The 2022 festival will be live streamed, so you can attend in person (and meet the authors/get your books signed) or, if you’re further away, watch online as the event happens.
In-person event and masterclass tickets will be released first. We have a wonderful selection of authors for you this year!
CLAIRE ALLAN
A former journalist Claire Allan has published six psychological thrillers since 2018 after a stellar career as a bestselling women’s fiction author. Her books, described as ‘terrifyingly brilliant’, have been published around the world and translated into multiple languages. In addition she has worked as a story consultant on the forthcoming prime time BBC Drama ‘Blue Lights’. The Nurse is out now.
GRAHAM BARTLETT
Graham Bartlett is a retired UK Police Commander based in Brighton & Hove. During his thirty year career he was a homicide senior investigating officer and led on managing dangerous offenders, sexual offences, domestic violence, child protection and hate crime. He was a qualified strategic firearms and public order commander, leading the policing of many armed operations, large scale protests and sporting events. Since retiring, he has become a police procedural and crime advisor helping scores of authors and TV writers achieve authenticity alongside their drama. He is also a best-selling crime writer, with two non-fiction books – Death Comes Knocking and Babes in the Wood – to his name and his novel Bad for Good (June 2022) introduces the much anticipated Chief Superintendent Jo Howe series.
SAM BLAKE
Sam Blake has been writing fiction since her husband set sail across the Atlantic for eight weeks and she had an idea for a book. Sam has had a string of No. 1 bestsellers with her runaway bestselling debut, Little Bones, the first in the Cat Connolly trilogy, shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year. Switching to psychological thrillers, Keep Your Eyes on Me was a No. 1 bestseller, and her next book, The Dark Room was shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year. Her last thriller Remember My Name went straight to No. 1 in January 2022. Sam is originally from St. Albans in Hertfordshire but now lives at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains, near Dublin in Ireland.
The founder and director of Murder One, Sam also founded Europe’s biggest writing resouces website Writing.ie and is a board member of the Society of Authors and the Crime Writers Association. Follow her on social @samblakebooks. Visit www.samblakebooks.com for news.
BREDA BROWN
Breda Brown is the chairperson of the Irish Writers Centre, the home for writers in Ireland. She presents the ‘Inside Books’ podcast and reviews crime novels for the Sunday Independent. A former journalist, she is a regular contributor to radio and television programmes and is also the co-founder of Unique Media, a strategic communications firm.
ANDREA CARTER
Andrea Carter studied law at Trinity College Dublin, practising as both a solicitor and a barrister before turning to write crime novels. She is the bestselling author of the Inishowen Mysteries, most recently The Body Falls (2020). Her first three books are in development for TV.
AMANDA CASSIDY
Amanda Cassidy is a freelance journalist, commissioning editor and former Sky News and Newstalk reporter. Shortlisted for the Irish Journalist of the Year Awards, and more recently the Headline media writing awards, Amanda holds a BA in European Studies from Trinity College Dublin. Amanda’s debut novel Breaking has been described as ‘a rich gut-punch of a thriller that delivers a confronting examination of maternal love” by New York Times bestselling author, Ashley Audrain. Amanda lives in Dublin with her husband and three young children.
STEVE CAVANAGH
Steve Cavanagh is the bestselling author of the Eddie Flynn novels and standalone thrillers. All of his novels have either been nominated for, or have won awards internationally, including the 2018 Crime Writers Association Gold Dagger and the 2019 Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. His latest novel, The Accomplice, was published to critical acclaim in July 2022. Steve is a former lawyer, and was born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he still lives.
ANN CLEEVES
Ann Cleeves is the author of more than thirty-five critically acclaimed novels. 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. The TV series and the books they are based on have become international sensations, capturing the minds of millions worldwide. Her new Vera novel, The Rising Tide, is published in September 2022. She lives in North Tyneside where the Vera books are set.
