thriller, and BBC news anchor turned psychologist Dr Sian Williams discusses her book,
The Power of Anxiety. Channel 4 news presenter and award-winning foreign correspondent Alex Thomson puts political commentator Peter Oborne in the spotlight, with his latest book, Complicit.

A crime wave hits the coast led by one of the world’s most successful crime writers, the Vera and Shetlands creator -
Ann Cleeves. Also, this year’s Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Diamond Dagger winner Mark Billingham features, as does the award-winning Elly Griffiths, who’ll discuss her novella,
The Case of the Christmas Card. The festival also welcomes the criminally good Jo Murray, Martin Edwards, and Sarah Hilary.

The novelist, former BBC radio producer and Whitby resident,
Kate Fenton, is Patron of Whitby Lit Fest. Kate said:

"We always suspected the quirky, gothic charms of Whitby would attract bookworms. Even so, no-one could have predicted the instant, sell-out success of our very first Lit Fest last year. And this November’s line-up is, if anything, even more exciting. Four days crammed with gripping stories, sparky conversations and revealing interviews. Entertainment, inspiration, wit, wisdom - and fish and chips. What more could any book lover want?"

Matt Baker explores the journey from page to screen with Emmy-award winning David Quantick. Baker is behind as string of hit TV shows including Channel 4’s Patience, and ITV’s A Taste for Murder - also his debut novel. The novelist David Quantick’s screen credits include Veep, The Thick of It and the feature film,
  The Book of Love.

Actor Greta Scacchi will share the books behind her screen career, alongside a discussion with arts journalist Jasper Rees, exploring his new official memoir of Michael Gambon, who she shared the stage and screen with.

Topics range from the dramatic fall of the former Prince Andrew, with royal biographer Andrew Lownie, to the revival of a literary legacy – the much-loved Cazalet Chronicles - with author Louisa Young, and how to look bolder, not older, with TV’s Ten-Years Younger presenter Nicky Hambleton-Jones. Helen Bain brings her lauded debut, Daffodil Days, which reimagines the lives of poets Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath.

The Earl of Harewood, David Lascelles, shares his father’s remarkable story as a Nazi prisoner at Colditz. Travel writers Ben Aitken and Tom Sykes show us the road less travelled, and we hop aboard with the star of Channel 4’s Steam Train Diaries Paul ‘Piglet’ Middleton.

No other literary festival in Britain is quite so deeply rooted in gothic storytelling.

Against the backdrop of the ruined abbey, the narrow-cobbled streets and the dramatic Yorkshire coastline, the festival welcomes leading writers of gothic fiction, ghost stories and folk horror, including Joanne Harris, Laura Purcell, Jess Kidd, Amanda Mason, Lucie McKnight Hardy and Essie Fox.

The coast too takes a starring role as historian Alistair Moffat presents his pilgrimage of the North Sea, Jess Kidd introduces her seaside sleuth series, Sally Coulthard presents a Brief History of the Coast in 100 Objects, and metal detectorists Eleanor Bruce and Lucilla Gray share their finds.

Dominic Gregory also brings his gripping, moving memoir, Lifeboat at the End of the World. Whitby’s much-loved Heritage Sculpture Trail, the Wirefolk of Whitby, features with sculptor Emma Stothard and writer Tim Kelly.

For children, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae, appears in a special family event showcasing winners of the Whitby Lit Fest children’s writing competition, in partnership with the National Literacy Trust.

They’ll also be an exploration of Yorkshire’s Amazing Dinosaur Coast with geologist Roger Osborne and dinosaur-artist James McKay, spine-tingling horror from Jack Mackay, and Young Adult authors, Naomi Kelsey and Heather Askwith.

Theatre comes in the form of Flight, a performance from The Hull to Scarborough Line theatre company, and a ‘Patron Spotlight’ curated by the festival’s Honorary Patron Sir Alan Ayckbourn on the writer, Robert Shearman, playwright at Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre.

