Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2018 announced

Stav Sherez has tonight (announced 19 July, 9pm) scooped the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award for The Intrusions.

Now in its fourteenth year, the Award is considered one of the most coveted crime writing prizes in the country.

The Intrusions by Stav Sherez was a 2017 Guardian and Sunday Times book of the year, dubbed ‘A Silence of the Lambs for the internet age’ by Ian Rankin. The book was acclaimed by critics for its echoes of Emile Zola and influences from Graham Greene to Dostoyevsky.

Stav was presented the award by title sponsor Simon Theakston and broadcaster Mark Lawson at the opening night of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival. The annual Festival, hosted in Harrogate, is the world’s biggest celebration of the genre.

Stav said: “I’m so shocked. Thank you so much for everyone who reads books, everyone who buys books, and talks about them. The world is full of hardships, but we have so much great stuff in culture and it means so much that there’s something to hide in.”

Stav talked about the inspiration of social media offering a new vein of storytelling and criminality.

“The Intrusions are the stuff we have all around us – all the static and scatter of TV and phones – everything is impinging on our consciousness and you don’t have time to think. So many great crime writers have come before us that have used all the great plots – Christie, James Ellroy – it’s good to have new criminality to deal with. But it’s not only criminality, the internet is affecting politics, it’s affecting elections, it affects us and our kids.”

Sherez beat off stiff competition from the shortlist of six, whittled down from a longlist of 18 crime novels published by UK and Irish authors whose novels were published in paperback from 1 May 2017 to 30 April 2018.

The 2018 Award is run in partnership with T&R Theakston Ltd, WHSmith, and The Mail on Sunday.

Stav Sherez collected a £3,000 cash prize, as well as a handmade, engraved oak beer cask made by Theakston Old Peculier.

The winner was decided by the panel of Judges, comprising literary and media figures chaired this year by Lee Child, alongside a public vote.

The Intrusions is structured around the lead character – Carrigan’s - visits to the hospital to visit his mother who suffered a stroke.

Stav said: “I didn’t know anyone who died from stoke, then a year into writing the book my dad had his first stroke, and was in and out of hospital rewriting scenes I’d already imagined. Philip Roth in his book at his father’s death was shocked at himself writing notes, in a way it’s remembering the dead, making sure their stories are never lost, which is in a way is what all literature is about.”

A special presentation was made to John Grisham - the winner of the ninth Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award.

Grisham joins Lee Child, Val McDermid, Sara Paretsky, Lynda La Plante, Ruth Rendell, PD James, Colin Dexter and Reginald Hill as recipients of the Award.

John Grisham said: “About twenty years ago I attended a Chelsea football match with my close friend and editor, Oliver Johnson.  Afterwards, we retired to a pub and I had my first pint of Theakston Old Peculier.  Others followed.  It’s my favourite beer in the world.” 

He added: “I want to thank you for your loyal readership over the years, because of you, the readers, people like myself and Lee Child are lucky enough to do what we do. Thank you very much.”

Title sponsor and executive director of T&R Theakston, Simon Theakston, said: “We’re particularly delighted to honour John Grisham. He is truly a giant of the genre, having sold 300 million books worldwide, with nine of his novels being adapted by Hollywood. His appearance at the Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival marks the first time he’s visited Yorkshire, something that will be remembered in Harrogate history for many years to come. The fact that he is a devotee of Old Peculier only adds to our delight!”

The shortlist in full:

Mick Herron, Spook Street

Val McDermid, Insidious Intent

Denise Mina, The Long Drop

Abir Mukherjee, A Rising Man

Stav Sherez, The Intrusions

Susie Steiner, Persons Unknown

Theakston Festival Rounds Up Six Suspects On Crime Novel Award Shortlist

The shortlist for crime writing’s most wanted accolade, the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, has been announced.

The shortlisted six were whittled down from a long list of 18 titles. The prize, created to celebrate the very best in crime fiction, was open to UK and Irish crime authors whose novels were published in paperback from 1 May 2017 to 30 April 2018.

The shortlist in full:

Mick Herron, Spook Street

Val McDermid, Insidious Intent 

Denise Mina, The Long Drop 

Abir Mukherjee, A Rising Man

Stav Sherez, The Intrusions

Susie Steiner, Persons Unknown

Val McDermid, Susie Steiner, and Mick Herron return as contenders after being shortlisted in 2017, the year Chris Brookmyre took the winning accolade.

