This gives “Drinking with Crime Writers” a whole different spin

As part of the run-up to Harrogate’s 3rd Crime Festival (and the 1st Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award) there will be a series of reading groups held at local pubs in North Yorkshire:

Drinkers could be soon propping up the bar with a good book at pubs taking part in a celebration of crime thriller writing.

Free

book groups called Tales From The Darkside are being held over the next

two months at North Yorkshire pubs as part of this year’s Theakston’s

Old Peculier Harrogate Crime Writing Festival.

Anne

Cleeves, the festival reader in residence, along with Margaret Murphy,

will lead many of the groups as members of the Murder Squad – a

collective of leading crime authors who promote the genre.

People will be able to talk about and vote for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award.

The

winner of the award, in association with bookstore Ottakar’s, will be

announced on July 21 -the opening night of the festival, which is part

of the Harrogate International Festival.

Guests at the festival will be best-selling crime authors Ruth Rendell and Michael Connelly.

Simon

Theakston, executive director of T & R Theakston’s, which is

sponsoring the writing festival, said: “Tales from the Darkside is a

wonderful way to encourage a real sense of community sprit, with the

public house being at the heart of many small rural villages.”

The full schedule for these group sessions is listed in the article.