Lois Kirtlan, Chair of Whitby Lit Fest, said: "Following the huge success of our inaugural Lit Fest last year, I’m delighted that the team has once again pulled together such a fabulous and diverse line-up for this year’s festival. We’re also incredibly proud to have been awarded charitable status, which gives Whitby Lit Fest a strong foundation for the future.

“We want the festival to continue to become an important part of Whitby’s cultural calendar for many years to come. We’re encouraging local businesses and individuals to get behind us and help make that possible. There are a range of sponsorship opportunities available, and donations can also be made through our website. Every contribution, large or small, will help us build on the success of the festival and secure its future.”

Visitors can also enjoy a rich strand of poetry performances, live music, creative writing workshops, and for emerging and aspiring writers there are publishing panels and masterclasses with HarperNorth, Salt Publishing and Valley Press.

Running across venues throughout the town, Whitby Lit Fest continues its ambition to become one of the UK's leading literary festivals, combining world-class authors with the unique atmosphere of Britain's most famous gothic seaside town.

The full programme and tickets, which go on sale on 31 August, will be on the website from 31st.
  Whitby Lit Fest - Inspired by and Celebrating Whitby.

‘The Man’ by Laura Sims

Published by Verve Books,
23 July 2026.
ISBN: 978-0-85730950-1 (PB)

Before you open this book, switch off your phone, lock your door and set the TV to record, because once you have started you won’t want to put it down. 

This fast-paced psychological thriller tells the story of Judith Stanley.  She is a middle-aged housewife, looking for hobbies to fill her time now that her son has left home.  She decides to hone her photography skills and enrols on a course with Professor Paul Sorensen. 

The book starts with a poignant view through Judith’s lens as she photographs random people at the annual Columbus Day parade.  She has the rare gift of exposing the hidden depths of her subjects’ personalities through her perfectly framed shots, and her work is arresting. The reader learns that there is pain and trauma in her past, which she skilfully reveals on the faces of others in her devastating portrait shots. 

Paul Sorensen is more or less paying lip-service to his job.  He knows that most of his students are only there to earn an easy grade. Few, if any, will become professional photographers. When he sees the quality and artistry of Judith’s work he is stunned.  He pleads with her to publish and exhibit, but she steadfastly refuses. She does not want to share her photographs with anyone. 

What she tells no-one is that in the background of her self-portrait shots there is always a man, lurking and watching. She fears this is the same man who caused her terrible pain and trauma as a child. How has he found her?  How is he managing to stalk her wherever she goes, and whatever she does? 

The story becomes darker as it twists the lives of Judith and Paul together in shocking and unexpected ways.

Fans of authors such as Harlan Coben and Ruth Ware should enjoy this intricate and well-written story.
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Reviewer:  Jane Andreoli 

Laura Sims's previous novels How Can I Help You and Looker have been featured on Best Books lists in the New York Times Book Review, Vogue, People, Entertainment Weekly, Real Simple, Publishers Weekly and more. An award-winning poet, Sims has published four poetry collections; her essays and poems have appeared in the New Republic, Boston Review, LitHub and Electric Lit. She lives in New Jersey, where she works part-time as a children's librarian.  

Jane Andreoli. I have been in love with words ever since her mother read her bedtime stories before I could read for myself. As a writer, I enjoy creating mysteries with twists in their tails, and I love a well-crafted plot. My literary heroes are Jane Austen for her superb social observations, Shakespeare for the amazing way he crunched the English language into new shapes to express his emotions, Margery Allingham for her satisfyingly convoluted plots and Phil Rickman for his masterful command of supernatural atmosphere.  I also love Douglas Adams and Sir Terry Pratchett for their humour, satire, and social commentary. I have an honours degree in English, but fortunately that was so long ago that I have forgotten all those pretensions and rediscovered the joy of creative writing.  I am now a published author, currently working on my next book. I have just reached that delicious stage where the characters become autonomous and start making their own decisions.  Anything could happen and probably will

