CrimeFest,
one of the UK’s leading crime fiction events hosted in Bristol each year, has
announced 2025 will be its final convention.
In a
statement announcing the closure, Adrian Muller, co-founder, co-host and
director of CrimeFest, said: “It is with sadness – but great pride – that we
announce that our sixteenth CrimeFest, which takes place from 15-18 May 2025,
will be the final one.”
Inspired
by a visit to Bristol in 2006 of the American Left Coast Crime convention, the
first CrimeFest was held in June 2008. CrimeFest is a convention run by
fans of the genre, initially organised by Myles Allfrey, Liz Hatherell, Adrian
Muller, and Donna Moore, and more recently hosted by the latter two.
Whereas
most crime fiction events are invite-only, with a fixed programme of authors,
CrimeFest offers a more democratic model. As a convention, any commercially
published author can sign up to appear on a panel.
Adrian Muller said: “CrimeFest provides many authors with a platform they would not have been offered elsewhere in the UK. And, subsequently, readers discover and meet writers they otherwise may never have heard of. During CrimeFest, all delegates – be they authors or readers – come together as equals to celebrate the genre they love.”
Taking
place across four days, each year CrimeFest showcases around 150 authors across
more than 50 panels; over the years, 1,100 authors will have appeared at the
event.
CrimeFest
also invites Featured and Highlighted guests, securing major authors including
Cathy Ace, Lee Child, Ann Cleeves, Martina Cole, Michael Connelly, Jeffrey
Deaver, Sue Grafton, Anthony Horowitz, P.D. James, Lynda La Plante, and Ian
Rankin.
Lee
Child attended the very first convention, and was a Featured Guest at the fifth
and tenth anniversaries of CrimeFest.
Lee
Child said: "Sadly all good things come to an end - and Adrian Muller's
Bristol CrimeFest was one of the very best things ever. It was a warm,
friendly, relaxed and inclusive festival, hugely enjoyable for authors and
readers alike. Myles, Liz, Donna and Adrian, their team of volunteers - and
Dame Mary from Specsavers - have my sincere thanks for many delightful weekends
over the years."
The
event is sponsored by Specsavers.
Co-founder
of Specsavers, Dame Mary Perkins, who will be attending again next year,
praised the event: “I am an avid reader and fan of the genre, and I always look
forward to CrimeFest. It is so friendly, and it feels like all who go are
welcomed as part of a big family, connected by a love of books, and reading. We
are proud sponsors and I will miss CrimeFest and the camaraderie very much.”
Adrian
added: “Thanks to the support of Specsavers, our highly valued sponsor, we
introduced reduced cost Community Passes for UK school and public librarians,
students and for people on benefits. In 2021 we also created an annual bursary
for crime fiction authors of colour. We’ve run community projects at local
schools in the community; donated books to many schools and libraries across
Bristol and the UK; our anthology Ten Year Stretch and our raffles
each year have raised thousands of pounds for the Royal National Institute of
Blind People, and the seven awards we present each year celebrate crime
fiction, non-fiction, TV and crime fiction for children and young adults – the
latter two being the first in the UK. We are immensely proud of these initiatives.”
Author
and co-host of CrimeFest, Donna Moore, said: “CrimeFest is a labour of love for
us and our volunteers. We are immensely grateful to the authors, readers,
publishers, booksellers, sponsors, volunteers, and a whole host of other people
who have supported us over the years.”
The
organisers promise to say goodbye “in style”, with the attendance of some
big-name authors to celebrate its 16 years.
The
final CrimeFest takes place 15-18 May at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel
Photo shows organisers
Adrian Muller and Donna Moore with Specsaver's co-founder (and headline
sponsor), Dame Mary Perkins, photo credit Gary Stratmann.
