Speakers

Cathy Ace

Bestselling author of thirteen traditional Cait Morgan Mysteries, and nine cosy WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries, Cathy Ace was born and raised in Swansea, Wales, and migrated to Canada aged 40. She’s a past Chair of Crime Writers of Canada, and is a Bony Blithe, IPPY, and IBA Award winner.

Sufiya Ahmed

Sufiya Ahmed is an award-winning children’s and YA author of over twenty books. She regularly visits primary schools to talk about her love of reading and her childhood dream to become an author. 

Sufiya’s award winning books include Secrets of the Henna Girl, Noor-un-Nissa Inayat Khan, Princess Sophia Duleep Singh and the Rosie Raja series. Her latest book is Rosie Raja Mission To Cairo about a young Muslim heroine in WWII Egypt.

Myfanwy Alexander

Myfanwy has published four novels following the adventures of Inspector Daf Dafis of Dyfed Powys Police: the fifth will be published in July 2023.The novels have sold well with two being published in English. In August 2020, a radio adaptation of the first novel was broadcast on Radio 4, Radio Cymru and Radio Wales.

John Banville

John Banville is a novelist, screenwriter, playwright and book reviewer. He worked in journalism for many years, and was literary editor at The Irish Times from 1988 to 2000. His most recent crime novel is The Lock-Up.

Abi Barden

Abi Barden lives in her own private Tower, with the cat, making up stories. It’s a little weird and a whole lot wonderful, even as a cat slave. Her view is, what’s better than stepping outside of the real world for a bit? 

Why the tower? Blame crime writer GB Williams, who has a lot to answer for…

Graham Bartlett

Graham was a Chief Superintendent and Brighton’s police commander. He now writes crime with two non-fictions and the Jo Howe crime series to his name. He is also a police and crime advisor, helping numerous writers achieve authenticity in their drama. In addition, he runs crime writing workshops and courses.

Penny Batchelor

Penny is the Amazon bestselling author of two psychological thrillers My Perfect Sister and Her New Best Friend published by Embla Books. Her third will be published in June 2024.  Penny is a co-founder and judge of the ADCI Literary Prize for adult fiction by a disabled/chronically ill novelist. 

Sam Blake

Sam Blake is a multiple No 1 bestselling crime writer, who has been shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year three times.  Her 10th novel, Three Little Birds, is in shops now. You will find her at @samblakebooks and www.samblakebooks.com, where you can join her Reader’s Club and get a free book.

Author photo © Alice-Rose Jordan

Paul Burke

Paul Burke writes reviews and features for Crime Time, Crime Fiction Lover and the European Literature Network. He is the editor presenter of the Crime Time FM podcast and is a CWA Historical Dagger Judge. Paul’s first book AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SPY FICTION will be published in March, 2025.

Jacky Collins

Dr. Jacky Collins is the Festival Director for Newcastle Noir. As ‘Dr Noir’ she regularly interviews a range of internationally acclaimed and emerging crime fiction authors at national and international events. Her series of author ‘consultations’ on the Newcastle Noir YouTube channel – ‘The Doctor Will See You Now’ – is where lovers of everything crime fiction can catch up on news about latest publications.

Catriona Cox

Catriona Cox is Programme Associate for Granite Noir in Aberdeen, Scotland. Having spent 12 years living in Edinburgh and working across the Scottish book trade and Arts sector she now lives in North County Cork, Ireland. She’s happiest stomping the countryside listening to an audiobook. 

Fflur Dafydd

Fflur Dafydd is an award winning bilingual novelist, screenwriter and musician. She has published a range of fiction and non fiction as well as creating over 50 hours of prime time drama for S4C. Her novels include Welsh bestseller Y Llyfrgell, (Y Lolfa, 2009) a reimagining of which was published as The Library Suicides (Hodder & Stoughton, 2023.)