‘Die Trying’ by Eleanor Barker-White

Published by HarperNorth,
26 March 2026.
ISBN: ‏978-0-00858697-3 (PB)

Die Trying is Eleanor Barker-White’s second book. Her much-praised debut appeared nearly two years ago, in February 2026. That novel, My Name Was Eden, is a thriller about a girl called Eden who survives a potentially fatal drowning accident with no apparent harm apart from an abrupt personality transformation. Eden’s mother, Lucy, finds it disturbing that her daughter now prefers to call herself Eli, the name she had given Eden’s unborn twin sister. Lucy also puzzles on how her daughter is now calm and rational whereas Eden had been notably wild and maddening. Can it be that the child who survived drowning is Eli rather than Eden? 

Die Trying also features suspenseful psychological conundrums with elements of the supernatural. Barker-White specializes in producing stories about messy family relationships that are predictable but presented and resolved in a fashion that is startling in its originality. In her second novel, she paints a convincing portrait of Adam and Jemma, a mismatched pair, parents of a toddler named Toby. The two alternate in telling the story through their own viewpoints. Adam is responsible and hardworking, someone very good at numbers, employed as a network analyst for a wealth management firm. His wife Jemma is his complete opposite. A woman who has trained in sports massage, she engages in spontaneous behavior, radiates confidence, and prioritizes her needs above those of anyone else. Adam’s painful past—a lonely peripatetic childhood with his parents, ending in his living alone with his mother when his father deserts them for an attractive young woman—means he dotes on his wife and son and relies on them for happiness and stability. But Jemma soon tires of her husband’s neediness and predictability, cheats on him with another man, and asks Adam to leave the family home and rent a drab little bedsit.  

Luck, fortune, fate, chance: all these factors come into play in this tawdry family drama through the presence of a solid glass die, three times larger than usual, that Adam’s mother had chanced upon many years earlier in a charity shop where she worked. It is a die that seems to possess magical powers, to control those who roll it seeking answers, making decisions on their behalf they must obey. The die mirrors the world of Die Trying in which characters are puppets of destiny, the victims of karma, with any sense of their being able to exert individual will an illusion. When Adam uses his die in a wellness podcast he begins with Will, an old friend, he finds his life taking a direction he never could have predicted let alone chosen for himself. 

Like My Name Was Eden, Die Trying raises more questions than it answers, but it is none the worse for that, admirable in provoking speculation and inspiring thought. 

Highly recommended.
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Reviewer: Wendy Jones Nakanishi/aka Lea O’Harra.  

Eleanor Barker-White holds an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa university. In 2017, she was shortlisted for the Janklow and Nesbit Prize and has had a number of short stories published in Best of British and The People's Friend magazines. She has previously worked with children and families in family courts, His Majesty's Prison service, and children's charities, and remains fascinated by the endless capacity for human resilience. She was born and raised in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, but now lives in Wiltshire with her husband and four children. My Name Was Eden is her first novel. 

Lea O’Harra.  An American by birth, did her postgraduate work in Britain – an MA in Lancaster and a doctorate at Edinburgh – and worked full-time for 36 years at a Japanese university. Since retiring in March 2020, she has spent part of each year in Lancaster and part in Takamatsu on Shikoku Island, her second home, with occasional visits to the States to see family and friends. An avid reader of crime fiction since childhood, as a university professor she wrote academic articles on it as a literary genre and then decided to try her hand at composing such stories herself, publishing the so-called ‘Inspector Inoue mystery series’ comprising four murder mysteries set in rural, contemporary Japan. She has also published two standalone crime fiction novels.  

