Just back from the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival after quite a cross country trek due to the adverse weather conditions. Train cancellations meant that my route up had to change, but thanks to mobile phones and Clare Dudman (saviour of the day on Friday evening when trying to work out connections), I did manage to get there late on Friday night after the last event.
Alas, Frederick Forsyth could not make it on the Saturday night to his sold out event due to the flooding, but the treasures that are some of the best crime fiction authors we know and love quickly put a contingency plan into action. Mark Lawson chaired a debate instead, pitting the UK vs the US on the question of who writes the best crime fiction. (More on that one later in the week, with pics.)
By hook or by croook, or by various forms of transport including a plane and a speeding car, Jason Goodwin did make it to his panel "Getting It Right" on the historical crime novel. Superlative team efforts do deserve acknowledgement.
Also later in week, I'll have some comments on the "Crime in the City" and the "Secrets, Spies and Foreign Affairs" panels.
John Lawton's latest novel Second Violin was on sale at the festival and he has very kindly agreed to an interview for this blog. So if you harbour any burning questions about his novels, please add them to the comments here or email me (see the "about" page). The interview will be posted up here in a month or so. I'm looking forward to the next instalment in the life of Freddie Troy and Second Violin looks pretty damn good from reading the first few pages on the train.
Last, but not least, I was not on the winning team for the quiz. If I'm there next year, I'm taking a good torch with me. (A bad loser always blames her lack of tools...) But it was great fun as usual. There were even more tables in the hall this year; an obvious piece of evidence of increasing popularity for the festival.
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