Capital Crime 2026 - Headliners Announced

CAPITAL CRIME ANNOUNCES 2026 HEADLINERS, INCLUDING GLOBAL SENSATIONS LEE AND ANDREW CHILD, JANE HARPER, CLAIRE DOUGLAS, ANDREA MARA AND COMEDY WRITING TALENTS ARDAL O’HANLON AND ANDI OSHO

Capital Crime Festival 2025

The 2026 festival to return to the Leonardo Royal Hotel, St Paul’s, on 18th-20th June.

Partnership with The Reading Agency announced, in the National Year of Reading

Founder David Headley heralds crime as ‘one of the most engaging and accessible genres, and the perfect way to help people rediscover a love of reading’

Fingerprint Awards to return on 18th June, presented by radio and TV broadcaster, and host of The Bookshelf Podcast Ryan Tubridy

Capital Crime, the celebrated crime and thriller festival led by Goldsboro Books’ co-founder and managing director David Headley, has announced its first confirmed headlining authors, attending in June 2026. The programme features authors at all stages of their careers, from much anticipated debut novelists to global sensations from around the world.

Capital Crime will also be Going All In on the National Year of Reading, a nationwide campaign designed to help people rediscover the joy of reading, and the biggest reading initiative the UK has ever seen. The festival has agreed a partnership with The Reading Agency, a UK charity that inspires social and personal change through the proven power of reading, and the organisation behind Quick Reads. This partnership will be a step change for Capital Crime’s Social Outreach initiative, a cornerstone of the festival since it launched in 2019, which has seen schoolchildren from all around London invited to meet, hear and engage with publishing representatives and authors, in order to demystify the industry; encourage a diverse range of people to consider a future career in books; and grow its community of readers by inspiring a lifelong love of reading. As part of the partnership, Capital Crime will host a panel with Quick Reads authors from 2026 and previous years, chaired by Debbie Hicks MBE, a founding member of The Reading Agency. Goldsboro Books and Capital Crime have been committed to creating reader communities since the bookshop’s inception, and the team firmly believes that crime fiction can be the most brilliantly accessible route into a lifelong love of reading.

The festival returns to the Leonardo Royal Hotel in St Paul’s, and confirmed authors and speakers so far include: 

• Lee Child, creator of the globally famous Jack Reacher novels, and his brother Andrew, who has taken up the baton, will be in conversation with author and journalist Stig Abell
• Jane Harper, the international #1 bestselling Australian author of The Dry
• Andrea Mara, million copy bestselling author of All Her Fault
• Actor, comedian and novelist Ardal O’Hanlon
• Bestselling creator of Maeve Kerrigan Jane Casey
• Award-winning psychological suspense writer Liz Nugent

Also confirmed to be taking part are Sunday Times bestselling thriller writer Claire Douglas; Andi Osho, stand-up comedian and thriller writer; multi-award-winning bestseller Clare Mackintosh; creator of Roy Grace Peter James; bestselling creator of The Guest List and The Paris Apartment Lucy Foley; and the author of Reece’s Book Club selected Broken Countries, Clare Leslie Hall.

Audiences will also hear from CWA Gold Dagger-winning author of Wyndham and Bannerjee novels Abir Mukherjee; Sunday Times bestselling Anatomy of a Scandal writer Sarah Vaughan; Sophie Hannah, #1 bestselling author of Poirot continuations; former barrister and Traitors star Harriet Tyce; and Lucy Rose, author of 2025’s debut sensation The Lamb.

The festival will also be welcoming some of the most critically acclaimed and eagerly anticipated debut novelists of 2026, including Yemi Dipeolu, launching psychological thriller Kiss Marry Kill; Ellie Levenson, author of the heart-stopping suspense Room 706; and renowned wine writer Olly Smith, launching the first in The Bottle Bank Mysteries series.

Also returning are the Fingerprint Awards, this year to be presented on Thursday 18th by Ryan Tubridy, and sponsored by the festival’s official international cultural partner, the Sharjah International Book Fair. This year the shortlist in each category will be chosen by the Capital Crime Tastemakers – an independent committee of bloggers, journalists and readers. The award winners will, as always, be voted for by the readers and fans who make this genre the best in the world.

Last year the eagerly anticipated awards received over 6,000 votes from the public and winners included bestsellers Vaseem Khan and M.W. Craven, for the Historical Book of the Year and the Overall Best Crime Book of the Year respectively.