Lea O'Harra – Mystery writer 

‘Into the Badlands’ by John L. Williams

Published by Oldcastle Books,
16 April 2026.
ISBN: 978-0-85730626-5 (PB)

Back in 1991, as John L. Williams, writes in his introduction to this 2025 reissue, crime writing was seen as a disreputable backwater, ‘a lawless place where writers could do what they liked as long as they remembered to include a plot and a murder or two.’ As a huge fan of American crime, he decided to do a tour of the places used in the novels of writers like George V. Higgins, Ellmore Leonard and many others, and interview as many of them as he could. The result is this riotous, atmospheric snapshot of American crime writers and crime places. 

He  starts off the south-east, in Miami, where he stays in a crack-dealers hotel on South Beach, interviews Carl Hiaasen and James Hall, and eyeballs a ‘gator in the Everglades. Next up is Southern Louisiana, where he goes searching for zydeco music at an unpleasantly racist American fair and a downtown bar in Opelousas, and is treated with generous hospitality by James Lee Burke. He meets Tony Hillmore in Alburquerque, New Mexico, and is sent by him to Isleta Pueblo, authentic Indigenous American country. In Los Angeles he recalls meeting James Ellroy, drives down Sunset Boulevard and interviews Black writer Gar Haywood. Continuing up the Pacific coast to San Francisco, he asks genuine PI turned novelist Joe Gores about writing the script for Hammett and using real cases in his novels, and misses the up-and-coming Sue Grafton, still only at F is for Fugitive, who’s busy being photographed for People magazine. In Missoula, Montana, he gets very drunk with Joe Crumley and Police Officer Bob Reid and meets Denis Macmillan; in Chicago he’s driven round by Sara Paretsky and meets Eugene Izzi. Detroit is Elmore Leonard, Boston is George V Higgins, New York is Joseph Koenig, Nick Tosches and Andrew Vachss. This lightly-revised edition ends with an interview with John L. Williams by David Peace, reflecting on how things have changed.

My one gripe is that my American geography is hazy, and I’d really have loved a map. 

This fascinating book is a crime must-read. Williams is a sympathetic journalist who gets the best out of even the most interview-weary writer, his place descriptions are are so vivid you can see the mean streets he’s driving down (’Lock your car door,’ Andrew Vaschss insisted, as they visited the less salubrious parts of New York), and some of the antics he gets up to with the writers he’s in theory interviewing are downright hilarious. They come across as a great bunch. The book ends with a selection of the books of each of the authors he met, which is good for trying out new authors. Highly recommended – I loved it.
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Reviewer: Marsali Taylor 

John L Williams was born in Cardiff and now lives in London. He's written more than a dozen books, ranging from his Cardiff Trilogy of novels to biographies of characters as diverse as Michael X and Shirley Bassey. His latest book, Heatwave, is a history of the long, hot summer of 1976. He also writes crime fiction under the name John Lincoln. His journalism has appeared everywhere from the NME to the Financial Times. He co-organises the riotous Laugharne Weekend festival in West Wales. 

Marsali Taylor grew up near Edinburgh and came to Shetland as a newly-qualified teacher. She is currently a part-time teacher on Shetland's scenic west side, living with her husband and two Shetland ponies. Marsali is a qualified STGA tourist-guide who is fascinated by history, and has published plays in Shetland's distinctive dialect, as well as a history of women's suffrage in Shetland. She's also a keen sailor who enjoys exploring in her own 8m yacht, and an active member of her local drama group.   

Click on the title to read a review of her recent book
Death in a Shetland Family

www.marsalitaylor.co.uk

‘The Crossroads’ by C.J. Box

Published by Head of Zeus,
5 March 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-0359881--2 (HB).

Joe Pickett, Montana Game and Fish Warden, has been shot in the head while out on his rounds in his pick-up. While doctors fight to save his life, with his wife Maybeth waiting anxiously in the hospital, the local Sheriff and Joe’s three daughters try to find out who his assailants were, before they try to finish the job. 