Mark Ellis

Mark Ellis is the Welsh author of the acclaimed DCI Frank Merlin series set in WW2 London. 5 books have been published so far; the latest in May 2022. He is a CWA award nominee, a member of Crime Cymru and is published by Headline.

Alun Ffred

Alun Ffred has had a varied career as a teacher, a T.V. journalist/presenter, an independent film director and producer before becoming a National Assembly Member for Arfon. Now retired, he writes regularly in Welsh language periodicals and won the Daniel Owen Memorial Medal at the National Eisteddfod for his first novel in 2024.

Mary Grand

Mary Grand grew up in Wales and now lives on the Isle of Wight. Previously a teacher of Deaf children, she now writes murder mysteries published by Boldwood Books. “Death at St Jude’s” (February 2024), is the second in the series, The Isle of Wight Killings, featuring amateur detective Susan Flynn.

Andy Griffee

Andy Griffee is the author of the Johnson & Wilde series of crime mysteries set on the canals and rivers of the UK. His hero, a journalist called Jack Johnson, lives on board a narrowboat. Andy began writing fiction after a 25-year career at the BBC and lives in Worcestershire. 

Elly Griffiths

Domenica de Rosa was born in London, studied English at King’s College London and worked in publishing before writing her first novel, The Italian Quarter. Three books followed before she turned to crime with The Crossing Places and was advised to get a ‘crime name’. As Elly Griffiths (her grandmother’s name) she is the author of the bestselling Dr Ruth Galloway series, the Brighton Mysteries and three stand-alone crime novels. She won the 2020 Edgar Award for The Stranger Diaries and, in 2016, was awarded the CWA Dagger in The Library. The Last Word, published in January 2024, is the fourth book to feature DI Harbinder Kaur. Elly also writes the Justice Jones mystery series for children. She lives near Brighton with her archaeologist husband, Andy, and has two grown-up children and a cat.

Jacqueline Harrett

Jacqueline Harrett comes from Northern Ireland but her police procedurals are set in and around Cardiff where she’s lived for over thirty years. A former teacher and academic she turned to crime writing after retirement. Her protagonist, DI Mandy Wilde is a maverick, wild by nature as well as name.

Alis Hawkins

Alis Hawkins grew up in Ceredigion and curently lives on the Welsh-English border. After publishing two medieval standalone novels she turned to crime fiction. Her Teifi Valley Coroner historical crime series – featuring partially-sighted ex-barrister Harry Probert-Lloyd and his chippy assistant, John Davies – is set in the area where she grew up and has twice been shortlisted for the prestigious CWA Historical Dagger. A Bitter Remedy, the first in her new Oxford Mysteries series which introduces readers to young Welsh polymath Rhiannon Vaughan and Jesus College lecturer Basil Rice, was published in March 2023 and the second The Skeleton Army was published on 4th April 2024.

Alex Hawley

Book blogger and regular literary judge, Alex released his first book in July 2023 about being a disabled person trying to become a crime writer. A regular panelist at festivals and online events, Alex has a deep knowledge of both fictional and true crime, due to his background in law and criminology. 

Fleur Hitchcock

Fleur has worked as a shop assistant, a dinner lady and a curator. She works as a children’s bookseller, has two grown up children and she lives in the West Country.

Dubbed as writing “thrillers for beginners” by the Sunday Times she continues to aim to keep her readers on the edges of their seats

Sarah Bax Horton

Sarah Bax Horton was born in Swansea and grew up in South Wales. A former civil servant and police volunteer, she is now a full-time true crime writer. Her debut book is ‘One-Armed Jack: Uncovering the real Jack the Ripper’. 

When not researching and writing, Sarah enjoys outdoor pursuits and listening to an eclectic mix of music.

Meleri Wyn James

Meleri Wyn James is a book editor and author who has published for children, young people and adults. Her new novel, Dim Ond Un (Only One), is a whodunnit set on Bardsey Island. She lives in Aberystwyth with her husband and two children and enjoys running outside in nature.

