Sub-tropical temperatures brought fans of both kinds out in force at this year’s record-breaking Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2024 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, which ran from Thursday 18 July to Sunday 21 July. On Friday morning and early afternoon, savvy publishers were handing out free ice cream and branded fans to festival goers wilting in the sudden heat and humidity. Meanwhile, crime fiction lovers were lapping up some hot panels in the main tent and beyond, and outside in the grounds of the Old Swan Hotel, they were people-watching like it was a new Olympic sport.

The fun (and the heatwave) started on Thursday night, when the packed Big Tent – home to all of the weekend’s ticketed panels and on-stage interviews – was venue for the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year Award, won by Jo Callaghan (pictured above) for her debut novel In the Blink of an Eye, which features a decidedly different detective double act… bereaved DCS Kat Frank and her AI colleague Lock.  

Callaghan’s prize, alongside a cheque for £3,000, was a magnificent trophy in the shape of a miniature barrel of Theakston’s finest ale, presented by Simon Theakston, the brewery’s chairman. Although the barrel is empty, this correspondent can report that it is still mighty heavy and would make an impressive murder weapon. Congratulations Jo!

Another barrel recipient was Marie Tierney, who won the inaugural McDermid Debut Award for her book Deadly Animals, about a Birmingham teenager who sets out to solve the murder of a schoolmate. Sadly, Val McDermid couldn’t be at Harrogate this year to present the prize which bears her name – she is due to have back surgery this week and we wish her well.

Over the four days a record-breaking 18,000 ticket holders enjoyed everything from star writers in conversation to new blood authors picked to take part by top book critics. And the festival’s 2024 iteration even had its own book of short stories, for sale in the perenially packed on site Waterstones. The compilation is entitled Murder in Harrogate and with a stellar list of contributors including Steve Cavanagh, Elly Griffiths, Abir Mukherjee and this year’s festival chair, Ruth Ware.

The little red book prompted a new pursuit for competitive readers determined to grab the autographs of as many of the contributing authors as possible – the crime fiction equivalent of bagging a photo of the Big Five on safari, perhaps? For those who didn’t attend, a copy can be ordered on Amazon.

The festival proper began on Friday and got off in an hilarious style with presenters of the Red Hot Chili Writers podcast Vaseem Khan and Abir Mukherjee whose verbal sparring had the audience in stitches.

It was a 9am start but at this festival the early programming was well worth getting out of bed for (hangover, be damned). Saturday’s early birds were treated to a funny, fascinating, gory and stomach-churning session with the king of the serial killer thriller Chris Carter, while Sunday saw Erin Kelly and Jane Casey in conversation.

The biggest crowd of the weekend filled the Big Tent on Saturday night when Richard Osman talked about The Thursday Murder Club, how Steven Spielberg is turning into a film, and his new book We Solve Murders. He also put his credit card behind the bar to buy people a drink. A Thoroughly Nice Chap, that Osman fella!

The big name chats are a Harrogate highlight, but it is the wealth and breadth of this festival’s panels that set it apart. There were more than 10 within the main programming, and stand outs were Welcome to the Mind Palace, where neurodivergence was discussed by authors including Sarah Hilary, Nita Prose and Joanna Wallace; Cops and Robbers, an entertaining look at police in crime fiction, with great contributions from the likes of MW Craven, Christie J Newport and Simon Mason; and The Lie of the Land, a fascination discussion between Ian Moore, Saima Mir, Chris Whitaker and Femi Kayode.

Newcomers to Harrogate can initially find the festival a tad daunting. It all centres on and around the historic Old Swan Hotel, where Agatha Christie once stayed, but the site is quite sprawling. Several tents scattered around the grounds, home to everything from a BBC audio Secret Garden with some Instagram-able sets and natty accessories (the Sherlock Homes deerstalker was a definite winner, despite the heat), the well-named Dead Giveaways tent, and the Orion Incident Room.

Many of the canvas gathering places and rooms inside the main hotel were transformed into pop ups by imaginative teams from a range of publishers, offering a chance to meet authors not featuring on the main stage, win prizes or just chill away from the melee. Some were promoting books – and there was an excited line for the the We Solve Murders VIP departure lounge offered pre-flight boiled sweets, a themed newspaper and the chance to be snapped in the photo booth. Earlier that day, Richard Osman’s relentless publicity team had been offering free breakfast buns to all and sundry. Also popular was Will Dean’s Ice Town pop up stand, with the first 10 in line getting a signed proof of his upcoming book.

Away from the organised mayhem, it was good to pop into the bars for a drink and maybe a chat with one of your favourite authors – at Harrogate they delight in getting in among their readers and they are all eminently approachable. Oh, and clever – as was proved at the Late Night Quiz in the main tent on Saturday night with Mark Billingham and Steph McGovern proving a great hosting team for this fun event.

Leaving the final event this afternoon, an entertaining chat between Elly Griffiths and Stig Abell, I could hear people in the crowd already chatting about buying tickets for Harrogate 2025. We crime fans, it seems, can’t get enough of a good thing and as Ruth Ware steps down as this year’s chair of programming it’s clear that she will be a hard act to follow.

FYI the dates for your diary are 17 to 20 July. See you there? It’d be criminal to miss out! You can order a copy of Murder in Harrogate using the button below, and read more of our live observations from the event on our X feed.

Profile image (c) Mike Worley. Chris Carter image and Richard Osman on stage (c) Richard Maude.