I’m not sure how well-known C J Box is in the UK. I’d not come across him before having the pleasure of hearing him as the National Guest of Honour at Bouchercon, Toronto, 2017 – a big, expansive personality with a soft drawl and a Stetson. This book, the 16^th in the Joe Pickett series, clearly shows why he’s such a favourite with readers: great characters, a vivid sense of place and page-turning plotting. There are frequent backward glances to earlier books, but no spoilers and their backstories add a sense of reality to the characters. 

The three-strand plot is deftly woven. There’s Joe and Marybeth’s presence, in the hospital; there are chapters of Joe’s recent past, showing his activities in the days before the ambush, and there’s the investigation by his three redoubtable daughters: Sheridan, who’s the manager of a bird abatement firm, and who’s attracted to the new Sheriff, Steve Sondergard, spiky April, now working as a PI, and Lucy, just returned to University after a semester in France. They divvy up the suspects between them, the owners of the three ranches whose roads branch off from the crossroads of the ambush, and a suspicious bunch they are too. Sheridan draws the Bucholz Cattle Company, where she spots John and Shelby Bucholz with digging trucks and finds John’s Uncle Hank imprisoned. Lucy heads for the Double Diamond Ranch, and its rich, unpleasant owner, Michael Thompson, recently involved in financial scandals. April draws the McElwee sisters, Lisa and Lainie, a pair of hard-bitten ranchers who’ve been behind several scams. Naturally there’s trouble a-plenty before the final, satisfying conclusion. 

A huge treat for Joe Pickett’s many fans, and an excellent taster for new readers. If you want to go back to the beginning, the first novel in the series is Open Season.
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Reviewer: Marsali Taylor

C J Box is a Wyoming native and has worked as a ranch hand, surveyor, fishing guide, a small town newspaper reporter and editor, and he owned an international tourism marketing firm with his wife Laurie. In 2008, Box was awarded the "BIG WYO" Award from the state tourism industry. An avid outdoorsman, Box has hunted, fished, hiked, ridden, and skied throughout Wyoming and the Mountain West. He served on the Board of Directors for the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo. They have three daughters. He lives in Wyoming.

Marsali Taylor grew up near Edinburgh and came to Shetland as a newly-qualified teacher. She is currently a part-time teacher on Shetland's scenic west side, living with her husband and two Shetland ponies. Marsali is a qualified STGA tourist-guide who is fascinated by history, and has published plays in Shetland's distinctive dialect, as well as a history of women's suffrage in Shetland. She's also a keen sailor who enjoys exploring in her own 8m yacht, and an active member of her local drama group.  

Click on the title to read a review of her recent book
Death in a Shetland Family

www.marsalitaylor.co.uk 

Bloody Scotland Newsletter Six Weeks to Go

Hello! Can you believe it's only six weeks now until we return to beautiful Stirling to celebrate the very best of crime fiction? Excitement levels are hitting fever pitch here at Bloody Scotland HQ. To help us  countdown the days and prepare for our beloved festival, we're switching over to weekly newsletters. 

In this edition we've got an exciting announcement about a brand new digital event on offer. We'll also be announcing the winners of our book giveaway and advising you on ways in which you can travel sustainably to Bloody Scotland this year. 

First Time Visitors to Scotland.

Our Guest Programmer, Denise Mina with this year's programme.

At Bloody Scotland, we're committed to programming the best crime fiction events possible for you every year, and that includes authors who haven't visited the festival previously. This year our team and Guest Programmer, Denise Mina, have invited 50 authors who are completely new to Bloody Scotland: including: AE Goldin, Foluso Agbaje, Kristen Perrin, Edel Coffey, Michael Wood, Andi Osho and Ørjan Karlsson. 

We hope you'll join us in giving them a very warm welcome to Stirling.

Stop Press!
Dept Q Available to Watch Digitally

We are absolutely thrilled to tell you that our Dept Q event will now be available to watch digitally! If you can't make it along to Stirling to see the stellar cast of the hit Netflix series storm the Albert Halls stage, you'll now be able to do it from the comfort of your home instead. 

