Val McDermid and Ann Cleeves chaired Alan Johnson

Two of our leading crime writers Val McDermid and Ann Cleeves discuss the evocation of place in their work, from DI Matthew Venn’s foray to the wild shore of a remote Devon village to Karen Pirie navigating the COVID-stricken streets of Edinburgh. McDermid and Cleeves have been at the top table of crime writing for more than 30 years.

McDermid is an international bestselling author whose books have been translated into more than 40 languages. Her multi-award-winning series and standalone novels have been adapted for television and radio, most notably the Wire in the Blood series featuring clinical psychologist Dr Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan. An ITV adaptation of the Karen Pirie series, featuring a Scottish cold case detective, was broadcast in 2022 and a second series has been commissioned. Among her many awards are the Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger recognising lifetime achievement and the Theakstons Old Peculier award for Outstanding Contribution to Crime Writing. Her latest Karen Pirie book is Past Lying.

Cleeves is author of more than 35 critically acclaimed novels and also a winner of the Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger. She is the creator of popular detectives Vera Stanhope, Jimmy Perez and Matthew Venn, who can be found on television in ITV’s Vera, BBC One’s Shetland and ITV’s The Long Call respectively. Her latest book is The Raging Storm, her third Venn novel set in North Devon where she grew up. She lives in Northumberland where the Vera books are set.

Discussions are chaired by novelist and former Labour cabinet minister Alan Johnson.

Part of the festival’s crime fiction programme.