Matt Johnson

Retired cop Matt Johnson began writing as therapy for PTSD. His debut novel Wicked Game was shortlisted for the CWA New-Blood Dagger. No Ordinary Day, his first non-fiction title, reveals the political cover-up and truth behind the 1984 murder of his friend and colleague, WPC Yvonne Fletcher.

Beverley Jones

Beverley Jones (B. E. Jones) is a former newspaper and TV journalist and the author of seven thrillers. Her sixth, Wilderness, has been adapted into a series for Amazon Prime TV, starring Jenna Coleman.  
Her current thriller, The Beach House is available now. She is represented by Peter Buckman at the Ampersand Agency and by Northbank Talent Management.

Beverley Jones, (B. E. Jones) is a former journalist and police press officer. Her road-trip thriller, Wilderness, is being adapted for TV by Firebird Pictures, starring Jenna Coleman, airing on Amazon Prime in 2023. The Beach House, set in Oregon and Wales, is her seventh crime novel published by Little Brown.ed by Firebird Pictures and Amazon Prime for a six-part TV series, due to air in 2023.

Philip Gwynne Jones

Philip Gwynne Jones is the author of the bestselling Venice-based Nathan Sutherland series. Originally from Swansea, he now lives in Venice with his wife Caroline and a modestly friendly cat called Mimi. He enjoys cooking, art, classical music, old horror films and listens to far too much Italian Progressive Rock.

Author photo © Roger Branson

Vaseem Khan

Vaseem Khan writes two crime series set in India. The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra was a Sunday Times 40 best crime novels published 2015-2020 pick. Midnight at Malabar House, the first in his 1950s Bombay-set series, won the Crime Writers Association Historical Dagger. Vaseem was born in England and is now Chair of the UK Crime Writers Association.

Alison Layland

Alison Layland, writer, translator and editor, lives and works in the Welsh borderlands. Her two psychological thrillers are: Someone Else’s Conflict, a compelling narrative of storytelling and the aftermath of war, and Riverflow, a story of family secrets and community tensions against a background of flooding and environmental protest.

www.alayland.uk

James Lovegrove

James Lovegrove has published over 60 books, including Conan Doyle/Lovecraft mashup series The Cthulhu Casebooks. His short story “Carry The Moon In My Pocket” won the 2011 Seiun Award in Japan for Best Translated Short Story, and his Firefly: The Ghost Machine won the 2020 Dragon Award for Best Media Tie-in Novel. He contributes regular fiction-review columns to the Financial Times and lives in Eastbourne.

Chris Lloyd

Chris Lloyd writes the Eddie Giral series, featuring a French police detective in Paris under Nazi rule. The first book, The Unwanted Dead, won the HWA Gold Crown Award for best historical novel and was shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger. The second, Paris Requiem, was a Sunday Times Best Historical Fiction Book of 2023. Banquet of Beggars is out in August 2024.

Simon McCleave

Simon McCleave is a million-selling crime novelist from North Wales. His DI Ruth Hunter crime series set in Snowdonia has sold over 2 million copies and is soon to be a major television series. He also has an Anglesey crime series with Avon (Harper Collins) and is currently writing a psychological thriller for Storm Publishing. 

Brian McGilloway

Brian McGilloway is the New York Times bestselling author of twelve crime novels, including the Ben Devlin and the Lucy Black mystery series. His latest standalone novel, The Empty Room, was a Sunday Times bestseller while his previous, The Last Crossing, won Highly Commended in Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2021.

Abir Mukherjee

Abir Mukherjee is the bestselling author of the award-winning Wyndham & Banerjee series of crime novels. His books have been translated into fifteen languages and won awards including the CWA Dagger for best Historical Novel, the Prix du Polar Européen, and the Wilbur Smith Award. He co-hosts the popular Red Hot Chilli Writers podcast.