Joining us will be showrunner Scott Frank and stars Matthew Goode (DCI Carl Morck), Kate Dickie (Chief Superintendent Moira Jacobson), Alexej Manvelov (Akram Salim) and Leah Byrne (DC Rose Dickson) . Together, they will discuss how the show has achieved such cult status amongst fans and reveal behind-the-scenes secrets as they take a break from filming Series 2. This is definitely not to be missed!

All of Bloody Scotland's Digital Events are available to watch live as they happen and then also on catch up until the end of September 2026. You can purchase a digital pass to watch all 17 events for £60.75 or purchase digital events singly for £6.75 each.

To view all of our Digital Events, visit:
https://bloodyscotland.com/whats-on/
and search for the term 'online' in the search box.

To give you a flavour of our other offerings, we've picked out three of our favourite 2026 online events below. 

Denise Mina presents Lee Child (online)

Streamed live on 18th of September at 6.45pm
 and available on catch up until the 30th of September.

Just because the in-person event for Lee Child is sold out, doesn't mean you can't get your Reacher fix!

We welcome back a legend of the genre and the creator of possibly the most iconic protagonist in thriller fiction. Lee Child has many imitators, but he and Jack Reacher remain the gold standard to which they all aspire. Travelling with just the clothes on his back and a toothbrush, Reacher is a hero for the ages.

Over the course of 30 pulsating novels, Lee has sold an incredible 100 million books which have been adapted into two movies starring Tom Cruise and a hit TV series. He will look back on an extraordinary career with guest programmer Denise Mina.

Denise Mina Presents Lee Chiild (online)

In Conversation: Chris Brookmyre & Abir Mukherjee (Online)

Streamed live on Friday 18th September - 1.30pm
and available on catch up until the 30th of September.

Grab your ticket for an unmissable hour in the company of two of Scotland’s finest crime writers.

It is 30 years since crime fiction’s most infamous mantlepiece featured in Chris Brookmyre’s debut novel Quite Ugly One Morning. Now, three
decades later his irrepressible investigative journalist Jack Parlabane
returns in the ingenious Quite Ugly One Evening. Abir Mukherjee follows his award-winning bestseller Hunted with the equally action-packed and thought-provoking thriller The Pinnacle which sees murder strike on the 65th floor of Mumbai’s grandest luxury skyscraper. Chris and Abir will be chaired by broadcaster Nicola Meighan.

Chris Brookmyre & Abir Mukherjee (Online)

Denise Mina presents Jane Harper
& Jane Casey (online)

Streamed live on Saturday 19th September - 3.00pm
and available on catch up until the 30th of September.

It’s a case of Double Jane-pardy (sorry!) as two fabulous storytellers
from opposite ends of the world get together to discuss their work.

Jane Harper is the queen of rural Australian noir and an international
bestseller. Her global smash The Dry was made into a major movie. Jane’s new novel, Last One Out, is a deeply atmospheric small town mystery.  Jane Casey is a number one bestseller but Everything She Didn’t Say is her first book set in her native Ireland. It’s a riveting mystery about female friendship, betrayal and survival. Jane and Jane will be interviewed by Denise Mina.

Book Jane Harper & Jane Casey (0nline)

Announcing the Winners of our
The Hollow Boys Giveaway

We're delighted to announce the winners of our recent book giveaway to win a copy of Tariq Ashkanani's thrilling book The Hollow Boys. Congratulations to: Lesley Mcauliffe, Mary Macdonald, Amanda Newall, Periklis Theologidis and Ken Mounser. Happy reading! 

