The Big Read – Free Book Event Comes To Harrogate
The North of England’s biggest book club – The Big Read – returns this autumn (September 22-24) with a series of free events in libraries across the region, including at Harrogate Library on Tuesday, September 23.
Paula Sutton (credit Tamsyn Morgans)
The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival’s popular reading scheme The Big Read aims to develop readers, support libraries and connect communities across the North through a shared love of books.
Drawing on the appeal of crime and thriller writing – the UK’s best loved genre – and its popularity with TV viewers, The Big Read will visit both rural and urban areas for a series of engaging and inclusive events.
This year’s selected title is The Potting Shed Murder by Paula Sutton published by Renegade Books, a murder mystery set in a countryside village where secrets, feuds – and murder – lurk beneath the idyllic exterior. The free events are hosted by the Festival’s Reader-In-Residence, bestselling crime novelist Luca Veste.
Chief Executive of Harrogate International Festivals, Sharon Canavar, said: “The Big Read is a great opportunity for people in our local community and beyond to connect through a shared love of crime fiction.
“Books and reading can really boost our wellbeing, and we’d like to encourage as many people as possible to read Paula Sutton’s entertaining whodunnit The Potting Shed Murder and take part in the free library events this month or join in the discussion online and become part of the North’s biggest book club.”
Reader-in-Residence Luca Veste said: “By taking The Big Read on tour across the North, the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival is creating a welcoming and accessible space where everyone is encouraged to come and share their thoughts about The Potting Shed Murder. I'm really looking forward to meeting readers and chatting to them about this wonderful, character-driven, twisty murder mystery.”
The Big Read is produced by Harrogate International Festivals in partnership with Dialogue Books. The initiative has been running for 22 years and sits alongside the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival which takes place in Harrogate each July.
People can head to one of the participating libraries to collect a free copy of The Potting Shed Murder and sign up for the North’s biggest book club via the Harrogate International Festivals website.
The Big Read 2025 Schedule
Luca Veste credit © Ean Flanders
Monday, September 22
10am: Hazel Grove Library, Stockport
Beech Avenue, Hazel Grove, Stockport. SK7 4QP
1.30pm: Sheffield Central Library
Surrey Street, Sheffield. S1 1XZ
4pm: Wath Library and Neighbourhood Hub
Montgomery Road, Wath upon Dearne, Rotherham. S63 7RZ
Tuesday, September 23
10.30am: Knaresborough Library
Marketplace, Knaresborough. HG5 8AG
1.15pm: Harrogate Library
Victoria Avenue, Harrogate. HG1 1EG
4pm: Acomb Explore Library
Front Street, Acomb, York. YO24 3BZ
Wednesday, September 24
9.30am: Cramlington Library
Hub at Cramlington, Forum Way, Cramlington, Northumberland. NE23 6YB
1pm: Seaton Carew Community Hub
Station Lane, Seaton Carew, Hartlepool. TS25 1BN
For more information visit the Harrogate International Festivals website harrogateinternationalfestivals.com
