American flavour for book festival

WITH JACK Reacher creator Lee Child as chair, it should come as no surprise that this year’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival will have a definite American flavour.

While the bestselling author studied law at Sheffield University, he now counts New York as home and at this summer’s event in Harrogate he will be joined by fellow US writers John Grisham, Don Winslow – who has sold more than 100m books worldwide – and former Baltimore

Sun journalist turnednovelist Laura Lipman.

Mr Child, inset, said: “I have been to festivals all over the world, but Harrogate is by far my favourite, so it is a joy to be this year’s chair. I love this event because it has so much warmth and camaraderie – it is the most fun book event out there.

“However, crime writers also deal with some of the biggest issues of our times, so I promise our incredible line-up will inspire thought and debate.”

Earlier this month figures showed that crime had overtaken general fiction for the first time to become the favourite genre of British readers. The festival will feature some of the country’s most popular authors. Festival co-founder Val McDermid, Ann Cleeves, Sophie Hannah and Mark Billingham will all be making an appearance, with Pointless favourite Richard Osman also hosting a late-night event. Simon Theakston, executive director of T&R Theakstons and sponsor of the festival, said: “The crime genre dominates more than ever. There’s a huge thirst for the genre’s moral framework where usually justice prevails.”

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival runs from July 19 to 22 at the town’s Old Swan Hotel, where Agatha Christie was discovered after she mysteriously disappeared in 1926.