Thursday, 15 May
| 13:30 – 14:20 Hard Boiled or Soft Boiled: How Do You Write Your PIs? * Lee Child * Christina Koning * Linda Mather * Fiona Veitch Smith Moderator: Sherryl Clark | |
| 14:40 – 15:30 You Don’t Belong Here: Keeping your characters straight when you write multiple series * Alison Bruce * Stuart Field * Biba Pearce * Jay Warton Participating Moderator: Kate Ellis | 14:40 – 15.30 Murder is Everywhere: Evil Crimes in Foreign Climes * Heidi Amsinck * Michael Ridpath * Jeffrey Siger * Ovidia Yu Participating Moderator: Michael Stanley (Stan Trollip) |
| 15:50 – 16:40 Making Us Care: Crafting Memorable Characters * Tana Collins * A.J. Hill * M.J. Lee * Olga Wojtas Participating Moderator: Jo Furniss | 15.50 – 16.40 Dark Pasts and Dark Presents: Secrets and Lies * Samantha Lee Howe * M.A. Hunter * Alison Joseph * Michael Stanley (aka Michael Sears) Participating Moderator: Caro Ramsay |
| 17:00 – 17:50 Authors Remembered: Golden Age of Murder, Then & Now * Dolores Gordon-Smith (on H.C. Bailey) * Katherine Hall Page (on Robert Barnard) * Christine Poulson (on Sheila Pim) * David Whittle (on Edmund Crispin) Participating moderator: Martin Edwards (on Martin Russell) | 17.00 – 17.50 The Bleeding Edge: Writing Violence and Crime * Tracy Darnton * Paul Gitsham * Ragnar Jonasson * Yrsa Sigurðardóttir Participating Moderator: Alex Shaw |
| 20:00 – 21:30: CRIMEFEST Pub Quiz, with crime writer and critic Peter Guttridge as your quiz inquisitor. Prizes to be won! LOCATION: Ball / Book Room. |
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Friday, 16 May
| 09:00 - 09:50 Debut Authors: An Infusion Of Fresh Blood * Bonnie Burke-Patel * DG Coutinho * Tim Franks * Anders M. Hansen Moderator: Donna Moore | 09:00 – 09:50 The Gifted Amateur: When Murder Is Your Hobby * Helena Dixon * Liz Fielding * J.M. Hall * Alison O’Leary Participating Moderator: T.E. Kinsey | |
| 10:10 - 11:00 Historical Fiction: Let's Get Back to Victorian Values * Pam Lecky * Leslie Scase * Lynne Marie Taylor * Bridget Walsh Participating Moderator: Linda Stratmann | 10:10 – 11:00 Close to Home: When Family is the Source of Crime * Sherryl Clark * Jane Corry * Valerie Keogh * Hannah King Participating Moderator: Victoria Dowd | 10:10 – 11:00 Off The Beaten Track: Remote Places and Small Towns * James Delargy * Paul Finch * Mary Grand * Sarah Ward Participating Moderator: Emma Styles |
| 11:20 - 12:10 Thrilling for a Living - Writing Action Packed Fiction * Mark Gatiss * Charles Harris * Oliver Johnston * Valerie Keogh Participating Moderator: Maxim Jakubowski | 11:20 – 12:10 Righting the Wrongs: Law and Justice * Andrew Child/Grant * Guy Morpuss * Louise Sharland * Jay Warton Participating Moderator: Nicola Williams | 11:20 – 12:10 Mental Health for Writers and Readers: Keeping Yourself Sane in a Toxic World * Cathy Ace * Simon Brett * Nev Fountain * Zoë Sharp Participating Moderator: Barbara Nadel |