Bloody Scotland 2026 Whisky

We wanted to do something special to mark our 2026 festival and thankfully our pals at Fib Whisky had just the thing in mind. Fib has created the official dram for this year's Bloody Scotland for the second year running, with a limited edition bottling created especially for us. Drawn from a single Oloroso sherry barrique and bottled at natural cask strength, this whisky is completely unfiltered - just as nature intended.

There are only 100 bottles to be had - so if you'd like some, you'd better quick. 

Find out more about our Bloody Scotland whisky and pre-order your bottle below.
 Over 18s only. Please drink responsibly. 

Bloody Scotland 2026 Whisky

Go Green for Bloody Scotland,

This year at Bloody Scotland, we're asking our festival goers to paint the town green instead of our usual red! Bloody Scotland is committed to being part of a greener arts sector, and we'd love it if you could help us by getting to the festival using a sustainable form of travel.

All of our venues are 10 minutes walk or less from Stirling's railway and bus stations, so why not leave the car at home and travel sustainably instead? Stirling is only 35 minutes from Glasgow and 50 minutes from Edinburgh by train. Train operator Lumo has also now launched a direct London Euston to Stirling service. You can find out more information about the service over at: lumo.co.uk

That's all from us this issue. See you back here next week.
For more information about Bloody Scotland and to view our upcoming events, visit: www.bloodyscotland.com

‘The Trad Wife’ by Carrie Hughes

Published by Hera,
7 May 2026. 
ISBN: 978-1-83598354-6 (PB)

Melissa Fairbrock was born in England but now lives in a small New York City apartment where she is bringing up her young daughter, Willow.  The thirty-year old professional works as a content creator and is good at her job but is beginning to find juggling parental and work responsibilities exhausting.  She would like bigger accommodation for her growing child and has recently begun to feel under pressure from her younger, competitive colleagues.  These tensions are further compounded by Melissa’s obsession with the online videos posted by self-confessed TradWife Faith Everson. 

Faith’s slick posts from The Lavender Ranch ooze with joy and celebrate the family life she shares with handsome husband Marty and their six children.  Her videos stand in stark contrast to Melissa’s far less polished, but painfully honest, podcasts, Mom’s Real Tea, which focus on the challenges of life as a single parent holding down a pressurised job.  The Lavender Ranch is part of a Mormon community in Utah and, whilst Melissa is disdainful of the TradWife subculture, she admires the quality of Faith’s online output.  She would love to have a similarly successful online presence and, gradually, finds herself yearning for the simplicity and peace the influencer promises.  

Prompted by more difficulties at work, Melissa decides to see whether Lavender Ranch is for real; she contacts Faith and asks whether she will be willing to be a subject in one of her podcasts.  When Faith agrees, mother and daughter set off for a visit including overnight accommodation within the community.  Melissa’s decision has profound consequences for both her and Willow, and it’s one she will quickly regret. 

Melissa’s internal monologue explores the difficulties she experiences as a young woman in a world of ever-changing norms and expectations.  It’s easy to empathise with her desire to step off the relentlessly accelerating treadmill that seems to characterise our second millennium, and easy to see how turning back time might not be a bad thing.  But, as L.P. Hartley reminds us, “The past is a foreign country…” a truism that becomes apparent when a second, malevolent, voice begins punctuates Melissa’s narrative.  The author uses this technique sparingly, which adds to the tension it creates. 

This is a thoroughly modern novel and explores the dangers inherent in social media.  The writer perfectly captures the language and mindset of cyberspace which, as we now know, can be both deceptive and dangerous as well as addictive.  Melissa’s desire to explore a lifestyle of which she is deeply suspicious is understandable, the decision to take her daughter along is indefensible. 

Crisply written, carefully plotted and terrifyingly relevant – a great read and recommended.
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Reviewer: Dot Marshall-Gent

Carrie Hughes lives in West Sussex, where she is a copywriter and guest lecturer in creative writing. She can often be found dreaming up stories, communing with dogs and visiting the dark side. She is the author of The Trad Wife and The Woman from Bookclub.

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.