Finally, on Thursday 18th, Capital Crime is thrilled to open its doors to aspiring, unpublished writers ready to take the next step towards securing literary representation. Agents from DHH Literary Agency who are actively searching for the next standout voice in crime fiction will be available for an open afternoon with all ticketholders. If you’ve written a gripping thriller, a twist-filled mystery, or a page-turning police procedural, this could be your opportunity to get your work in front of top industry talent. Festival ticketholders will be invited to submit ahead of the festival, and will be given a meeting slot with their agent of choice.

Capital Crime co-founder and Goldsboro Books managing director David Headley, said:

“I set up Capital Crime because I wanted to create a festival that brought together crime writers, readers, and industry professionals in a way that was welcoming to both established and emerging authors. It has been a joy to see the festival go from strength to strength, and our community of crime fans and writers grow. In this, the National Year of Reading, I’m delighted to announce our partnership with The Reading Agency. Crime is one of the most engaging and accessible genres of writing, and the perfect way to help people rediscover a love of reading. As well as our Quick Reads panel, we have panels for every reader, from discussions about AI to ‘property noir’, and courtroom dramas to comedy in crime.”

Capital Crime Festival Director Lizzie Curle, said:

“I’m thrilled with how our programme is shaping up, with some of the best crime writers in the world joining us, such as international sensations Lee Child, Jane Harper and comedy legend Ardal O’Hanlon and fan favourites like Lisa Jewell and Peter James. As always, I’m also delighted by the extremely exciting new voices we’ll be welcoming this year, including Lucy Rose, Olly Smith, Yemi Dipeolu and Ellie Levenson.”

The full line-up will be announced at the end of March.

Headley and his team at Goldsboro Books have helped launch the careers of so many authors since it opened over 25 years ago, by uniting incredible writing with their loyal, ever-growing community of passionate readers. Capital Crime is a brilliant extension of that vision, having become an unmissable fixture in the literary calendar, one of the largest crime fiction festivals in the UK, and the only one to be owned by an independent bookshop. With a line-up which fully reflects the vibrant and culturally diverse city that it calls home, Capital Crime’s goal is to create a year-round home for crime and thriller readers and authors, celebrating books and stories, and nurturing the next generation of talent and book enthusiasts. The festival attracts authors from around the world, to create a unique, innovative and entertaining programme, pairing debuts with household names. The festival welcomes more than 1,000 attendees, the majority purchasing full weekend passes, and previous attendees have included Ian Rankin, Irvine Welsh, Dorothy Koomson, Abir Mukherjee and Kate Atkinson.

 

National Crime Reading Month

 

National Crime Reading Month Returns this June 

with Bestselling Authors

Lives of Crime: The Compelling Power of Dark and Twisty Tales

The national charity The Reading Agency and the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) has a cunning plot to get the nation reading.

This June, the partners in crime invite the nation to step into the shadows and discover how crime fiction turns us into voracious readers.

National Crime Reading Month (NCRM) is a month-long festival of reading that takes place every June, hosted by the CWA with The Reading Agency.

This year it opens with an exclusive online panel, The Lives of Crime, featuring bestselling crime authors.

On 4 June at 6pm, the CWA chair and bestselling author, Vaseem Khan, will host authors Fiona Cummins, Adele Parks, and Penny Batchelor in the free online panel event. The authors bring their unique perspectives on crafting addictive mysteries that hook new readers and reel them into the world of reading.

It will kick start over a hundred local author events and talks that run throughout June across the UK and Ireland, which take place in libraries, theatres, bookshops and online.

Readers are asked to keep an eye on the website www.crimereading.com as new events are added throughout the month, as readers are encouraged to #PickUpAPageTurner.

Events have been announced in libraries up and down the country, from Hillingdon Libraries Crime Festival in Ruislip featuring Rev Richard Coles, Nicci French, Elly Griffiths and Mark Billingham, to Blood in t’ Dales with an author panel and Q&A in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, featuring Catherine Yaffe and L.K. Pang.

Karen Napier, CEO, The Reading Agency said: “Through our reading advocacy work, we know how important crime fiction is both for lifelong reading lovers and for those who are just starting out on their reading journey. Thanks to its structured plot-driven narratives, crime fiction often rights wrongs and solves mysteries so we experience a sense of justice and resolution in the pages of a novel, which we often can’t find in the real world. This is part of its huge appeal.”

Regular reading has far-reaching social impacts; improving health, wellbeing, life chances and social connections.