| 12:30 - 13:20 Toastmaster Interview VASEEM KHAN Interviewer: Ayo Onatade | 12:30 – 13:20 Ready for Crime: When Your Protagonist is Special Forces Trained * Antony Dunford * Stuart Field * Zoë Sharp * Alex Shaw Participating Moderator: Samantha Lee Howe | 12:30 – 13:20 Walking The Mean Streets: Brit Grit * C.V. Chauhan * Tim Franks * Caro Ramsay * H.J. Reed Participating Moderator: Bryan J. Mason |
| 13:40 - 14:30 Subgenres and Themes: A Life of Crime (Writing) * Elizabeth Chakrabarty * Sarah Dunnakey * Jo Furniss * Christine Poulson Participating Moderator: Sarah Ward | 13:40 – 14:30 Leaving the Scene: CrimeFest Anthology Panel * Cathy Ace * Jane Burfield * Peter Guttridge * Maxim Jakubowski Participating Moderator: Donna Moore | 13:40 – 14:30 The Modern Cosy: Niche Work if You Can Get It * David Brawn * Fliss Chester * Orlando Murrin * Katherine Hall Page Participating Moderator: Antony Johnston |
| 14:50 - 15:40 Ghosts from the Past: When Yesterday’s Crimes Are Felt Today * John Harvey * Barbara Nadel * Michael Ridpath * Teresa Solana Participating Moderator: Alex North | 14:50 – 15:40 One of A Kind: Atypical Characters * Paul Durston * Christina Koning * Tom Mead * Bridget Walsh Participating Moderator: Michael Stanley (Michael Sears) | 14:50 – 15:40 A Sense of Menace: Tension, Dread and Creeping Fear * Chris Curran * Chris Ewan * Christie J. Newport * Kingsley Pearson Participating Moderator: M.A. Hunter |
| 16:00 - 16:50 Historical Fiction: When High Society Meets Murder * Fliss Chester * T.E. Kinsey * Pam Lecky * Fiona Veitch Smith Participating Moderator: Dolores Gordon-Smith | 16:00 – 16:50 Traditional Publishing Roles: Author, Agent, Editor * Lindsey Davis * Oliver Johnson (author / editor) * Euan Thorneycroft (agent) Moderator: Adrian Muller | 16:00 – 16:50 The Modern Thriller: High Concept, High Stakes * Roger Corke * Heather Critchlow * Felix Francis * Antony Johnston Participating Moderator: Zoë Sharp |
| 17:10 - 18:00 The Last Laugh: What’s So Funny About Murder? * Ruth Dudley Edwards * Nev Fountain * Mike Ripley * Olga Wojtas Participating Moderator: Simon Brett | 17:10 – 18:00 Historical Fiction: Medieval Villainy and Renaissance Violence * Tom Harper * David Penny * L.C. Tyler * G.J. Williams Participating Moderator: Louise Mangos | |
| 18:30 – 19:30 - Ball / Book Room: MASS ANTHOLOGY SIGNING | ||
Saturday, 17 May
| 09:00 – 09:50 Debut Authors: An Infusion Of Fresh Blood * Lucy Andrews * Roger Corke * Kingsley Pearson * Lynne Marie Taylor Moderator: Donna Moore | 09:00 – 09:50 Book ‘Em, Danno: Writing the Police Procedural * Judi Daykin * Michelle Kidd * M.J. Lee * Brian Price * Participating Moderator: Paul Gitsham | |
| 10:10 – 11:00 Historical Fiction: May You Live in Interesting Times * Lindsey Davis * Vaseem Khan * Tom Mead * Ovidia Yu Participating Moderator: Donna Moore | 10:10 – 11:00 Tender Minds: Crime Fiction for Young Adults * Sherryl Clark * Hannah King * Teri Terry * Kevin Wignall Participating Moderator: Tracy Darnton | |
