Those fabulous people at Bonnier Zaffre books had a bit of a doo at Harrogate festival this year, to which the lovely Katherine Armstrong invited me along. Once I found the not so secret, ‘Secret Garden’ (there was a big sign pointing to it) These were just a few the lovely people I managed to mix with and snap. There were plenty more there, and a fab couple of hours were passed by.
Ooh Look Fizz! (I may have had a tad too much)
David Mark, Katherine Armstrong and LifeOfCri.me’s Kirstie Long
Sarah Hilary looking relaxed 🙂
Susi Holliday
Laura Wilson
Daniel Pembrey and Anya Lipska
As always, ‘Pretty in Purple’, Leigh Russell
The ever lovely Barry Forshaw
Martyn Waites and Alex Marwood showing the differing approaches to unexpected photos. 😉
Martin Edwards, charming as always
The fantastic Laura Lippman.
One of my favourite people in the world. Zoe Sharp is a great author, and also an amazing cook!
It wouldn’t be Harrogate without Mark Billingham
It isn’t a proper party until you’ve got the dazzling duo, Kevin Wignall (above) and Simon Kernick (below)
Originally started in Philadelphia, by Peter Rozovsky of Detectives Beyond Borders, and with chapters in major cities across America, Noir At The Bar has been working its way slowly southwards in the UK and finally made its Harrogate debut this year. As an informal opener to the festival, a large crowd gathered at Hales Bar, to see and hear some fabulous crime writers reading short stories, and novel extracts in a relaxed, fun and friend filled environment.
Noelle Holten is the name behind the CrimeBookJunkie book blog, as was here beginning her first Harrogate journey.
Ann Bloxwich and LP Mennock, plug their recently release anthology, Happily Never After. A collection of crime short stories written by attendees to Crime & Publishment, the yearly crime-writing workshop held in Gretna Green, the home of British weddings
Penguin publishing sensation, and top Fife farmer James Oswald. Check out his Inspector McClean series.
Graham Smith, the man behind Crime & Publishment and author of Snatched from Home calmly entertains the masses. Stay tuned to Life Of Crime for more information on his upcoming releases.
Louise Mangos proudly showing off her prize, after winning Graham’s book giveaway.
The delightful Russell McClean, smiling because I haven’t had a chance to try and bump him off this year (it’s a long story…)
If these pictures have whet your appetite somewhat, than don’t fret! Noir At The Bar will be back at Harrogate next year. If you can’t wait that long then check out it’s latest UK outing on 7th September, as Noir At The Bar NE showcases at The Town Wall, Pink Lane, Newcastle.
K A Richardson is the Northern based crime writer behind the novella Escape, followed by her first full novel With Deadly Intent. She also writes a North East crime series, I’ve Been Watching You is available now, with the next in the series Time To Play available from September. She was fantastic enough to put together this piece on the 2016 festival.
The first thing you notice about Harrogate Crime Festival is the atmosphere. It oozes out from the hotel and every single person attending, whether they’re authors or readers. The next thing you notice is the big name authors like Peter James and Val McDermid. You might see these authors and initially go into panic mode or become a little anxious about speaking to them. But you really don’t have to. They talk to everyone like they’re old friends, because that’s what they are – even if it’s the first time you meet its like you’ve known each other for years. Readers and authors alike will sit together at tables, stand in groups or sit on the grassed areas and have a drink and a chat. There are tents, over-sized chairs and books shelves that take over the green at the front of the hotel.
Harrogate is a pretty magical festival. Not just because of the beautiful location at the Old Swan Hotel which is steeped in writerly history itself, or of the beautiful town of Harrogate, or even because the organisers do such a fantastic job. More so because it puts people on the same level – it’s easy to meet new friends and discuss books and writing, it’s educational as the panels give ticket holders the chance to hear about their favourite author or TV writer, how they write or structure their writing and how they got to where they are now. You can get an insight into forensics, or cyber-crime as well as a multitude of other crime related subjects, by attending various other panels. Wannabe writers can partake in Creative Thursday which is a whole day dedicated to honing the skill and giving the opportunity to pitch to an agent.
On occasion some TV and film stars, are just wandering around chatting to people like they’re old friends. Last year Eddie Izzard was on a panel, we’ve had Jamie Lomas and Anthony Quinny this year. There’s also a lady from Coronation Street who attends regularly just to attend the panels as she’s an avid crime reader.
There’s always the opportunity to have books signed – whether by authors you see standing around chatting, or by those taking part in the organised signings in the tent outside. The book shop on the lawn gives you ample opportunity to make purchases and hunt down your favourite author, though you don’t need a book to sign to do this. As well as purchases, signings etc, there is also the chance to win goodies! Crime Files and Dead Good Books put events on through Saturday where you take part in a few exercises and can win books, chocolate, wine and a host of other goodies. Goodie bags are also provided if you buy a rover ticket – this bag contains approximately four books (some proof copies that have not even been released yet!), leaflets and bookmarks.
I’ve been going to Harrogate now for about five years, and I remember how terrified I was the first time I went. It was overwhelming – I didn’t know anybody there and was attending for a few panels. Once I got past the initial shock of seeing so many of my favourite authors in one place though, it became a fantastic experience and one I look forward to every year. I have made firm friends with many of the authors, publishers, agents, bloggers and readers, and we have a great time catching up. As a writer, I also find it incredibly inspiring – on my return home I open the laptop and start writing while the buzz is still there.
