‘Iconic’ Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival Celebrates Record Visitor Numbers
5th August 2026: The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival celebrated significant audience growth with record numbers of crime fiction fans from across the UK, Europe, the US and beyond flocking to the Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate to enjoy more than 34 events with 140 authors over four days, 23-26 July.
Lee Childs and Lisa Jewell (c) Richard Maude
Described as a 'a truly international event' by Lady Victoria Borwick, Chair of VisitEngland Advisory Board, the Festival saw significant audience growth, with 21,000 tickets sold, an increase of 7.9 percent on 2025, making this year’s event the biggest in its twenty-three-year history. The value of the Festival to the local economy is estimated at £8.2 million annually.
Bestselling authors and well-known names appearing at the Festival included Ann Cleeves, Brenda Blethyn, Ardal O’Hanlon, Andi Osho, Denise Mina, Adam Kay,Anthony Horowitz, Holly Jackson, Vaseem Khan, Val McDermid, Mick Herron, Alice Feeney and 2026 Festival Chair, Lisa Jewell. The newly launched Swift Half Stage, an innovative space championing brilliant storytellers, rising stars and boundary-pushing creatives in a series of bite-size events, proved hugely popular with crime fiction fans.
Programme highlights included the much-anticipated Critics’New Blood panel and the announcement of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, which was won by
Elly Griffiths's time travel mystery, The Frozen People. US crime writing superstar David Baldacci received the Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution Award, praising the Festival for ‘keeping the love of books and reading alive’ in his acceptance speech.
The Festival’s shared reading scheme, The Big Read, was launched over the weekend, with ‘The Whisper Man’ by Alex North announced as this year’s selected book. The Big Read will go on tourwith a series of free events in libraries across Yorkshire and the North of England in October, hosted by Reader-In-Residence Julie Mae Cohen. Free copies of ‘The Whisper Man’ will be available from participating libraries.
Lady Victoria Borwick, VisitEngland Advisory Board Chair, said:
“This festival is a brilliant example of how culture and tourism work hand in hand. The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival has grown into a truly international event, attracting visitors from across the UK and around the world to Harrogate and showcasing Yorkshire to new audiences. The festival not only celebrates outstanding literature, it boosts the local visitor economy, supporting hotels, restaurants, shops and attractions across the town.
Events such as this encourage visitors to discover a destination, extend their stay and create lasting memories, making them an important part of England’s tourism offer. Harrogate should be immensely proud of what has been achieved, and I am delighted to see this iconic festival continue to thrive as part of Harrogate International Festivals’ 60th anniversary celebrations.”
Simon Theakston, Chairman of T&R Theakston, said:
“We are delighted that this year’s Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival was our most successful event ever, with even more crime fiction fans from around the world visiting Harrogate to enjoying the spectacular line up of speakers and soak up the incredible atmosphere than ever before. It continues to be a pleasure to support this event which has helped put the local area on the global map, and we are already looking forward to an exciting 2027."
Sharon Canavar, Chief Executive of Harrogate International Festivals, said:
"We were thrilled to welcome Lady Victoria Borwick to open our biggest ever Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival. The record number of Festival visitors reflect our audience’s appetite for live events and connection with writers and fellow crime fiction readers. We were delighted that the new Swift Half Stage proved such a hit with visitors as it allowed us to invite more authors than ever before and programme some exciting new events. We can't wait to be back in 2027!"
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. Next year’s Festival dates are 22-25 July 2027.