Research from The Reading Agency, who work across the UK to empower people of all ages to read, shows that adults who read for just 30 minutes a week are 20% more likely to report greater life satisfaction. However, only half (50%) of adults now read regularly, and 1 in 10 find reading difficult.

The Lives of Crime panel will explore the genre's universal appeal - from psychological thrillers to cozy mysteries – and how it creates accessible pathways to reading for audiences who might otherwise never discover the joy of books.

Linda Mather, the CWA NCRM Liaison, said: “Crime fiction's straightforward language, compelling characters, and twisting narratives make it an ideal gateway for new readers. This exciting launch panel for NCRM will discuss how these elements combine to create stories that are both intellectually stimulating and accessible to diverse reading experiences and abilities.”

Linda added: “Whether you're a long time crime fiction aficionado or curious about the genre's remarkable ability to create new readers, this event offers insights into how these masters of suspense craft stories that refuse to be put down and welcome everyone to the reading table. The panel will also talk about how crime fiction is evolving as a genre and responding to our rapidly changing world.”

Join online for an evening of murderous inspiration and literary conversation that celebrates how crime fiction breaks down barriers and opens doors to the power of reading.

Admission is free. Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lives-of-crime-the-compelling-power-of-dark-and-twisty-tales-tickets-1328044108679?aff=oddtdtcreator

The CWA’s National Crime Reading Month a Blazing Success this June

With over 150 events from the Channel Islands to the tip of Scotland via ambassador Emma Christie’s camper van in Croatia and institutions such as the British Library and Senate House, National Crime Reading Month 2023 has been declared a huge success by the Crime Writers Association and its partner, The Reading Agency.

Kicking off with simultaneous launches in London, Belfast and Edinburgh, National Crime Reading Month director, Irish crime writer Sam Blake, this year focused on the many subgenres within ‘crime’. Sam Blake explains: “From cosy to hardboiled, romantic to dystopian the #pickupapagerturner hashtag linked in-person and online events throughout Britain and Ireland, bringing new readers to every aspect of the genre. I’m thrilled with the number of events and readers that we have reached this year. Our ambassadors have been amazing, organising and attending events in June, and our partnership with The Reading Agency is true synergy.”

The Reading Agency’s Quick Reads series regularly features crime reads, and aims to increase access to reading through shorter, engaging texts by great authors, bringing new readers to the page. Partnering for the sparkling London launch event, hosted by Waterstones Piccadilly, The Reading Agency has brought the NCRM message to libraries, which, together a magnificent response from CWA members, independent bookshops and Waterstones nationwide – and this year, a school - has secured National Crime Reading Month as a key event in the literary calendar.

Karen Napier, CEO of The Reading Agency said: “Through our work with adults, we see the crucial importance of crime writing. As well as being an important genre for reading lovers, crime writing can provide a fantastic route into reading for less confident and emerging readers. It has been a pleasure to work with our partners at Crime Writers Association to bring the joy of crime fiction to people across the UK this summer.”

NCRM events included workshops, talks, panel events, and themed walks, with
Weymouth library hosting murder mystery board game sessions. There was ‘literally’ something for every reader. Events listed at the National Crime Reading Month website www.crimereading.com can be searched by location so readers are able to see what’s happening near them. Launch events alone brought over 300 crime lovers together with some of the UK’s biggest authors, with Steve Cavanagh’s star-studded online event reaching another 150 (watch it back at crimereading.com).

Sam Blake says: “We’ve had terrific support from LoveReading.com and we will be linking to their articles, as well as Waterstones recommended reads, podcasts and blog posts - including one focusing on LGBTQ characters - so readers can read/watch or listen back after June. Articles, podcasts and recorded online events will remain on the site until NCRM 2024, giving readers – and authors – a feel for the possibilities.”

This year the CWA welcomed the first school to NCRM where, at Yavneh College in Borehamwood, librarians ran a series of crime-related events. Students were treated to a crime-themed ‘books and biscuits’, a regular lunchtime reading event for years 7-11s. They ran their first ever school-wide murder mystery with clues in the library and beyond, to work out whodunnit. The CWA’s Abi Silver was invited to speak on different types of crime fiction; psychologist Brendi Waks ran a fascinating session on psychopaths for sixth formers and Carl Woolf, criminal advocate, discussed murder cases. Librarians librarians Amanda Blakeley and Laura Brandman said, ‘We have made book displays, including crime fiction, psychology and true crime, and there is a real buzz amongst our students!’

National Crime Reading Month leads up to the prestigious Daggers, the CWA’s internationally recognised awards, this year taking place on 6th July in London. 