Realistically there’s only one way to see what I’m saying about Harrogate – the thousands of photos posted from there can only show so much. The only real way is to come down and experience it for yourself. So book the tickets, pack a bag (leaving room for books obviously) and head on down there. Next year the dates will be 20-23 July 2017, and I hope to see you there!
Nestling itself neatly after everyone starts arriving, and before the opening party, if you’re in Harrogate from Thursday check out the latest in the Noir At The Bar Franchise. It’s showcasing some great authors, plus you’ll get the chance to meet me! I’ll be hanging suspiciously around the bar…..
It’s been two years (to the day) since my Harrogate proposal at the end of Steve Mosby’s panel in 2014, so that must mean we are into the final few days of this years countdown….
We all know that in these days of social media, websites, blogs, self-publishing, and marketing, your ‘brand’ can form a big part of your success, and for those of you out there that need help in navigating your way around getting set up, here’s someone who can do that for you.
a r t E A S T c r e a t i v e
A creative consultancy with a novel idea is launching a pioneering service aimed at ensuring writers enter the marketplace with more than just the write stuff.
From websites to bookmarks, business cards to publicity materials, the new service aims to provide a one-stop shop for writers in need of an innovative marketing identity.
a r t E A S T is run by artist and designer Nicola East and its new scheme, Novel Beginnings, aims to provide new and established authors with total marketing and branding packages – alongside ‘doing the things that most new writers assume are going to be done for them’.
Nicola is the partner of international best-seller David Mark and is using her experience of the publishing world to fill a gap in the market that she identified when David embarked upon his writing career. Nicola, based in Lincolnshire, said: “the world of publishing is quite a scary place to venture into and I believe most people entering it have very little idea of how things work. When David first secured a book deal we had no idea that he then needed to get a website, or a dedicated Facebook author page, business cards or bespoke pictures of himself looking moody surrounded by books! We thought that was all done for you, after all, he’d written the book! But no, this is not the case and I soon realised that if he were to have a digital toolbox, I’d need to do it for him as we had limited funds and David is essentially a Luddite! I’ve always loved taking pictures and have a background using computers so, to us, it seemed a logical step that I started to manage this side of David’s career. I’ve finally set up a r t E A S T in order to share the knowledge I’ve gained of the industry with new authors in order to help them create their own unique brand as well as offering established authors an opportunity to update or reinvent their own image and the tools that go with it.”
Among the services Novel Beginnings will provide are:
Website
Author Facebook Page
Bespoke Photography
Individual styling & creative direction
Business Cards
Bookmarks
However Nicola prefers to discuss your needs/wish list with you as well as your budget and come up with a plan to suit everyone.
Nicola has already received ringing endorsements from publishing giants Hodder and Stoughton. a r t E A S T has a reputation for forward-thinking marketing ideas and was recently heavily involved in the production of a groundbreaking ‘Murder Map’, detailing the exact locations utilised for scenes in the DS Aector McAvoy novels.
Naomi Berwin, Marketing Manager at Hodder & Stoughton said: “It was an absolutely pleasure working with a r t E A S T on the David Mark Murder Map. From the initial concept to her creative photographic eye to her intrepid journeying round Hull and Humber to find the perfect location shots, Nikki was an integral part of the creation of the site.”
When it comes to authenticity in a novel, it’s all down to research, research, research and at times some expert advice. Not everyone knows where to look, so today formerDCI Stuart Gibbon, is talking to lifeofcri.me about his transition from writing factual police reports into helping write fictional police procedurals.
FROM HELPING FIGHT CRIME TO HELPING WRITE CRIME
My name is Stuart Gibbon and I’m a former police DCI turned Writing Consultant.
My story began in the early 1980’s when I travelled from my native north-east of England down to London at the ripe old age of 16 to join the Metropolitan Police as a cadet. A couple of years later I passed out (fortunately not literally) from the police training college at Hendon as a fully-fledged Police Constable. For the next 18 years I worked in uniform and CID on the streets of north-west London.
In 2000 I transferred to the East Midlands where my police career continued with promotion through the ranks to Detective Chief Inspector (DCI). As a large part of my police career was spent as a Detective I was able to gather lots of experience in crime investigation and detection. As a Senior Detective I was in charge of Murder and other serious crime cases.
On retiring from the police service in 2012 I still wanted to help people and had always maintained an interest in reading books. I decided to set up GIB Consultancy to offer advice to writers to ensure that their work is not only procedurally accurate but also authentic. I contacted the Crime Writers’ Association and circulated my details where possible. Since then I have been working with a number of writers across a diverse range of topics from standard police procedure, missing persons and Coroner practices to forensic evidence, kidnapping and Murder investigation.
My first written acknowledgement arrived courtesy of Tammy Cohen as a result of my advice for her novel Dying For Christmas published in 2014. I have recently advised C.L. Taylor on her massive hit The Missing and I’m currently working with her on her fourth psychological thriller which is due out next year. Although the majority of requests for advice are from crime writers, I have helped writers of other genres who may wish to include something police-related in their story.
In addition to the advisory service I also talk with Writing Groups and at festivals/conferences on the subject of ‘Murder Investigation’ and the challenges facing a Senior Detective in charge of such cases. The talk/workshop is designed to give writers ideas for their work and to ensure that any procedures are realistic.
My new ‘career’ is every bit as challenging and rewarding as my previous one. It’s great to be able to play a part in helping to produce something which is going to be enjoyed by so many people.
I have a website at http://www.gibconsultancy.co.uk and would welcome any writers who would like any advice or just the odd question or two answering to contact me as I am sure I would be able to help.
My name is Stuart Gibbon and I’m a former police DCI turned Writing Consultant.
Life of Cri.me 