| 11:20 – 12:10 A Cluster of Diamonds: Diamond Dagger Recipients in Conversation * Lee Child * Lindsey Davis * Martin Edwards * John Harvey Participating Moderator: Simon Brett | 11:20 – 12:10 Shafts of Light: Crime Fiction’s Shades of Grey * Cathy Ace * Ajay Chowdhury * A.J. Hill * Bryan J. Mason Participating Moderator: Orlando Murrin | 11:20 – 12:10 Not All Bad: Creating Multi-Dimensional Characters * Victoria Dowd * Mark Ellis * Rachel North * Nicola Williams Participating Moderator: Jane Corry |
| 12:30 – 13:20 Bookish with creators Mark Gatiss and Matthew Sweet. Interviewer: Nev Fountain A special preview event about Bookish, the new UKTV crime drama coming to your screens soon! | 12:30 – 13:20 The Art of Crime: Compelling Characters and Pacy Plots * Bonnie Burke-Patel * Denise Danks * N.R. Daws * Linda Stratmann Participating Moderator: Ajay Chowdhury | |
| 13:40 – 14:30 LEE CHILD AND ANDREW CHILD – IN CONVERSATION | 13:40 – 14:30 Not All 999: Police Procedurals Across Time and Place * Tana Collins * Mark Ellis * Sólveig Pálsdóttir * Michael Stanley (Stan Trollip) Participating Moderator: Jeffrey Siger | |
| 14:50 – 15:40 Ghost of Honour: JOHN LE CARRÉ * Clare Cornwell * Simon Cornwell * Nick Harkaway Participating Moderator: Simon Brett | 14:50 – 15:40 Playing Dead: A New Detection Club Anthology * Ruth Dudley Edwards * Kate Ellis * Alison Joseph * L.C. Tyler Participating Moderator: Martin Edwards | 14:50 – 15:40 Krimi, Forbrydelse, Ubugebengu, Jinoyat: Crime in Translation * Quentin Bates * Peter Bush * Sólveig Pálsdóttir * Teresa Solana Participating Moderator: Marina Sofia |
| 16:00 – 16:50 2008 Revisited: First Panel to This Panel * Steve Mosby * Yrsa Sigurðardóttir Participating Moderator: Kevin Wignall | 16:00 – 16:50 Keep Crime and Carry On: Continuing Established Characters * Andrew Child (Jack Reacher) * Felix Francis (Dick Francis) * Tom Harper (Wilbur Smith) * Mike Ripley (Albert Campion) Participating Moderator: Peter Guttridge (Holmes and Poirot) | |
| 17:30 - 18:15: Pre-Gala TBC | ||
| 18:15: CRIMEFEST Awards Dinner – ticket holders only | ||
Sunday, 18 May
| 09:30 – 10:20 Historical Fiction: War and Peace * N.R. Daws * Helena Dixon * Dolores Gordon-Smith * S.W. Williams Participating Moderator: Martin Edwards | 09:30 – 10:20 The Indie Alternative * Cathy Ace * David Penny * C.M. Serpell * Dave Sivers Participating Moderator: Zoë Sharp |
| 10:40 – 11.40 Lights! Camera! Murder: Adapting for Film and TV Lights! Camera! Murder: Adapting For and From Film and TV * Chris Chibnall (Broadchurch) * Barbara Nadel (The Turkish Detective) * Barry Ryan (Agatha Raisin) * Matthew Sweet (Bookish) Participating Moderator: Lee Child (Reacher) | 10:40 – 11.30 Staying Relevant: Hot Topics and Current Concerns * Heidi Amsinck * DG Coutinho * Louise Mangos * Teri Terry Participating Moderator: Elizabeth Chakrabarty |
| 11:50 – 13:00 Criminal Challenge Quiz The Crime Writers team: * Lee Child – captain * Cathy Ace * Peter Guttridge * Yrsa Sigurðardóttir The CrimeFest team: * Myles Allfrey – captain * Gianna Faccenda * Adrian Muller * Mike Stotter InQuizitor: Maxim Jakubowski Audience participation prize: Win one pair of passes to ICELAND NOIR (12-15 November, 2025) |
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