Vaseem Khan, chair of the CWA said: "This year's National Crime Reading Month has been bigger and more gripping than ever. The Crime Writers' Association-led initiative has seen events take place across the country in June, showcasing the broad church that crime fiction now represents and reflecting the enormous appetite for murder and mayhem among the British reading public. Thank you to all those who organised or participated!

Quick Read Covers Revealed!

THE READING AGENCY REVEALS QUICK READS COVERS AND HOW THOUSANDS OF FREE ‘BUY ONE, GIFT ONE’ BOOKS ARE SPREADING THE JOY OF READING

The Reading Agency has unveiled the eye-catching covers for the Quick Reads stories publishing on 14 April 2022, written by M.W. Craven, Paula Hawkins, Ayisha Malik, Santa Montefiore, Kate Mosse, Graham Norton, Lemn Sissay and Alex Wheatle.

Forming part of the life-changing literacy programme tackling the UK’s adult literacy crisis by helping less confident readers start reading, these eight, new short books will also be included in the World Book Night 2022 list.

The Reading Agency has also shared the many ways in which the 36,000 copies of this year’s Quick Reads titles donated as part of the 15th anniversary ‘Buy One Gift One’ campaign have reached those who struggle with reading or have limited access to books.

From August to October, tens of thousands of free books were distributed to local authorities, libraries, prisons, adult learning organisations and community-based charities around the country. The ‘Quick Reads’ short stories by best-selling authors Louise Candlish, Katie Fforde, Peter James, Caitlin Moran, Oyinkan Braithwaite and Khurrum Rahman have been encouraging new readers at food banks, homeless shelters, literacy classes, refugee groups as well as those in prison, to find the pleasure and benefits that come from reading.

Karen Napier, CEO, The Reading Agency, said: ‘Thanks to the support and generosity of our Quick Reads publishers and the close collaboration of our many partners, including the generous support of Jojo Moyes, tens of thousands of these transformative stories have been put directly into the hands of those who need them the most helping progress of our mission to break down barriers to reading, and spread the joy of books to new audiences.’

 ‘Buy One, Gift One’

This year's 'Buy One, Gift One' campaign helps The Reading Agency to get copies of these transformative books into the hands of those that need them most, particularly those who have experienced acute hardship throughout the pandemic. This year, thousands of free books are being distributed in partnership with libraries and other organisations who are providing frontline support, including homelessness charities, food banks, prisons, and Young Offender Institutions.

Libraries in Newham, an east London borough facing significant problems in poverty and inequality, are gifting books to services supporting young people experiencing mental health issues and running functional skills courses. These include local Youth Zones, Newham Youth Offending Team, Supported Living, Adult Learning Services, the Newham Food Alliance and Colleges of Further Education.

Councillor Charlene McLean, Deputy Mayor and Lead Member for Resident Participation and Engagement, Newham Council said: ‘Here in Newham we are really excited to be gifting The Baby is Mine by Oyinkan Braithwaite, through our Adult Learning Service, Supported Living Schemes, Youth Zones and Youth Offending Teams. By gifting through these routes we aim to reach those adults and young people who would benefit most from a Quick Read, discovering, perhaps for the first time, a book that is accessible end engaging with no pressure to read it and no one judging their reading ability. We really hope that by gifting the right book, for the right person at the right time, our donations will help our selected residents to develop a love of reading and further improve their literacy skills.’

Krystal Vittles, Head of Service Delivery, Suffolk Libraries, said: ‘At Suffolk Libraries’ we decided to gift from our static libraries as well as through our prison libraries to ensure these fantastic books made an impact, and hopefully spread a little joy. We also worked with our partners at Suffolk County Council to gift these books through local foodbanks as a gift for people who are experiencing tough times. We believe that reading, literacy and access to books is a fundamental human right and so we’re always keen to be part of initiatives like this to spread the love of reading.’

Oldham Libraries have distributed copies to the Oldham Council Emerging Communities Team, the Local Authority Asylum Support Liaison Officers, the Oldham Lifelong Learning Centre – who deliver literacy skills courses – and the Oldham Street Angels, who provide food, clothing, shelter and support to Oldham’s homeless.

Jacqueline Widdowson, Senior Library Officer, Oldham Libraries, said: ‘We plan to work with our local homeless charity, The Street Angels. Many of Oldham's homeless people already use our libraries and are big readers. It will be nice to encourage both current and lapsed readers to enjoy the escapism and warmth of taking yourself outside of your current experience through reading.’