Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival

Special Guest Announcement   It is that time of the week again; Friday Festival Fever is upon us. This week we are annoucing another Special Guest! This lady is a festival favourite and the 2015 festival would not be complete without her. Val McDermid Award-winning crime writer Val McDermid is a Number One bestseller, translated into more than 30 languages, with over two million copies sold in the UK and over 11 million worldwide. She has written 27 bestselling crime novels and has also published a retelling of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey and an exploration of forensic science, Forensics: An Anatomy of Crime. Val will be in coversation with the brilliant Sara Paretsky. We can't wait to see this perfect pairing on stage together! To celebrate Val's appearance at this year's festival we have a fantastic competition running.  To be in with the chance of winning an signed advance paperback copy of Val's The Skeleton Road answer this question: What year was Val's first book published? Please send your answers to crime@harrogate-festival.org.uk by the 6th March. Standard Terms & Conditions apply.

Jo Nesbo Returns   Hopefully you didn’t miss our email earlier in the week, when we announced that the excellent Jo Nesbo will returns to Harorgate to Launch the festival on the 8th April. After the success of his visit is 2012 we anticipate this will be a sell out event! Jo will be discussing his new thriller Blood On Snow, his globally popular Harry Hole books, soon to be turned into a film, and much more. Don’t miss this special evening with the King of Scandinavian crime, and your chance to be one of the very first to get your hands on a copy of Blood on Snow as it is not officially released until the 9th April. Jo Nesbo will also be signing books after the event, and books will be available to buy on the evening from the on-site bookstore provided by WHSmith. Want to find out more about Jo and his rise to fame? Barry Forshaw, our expert on Nordic and Scandanivian Noir has written a fantastic article for our You're Booked website - find it here. To book please click here or call the Festival Office on 01423 562303