Mark Billingham with Neil Lancaster

Mark Billingham - The Murder Book 

As if we needed reminding how good Mark Billingham is'   Val McDermid.

Mark and Neil will share the stage and discuss their latest work. 

Mark Billingham started his career, 21 years ago, as the new young voice in crime fiction. He brought a fresh, edgy and terrifying twist to the genre and his lead character, Tom Thorne, was every bit as quirky and different as his creator. The intervening two decades have seen Billingham grow from a young maverick, pushing the boundaries and challenging the assumptions of crime writing by both the trade and the readers themselves, into the role of statesman of the genre, supporting new writers and confronting his own social conscience through his work. We all acknowledge that the crime novel can (in the words of Billingham himself) ‘shine a light into some of the darker corners of society’ and the commentary writers like him give to contemporary political and social issues has an important role to play in today’s tumultuous world.

Billingham’s novels have now sold over 6 million copies. He has had 21 Sunday Times bestsellers (every one of his titles) and has spent over 120 weeks in the top ten. Two TV series have been made of Mark’s books – Thorne by Sky starring David Morrissey, and In the Dark by the BBC. A third is currently in development. Rabbit Hole, his 2020 novel, was named as Crime Book of the Year by The Times.

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_{Photo credit - Steve Best}

 

Neil Lancaster - Blood Runs Cold

Neil Lancaster is the No. 1 digital bestselling author of both the Tom Novak and Max Craigie series. His first Craigie novel, Dead Man’s Grave, was longlisted for the 2021 McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Book of the Year. The second Craigie novel, The Blood Tide, topped several ebook and audio charts. It was also longlisted for the 2022 McIlvanney Prize and shortlisted for Best New Series at the Dead Good Reader Awards.