Mick Herron’s espionage thriller, Spook Street, is the fourth in his award-winning Jackson Lamb series. His acclaimed series is based on an MI5 department of ‘rejects’ – intelligent services’ misfits and screw-ups. Herron’s writing was praised by critic Barry Forshaw for ‘the spycraft of le Carré refracted through the blackly comic vision of Joseph Heller’s Catch-22.’

Val McDermid’s Insidious Intent features DCI Carol Jordan and Tony Hill, two of the most iconic characters in crime fiction. The LA Times said it was a novel that ‘shows Val McDermid deserves her Queen of Crime crown’. McDermid last received the Novel of the Year accolade in 2006.

Denise Mina could make it a hat-trick after winning the award in 2012 and 2013, she is the only author to date to have won the Novel of the Year in two consecutive years. The Long Drop has already attracted a wealth of awards; Mina was the first woman to win The McIlvanney Prize for The Long Drop.

Abir Mukherjee is the only author on the shortlist for a debut novel. A Rising Man, saw Abir Mukherjee picked as a 2016 New Blood author by Val McDermid at the Festival. She hailed it as, ‘One of the most exciting debut novels I’ve read in years.’ It too has won awards, including the CWA Historical Dagger. His sequel in the Sam Wyndham series is A Necessary Evil.

The Intrusions by Stav Sherez was a 2017 Guardian and Sunday Times book of the year, dubbed ‘A Silence of the Lambs for the internet age’ by Ian Rankin. The book was acclaimed by critics for its echoes of Emile Zola and influences from Graham Greene to Dostoyevsky.

Former Guardian journalist Susie Steiner’s first crime novel introduced Detective Manon Bradshaw in Missing, Presumed, a Sunday Times bestseller. Her follow up, Persons Unknown, a Richard and Judy book club pick, has attracted huge critical acclaim.

The 2018 Award is run in partnership with title sponsor T&R Theakston Ltd, WHSmith, and The Mail on Sunday. 2018 marks the 14th year of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award.

Executive director of T&R Theakston, Simon Theakston, said: “The shortlisted authors are already rich in awards, but there’s only one Novel of the Year, so it will be fascinating to see which of these remarkable titles prevails - all are simply outstanding.”

The shortlist will feature in a six-week promotion in libraries and in WHSmith stores nationwide. The overall winner will be decided by the panel of Judges, alongside a public vote. The public vote opens on 1 July and closes 14 July at www.theakstons.co.uk.

Helen Donkin, Literature Festival Manager at Harrogate International Festivals, said: “The public’s vote is incredibly important. It’s the readers that have real power when it comes to judging a book’s worth, so I’d encourage everyone to make their voice heard – it’s free and simple to vote online.”

The winner will be announced at an award ceremony hosted by broadcaster Mark Lawson on 19 July on the opening night of the 16th Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate.

The winner will receive a £3,000 cash prize, as well as a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakston Old Peculier.

2018 THEAKSTON OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR LONGLIST REVEALED

Big hitters including Lee Child, Ian Rankin and Val McDermid, feature on the longlist for the most prestigious crime writing prize in the country.

The prize was created to celebrate the very best in crime fiction and is open to UK and Irish crime authors whose novels were published in paperback from 1 May 2017 to 30 April 2018.

2018 marks the 14th year of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award. The winner is announced at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, hosted in Harrogate each July. The festival was established in 2003 by Val McDermid, agent Jane Gregory, and arts charity Harrogate International Festivals.

The award is run in partnership with T&R Theakston Ltd, WHSmith, and The Mail on Sunday. The longlist of 18 titles were selected by an academy of crime writing authors, agents, editors, reviewers and members of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival Programming Committee.

Four previous winners of the award - Val McDermid (2006), Lee Child (2011), Denise Mina (2012 and 2013) and Chris Brookmyre (2017) - return on 2018’s longlist. The longlist also features some of the genre’s hottest new talent including the debut novels of Jane Harper, Emma Flint, Joseph Knox, Imran Mahmood and Abir Mukherjee.

Executive director of T&R Theakston, Simon Theakston, said: “2018’s longlist shows how strong and dynamic the genre is as it features so many debut novels, alongside established names. It shows how crime fiction not only dominates publishing but shapes our cultural landscape.”

The longlist in full:    

Want You Gone by Chris Brookmyre

The Midnight Line by Lee Child

The Seagull by Ann Cleeves

Little Deaths by Emma Flint

The Chalk Pit by Elly Griffiths

The Dry by Jane Harper

Spook Street by Mick Herron

A Death at Fountains Abbey by Antonia Hodgson

He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly

Sirens by Joseph Knox

The Accident on the A35 by Graeme Macrae Burnet

You Don't Know Me by Imran Mahmood

Insidious Intent by Val McDermid

The Long Drop by Denise Mina

A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee

Rather Be the Devil by Ian Rankin

The Intrusions by Stav Sherez

Persons Unknown by Susie Steiner

The longlist will be promoted in a dedicated online campaign with WHSmith and a nationwide library promotion.