Author photo © Nick Tucker

Louise Mumford

Louise is Co-Chair of Crime Cymru and her debut novel, Sleepless, inspired by her own insomnia, was published in December 2020 by HarperCollins. A UK Kindle Top 50 bestseller, it was the Asda Killer Read for July 2021. Her third Amazon bestselling thriller, The Hotel, was published in August 2023.

James Oswald

Author of the bestselling Inspector McLean novels, James has also written three books featuring Detective Constable Constance Fairchild. As JD Oswald, his epic fantasy, The Ballad of Sir Benfro, is inspired by Welsh mythology and language. When not writing, he raises Highland cattle on his farm in North East Fife.

 Author photo © Bill Waters

LLwyd Owen

Llwyd Owen was born and raised in Cardiff, and the city is omnipresent in his fiction. Since 2006, he has published fifteen novels with Y Lolfa, including the Gerddi Hwyan crime series and Ffydd Gobaith Cariad, which won the Welsh Book of the Year prize in 2007.

Cheryl Rees-Price

Cheryl Rees-Price was born in Cardiff and moved as a young child to a small village on the edge of the Black Mountains, South Wales, where she still lives with her husband and four cats.

She can often be found walking in the Brecon Beacons, seeking out waterfalls, lakes, and caves. These beautiful and remote locations become the backdrop of her novels.

Her books include the bestselling DI Winter Meadows series and standalone thriller, Blue Hollow.

Leslie Scase

Leslie Scase is the Shropshire-based author of the Inspector Chard Mysteries.

Born and educated in South Wales, Leslie worked in local industry before travelling widely across the UK during a career in the Civil Service. He lives close to the Welsh border, in the county town of Shrewsbury.

Andrew Taylor

Andrew Taylor has published over 40 novels. They include The American Boy and The Ashes of London, both number one bestsellers. Awards include the Historical Writers Association Gold Crown for best novel, the CWA’s Historical Dagger and Diamond Dagger. He is currently writing a series set in Restoration London.

Marsali Taylor

Marsali Taylor writes puzzle-style crime novels set in contemporary Shetland, starring quick-witted sailor Cass Lynch and Inverness DI Gavin Macrae. Reviewers praise their clever plotting, lively characters and vividly-evoked setting. Marsali’s hobbies include sailing her 8m yacht around Shetland’s scenic westside, drama and learning to play the flute.

Author photo © John Carolan

Sarah Todd Taylor

Sarah Todd Taylor was brought up in Yorkshire and Ceredigion, where she now lives. Inspired by years on the Welsh stage, she created the Max the Detective Cat mysteries set in the theatres of 1920s London. Her Alice Éclair books mix espionage and baking against the backdrop of inter-war 1930s Paris. 

Sarah Ward

Sarah Ward is a crime novelist who writes gothic historical thrillers as Rhiannon Ward. The Birthday Girl, the first book in her new Welsh based series, was published in April and described in the FT as ‘channelling Christie-esque tropes’ . She has also written Doctor Who audio dramas. Sarah is Vice-Chair of the Crime Writers Association and Treasurer of both Crime Cymru, the Welsh crime writing collective and Gwyl Crime Cymru Festival.

Liz Webb

Liz Webb has published 2 novels: THE DAUGHTER (2022) ‘A breathless exciting debut’ Sunday Times, ‘Pitch Perfect’ Daily Mail; and THE SAVED (2024). Originally a stand-up comic, she was then a producer in BBC Radio Drama, till Covid wiped out all recording work, so she decided to write books.

GB Williams

GB Williams specialises in complex, fast-paced crime novels. Born and bred in Kent, GB moved to South Wales, settled down and, now working as a freelance editor and writer, she lives with family and the world’s most demanding cat. And hates every photo ever taken of her. Find out more at www.gailbwilliams.co.uk.

GJ Williams

G.J. Williams’ debut, The Conjuror’s Apprentice, was published in 2023 and book two arrives June 2024. She takes real events and people and throws bodies into the middle. A sliver of supernatural flows through occultist detective, John Dee, and his apprentice who can hear the thoughts and secrets of others.