‘Crime writer Elly Griffiths awarded Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution Award 2025

‘Remarkable’ crime writer Elly Griffiths awarded 

Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution Award 2025

Festival Dates: 17 – 20 July 2025

www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

#TheakstonsCrime

Tuesday 8 July 2025: Bestselling novelist Elly Griffiths will be honoured with the Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution Award in recognition of her remarkable crime fiction writing career and ‘unwavering commitment to the genre.’ The award will be presented at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, the world’s most prestigious celebration of crime fiction and thriller writing, on Thursday 17th July. 

Elly Griffiths is the author of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries; the Brighton Mysteries, the Detective Harbinder Kaur series and an exhilarating new series featuring time-travelling detective Ali Dawson. Her intricately plotted novels told with wry humour and featuring engaging characters have sold over 5 million copies worldwide, winning her fans across the globe. Griffiths, who has been shortlisted an impressive seven times for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, was highly commended in 2023 for The Locked Room and served as Festival Programming Chair in 2017. She is shortlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2025 for The Last Word (Quercus Books.)  

Elly Griffiths is the latest in a line of acclaimed authors to have received the coveted Outstanding Contribution Award, with previous winners including Sir Ian Rankin, Lynda La Plante, James Patterson, John Grisham, Lee Child, Val McDermid, P.D. James, Michael Connelly, Ann Cleeves and last year’s recipient, Martina Cole.  

The award will be presented alongside the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2025, the UK and Ireland’s most prestigious crime fiction award, and the McDermid Debut Award for new writers, on the opening night of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Thursday 17 July.   

Simon Theakston, Chairman of T&R Theakston, said: 

“Elly Griffiths has been awarded the Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution award in recognition of her exceptional contribution to crime fiction, captivating readers with her distinctive characters, rich sense of place, and unwavering commitment to the genre over a remarkable career. Beloved by readers around the world, Elly Griffiths has an amazing ability to combine tough subjects with the greatest warmth. Her characters may have their eccentricities, but they are all believable and their dilemmas as easy to share.”  

Elly Griffiths said: 

“It means the world to me to receive this award. Sixteen years ago, when I wrote my first crime novel, I received such a warm welcome from the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival and from other, more established, authors. Now, 32 books later, I’m thrilled to be honoured in this way and humbled to join the ranks of previous winners. I hope to continue the tradition of welcoming new writers and giving back to the crime-writing community.”

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival is delivered by the north of England’s leading arts Festival organisation, Harrogate International Festivals, and forms part of their diverse year-round portfolio of events, which aims to bring immersive cultural experiences to as many people as possible. For more details about the Festival see here.