The shortlist of six titles will be announced on 27 May, followed by a six-week promotion in libraries and in WHSmith stores nationwide. The overall winner will be decided by the panel of Judges, alongside a public vote. The public vote opens on 1 July and closes 14 July at www.theakstons.co.uk.

The winner will be announced at an award ceremony hosted by broadcaster Mark Lawson on 19 July on the opening night of the 16th Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate. They’ll receive a £3,000 cash prize, as well as a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakston Old Peculier.

The awards night will also feature the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award, with past recipients over the years including PD James, Ruth Rendell, Reginald Hill and Colin Dexter.

Stav Sherez’s The Intrusions

I was delighted to receive an invitation to iconic British Publisher Faber and Faber’s Spring Literary Party.

I find the range of publications from Faber to be eclectic, with a focus on good writing, including poetry, music, film criticism and the unusual. I am fortunate to have known Publicist Sophia Portas and Publisher Angus Cargill, for some time; and they kindly keep me up to date on my reading, as Faber’s Crime Thriller List must never be underestimated.

A few years ago, I was sent a remarkable novel entitled A Dark Redemption by Music Journalist Stav Sherez. I was hypnotised by this very dark tale, which I reviewed excitedly here

We were delighted to see that his third in this police procedural series is even more remarkable, as Shots Magazine reviewer Les Hurst reported -

Carrigan and Miller are detectives in the Metropolitan Police, nominally part of a team, but each suffering their own demons and frequently having to work independently. In Carrigans’s case he is carrying the extra weight from an earlier case, described in the previous ELEVEN DAYS, in which he used some extra-judicial investigations in order to discover the truth; for which an unattractive superior is hounding him now using the cover of an internal complaint. This persecution looks as if it will raise its head again very soon, and in a much worse way.

What are the “intrusions” of the title? In one immediate sense it is the girl who bursts into the police station saying that her friend has been kidnapped. Miller begins to investigate the grotty clubs and back alleys of London where the girls went in search of a good time. When a dead body is discovered, drained of blood, but on a floor absent of blood - Carrigan becomes involved. When the two detectives realise that the missing girl and the murder victim are one and the same they realise they have a case of horrifying complexity, and previous victims.

Read More Here

So it was most generous of Faber and Faber to send me an invitation to their Spring Literary Party, held in The Crypt at Clerkenwell. Though not a Crime / Thriller Event per se; it was good to meet up with Stav Sherez and the wonderful NJ Cooper aka Daphne Wright [who is perhaps better known as Natasha Cooper, from her days as Chair for The Crime Writers Association before the Millennium].

The event was very well attended, and robustly organised, with an array of canapes and a well-stocked bar. The party allowed the guests to mingle with the Faber & Faber Editorial and Promotional Teams during the evening; and there were readings and talks, all hoisted in The Crypt on the Green, Clerkenwell, East London.

We have recorded some of the highlights for our readers below

We were welcomed to the event, which included Sebastian Barry reading a short passage from his Costa Book Awarded ‘DAYS WITHOUT END’, which is a wonderful novel, and which the BBC dramatized. Barry received this news last week, and is the only novelist to have won this prestigious literary award twice.

Then Stav Sherez took to the stage to introduce his latest work, the prescient and unsettling dark thriller ‘THE INTRUSIONS’

Kate Hamer spoke about her follow up to the bestseller The Girl in the Red Coat, and read a passage from her follow-up ‘The Doll Funeral’

After several other readings, Hanif Kureishi closed the proceedings with an extract from ‘The Nothing’.

So after more mingling, it was time to thank the Faber Team, and emerge back into the London Night, with a book bag, and memories of a most enjoyable literary gathering from one of Great Britain’s most iconic publishing houses.

Incidentally Stav Sherez kindly supplied Shots an intriguing essay about the linkage of Music and Serial Killers, and can be accessed here

Follow Stav on Twitter @stavsherez and remember Shots Bookstore have discounted copies of THE INTRUSIONS available here 

And if you haven’t discovered the dark imagination of this former music journalist’s Carrigan and Miller London based Police Procedural series, why not head to the beginning, A Dark Redemption [out in PB] as is the second installment Eleven Days – and then buckle-up for The Intrusions.