Harrogate Crime Festival 2026
HARROGATE: A FITTING VENUE FOR THE WORLD’S LEADING CRIME WRITING FESTIVAL
In December 1926, Agatha Christie, the queen of crime writing disappeared triggering a manhunt which involved over a thousand officers, hundreds of civilians and even other mystery writers. After eleven days, she was found at The Swan Hydro Hotel in Harrogate and it seems appropriate that, one hundred years later, the world’s largest and most prestigious celebration of crime fiction, The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, is held at that very same hotel, now simply known as ‘The Swan Hotel.’
The Festival was established in 2003 as part of the wider Harrogate International Festivals, which included a variety of arts and cultural events. By 2018, having become so popular that it had outgrown its original venue, it moved to ‘The Swan.’ Every year since then, its popularity has increased and this year, over 140 of the world’s crime and thriller authors, along with publishers, agents and fans of crime fiction, travelled to Harrogate to take part in a packed programme of events.
With workshops, panel discussions, pitching sessions for aspiring authors, bite-sized events featuring rising stars and special guest interviews with leading authors of crime fiction, there’s always something to interest everyone who attends. For those who are staying in Harrogate, the entertainment doesn’t end when the sun goes down with interview bingo, late night quizzes and two author dinners where attendees, and the guest authors, try to solve a murder mystery.
The Festival’s 2026 all-star line up included such names as Lisa Jewell, Alice Feeney, David Baldacci, Richard Armitage, Val McDermid, Denise Mina, Anthony Horowitz, LJ Ross and many others. Elly Griffiths was awarded the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2026 for ‘The Frozen People’ at the Festival, Frances Crawford received the ‘McDermid Debut Award’ for ‘A Bad, Bad Place’ and Mel Pennant received a ‘Highly Recommended’ recognition for ‘A Murder for Miss Hortense;
I was lucky enough to be able to chat with Lee Child, Andrea Mara, Shari Lapena and JM Dalgleish at a private event Hosted by Penguin held at The Hotel du Vin. Later, authors, editors, agents, publishers and booksellers mingled at a gathering hosted by Pan Mac in the garden of ‘The Swan’ and, looking around, I could see it was a ‘who’s who’ of crime fiction. Several of the writers and celebrities there told me they’d come, not to promote their work, but to spend time with fellow authors in a relaxed setting. It was a shame that I was driving because the wine was flowing freely and the discussions were fascinating. I will certainly be there next year but for any crime fiction fans interested in attending this yearly weekend festival, I’d advise early booking.