HARROGATE'S luxurious Old Swan Hotel is in for a long weekend of murder and mayhem this July.

Some of the biggest names in crime fiction will be gathering there for the annual Crime Writing Festival from July 21-24.

Peter James, best known for his best-selling police procedurals featuring Brighton detective superintendent Roy Grace, has been announced as the festival chair this year.

And among the other top names who have been confirmed for the weekend are Jeffery Deaver, Martina Cole, Neil Cross, Linwood Barclay, Tess Gerritsen, Val McDermid and Gerald Seymour. More names will be announced over the next few weeks.

James has promises an ambitious programme with an international flavour for what he calls ‘the biggest celebration of the genre in the world’.

“There will be the giants of the genre we’ve come to expect from a festival as brilliant as Harrogate,” he promised.

York Press:

Harrogate's Old Swan Hotel, venue for the crime-writing festival

Among those already announced is Deaver, the award-winning author of 33 internationally bestselling novels, among them his Lincoln Rhyme thrillers.

He will be interviewed on stage by BBC broadcaster and author Mark Lawson.

The ‘Queen of Crime’ herself - crime writing festival co-founder Val McDermid - will be in conversation with comic and Edinburgh Festival sensation Susan Calman, a familiar face on shows such as Have I Got News for You, 8 out of 10 Cats and Would I Lie to You.

Martina Cole, meanwhile, will be in conversation with Peter James, while American-born Canadian Linwood Barclay, a former journalist and columnist and the bestselling author of 13 detective novels including Trust Your Eyes, A Tap on the Window and No Time for Goodbye, will be put under the forensic spotlight by Mark Billingham.

The festival is known for its friendly, informal approach. Readers can mingle with their favourite authors - and will also be able to find out about some of the 'next big things' on the crime-writing scene, thanks to McDermid’s annual New Blood panel, which cherry picks the best debut novels of the year.

Up to 90 authors all told will take part in this year's festival. Last year, almost 14,000 tickets were sold for more than 30 events during the course of the weekend.

Gemma Rowland, Literature Festivals Manager at Harrogate International Festivals, said: “Everyone says the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival just gets better and better, so it’s quite a pressure for each new chair.

"But there are few people so perfect for the role as Peter James. The 2016 programme is ambitious: international in breadth, intelligent in design.”

  • For more information about this year's festival, or to book tickets, visit visit www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com or call 01423 562303.