EDEL COFFEY
Edel began work as an arts journalist and editor with the Sunday Tribune. She has since worked as a presenter and reporter with RTE Radio, editor of the Irish Independent Weekend magazine and as Books Editor of the Irish Independent. Edel’s debut novel Breaking Point was published in January 2022. Described as a “terrifyingly plausible debut”, it was a No 1 bestseller with much to say about parental guilt and how society treats working motherhood.
LIZA COSTELLO
Liza Costello has written two psychological thrillers: The Estate (2019) and Crookedwood (2022), both published by Hachette Ireland. The Estate was originally released as an Audible Original, where it was chosen as a crime and thriller book of the month. Her short stories and poetry have been published in places like Mslexia, The Stinging Fly, The Irish Independent and The Manchester Review. She has been shortlisted for the RTE Radio 1 Short Story Prize, among other Irish writing awards, and came joint second for the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award for an unpublished collection.
Photo: Adrian O’Herlihy
AMY CRONIN
Amy Cronin is a bestselling author from Cork, Ireland. She lives by the sea with her
husband and young children, where she writes, drinks too much coffee and
contemplates learning to swim. Amy is a fan of thrillers and crime novels, and her
love of suspense and plot-twists flows into her writing. Amy’s debut novel Blinding Lies is available in all good book shops. Described as a “nail-biting thriller,” it is the first in a trilogy featuring heroine Anna Clarke. The follow-up, Twisted Truth, is available now online and will be released in paperback soon. You can follow Amy on Twitter @AmyCroninAuthor
SINÉAD CROWLEY
Sinéad Crowley is Arts and Media Correspondent for RTE, working for television, radio and online. The three novels in her DS Claire Boyle series have all been shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards Crime Book of the Year. Her first stand-alone novel, The Belladonna Maze, is a historical Big House mystery set in the west of Ireland. Sinéad lives in Dublin with her husband and two young sons.
SEAN GIBBONS
Seán, originally from Galway City, now lives in Wexford. Retired after nearly forty years as a youth work and social care practitioner, Seán is at last able to focus on his twin passions, writing and history. He spent four years driving a taxi in Galway in the early Noughties and it is this experience that gave life to his unconventional, taxi-driving crime-solver, Ben Miller. The first four books in the series have been published by Sapere Books. He is currently working on the fifth. He is also working on a crime fiction series set in London in the 1960s and a WWII espionage fiction series for the same publisher.
MICK HERRON
Mick Herron is the Sunday Times bestselling author of the Slough House thrillers, which have won two CWA Daggers, been published in 20 languages, and are the basis of a major TV series starring Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb. The eight in the Slough House series, Bad Actors, was published in May 2022 and was described as being “beautifully written and indecently entertaining.” Mick was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, and now lives in Oxford.
DECLAN HUGHES
Declan Hughes co-founded Dublin’s Rough Magic Theatre Company.
Declan’s first crime novel, The Wrong Kind of Blood, won the Shamus Award for Best First PI novel and the Le Point magazine prize for best European crime novel. Subsequent novels include The Colour of Blood; The Dying Breed; All The Dead Voices and City of Lost Girls. His books have been nominated for the Edgar, Macavity, Theakstons, CWA New Blood Dagger and Irish Book awards. His latest novel is All The Things You Are. A board member of the Irish Writers Centre, Delcan is a highly respected reviewer for several national publications.
ARLENE HUNT
Arlene Hunt is a crime fiction author and film reviewer. In her spare time- which is minimal- she can be found half way up a mountain with two GSDs. She is represented by the Lisa Richards agency.
LISA JEWELL
Lisa Jewell is the author of twenty novels, most recently a number of dark psychological thrillers, including The Family Remains and The Night She Disappeared. Lisa is a New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author who has been published worldwide in over twenty-five languages. She lives in London.
EV KELLY
E. V. Kelly holds a PhD in sociology from UCD. Her short stories have been broadcast on RTÉ and published in Crannóg, while her winning stories have appeared in The Irish Times, an anthology and online. She has been shortlisted for various awards including the Francis MacManus Short Story
Award, the Hennessy Literary Awards and the SBP/Penguin Ireland Award. She was nominated for the American Pushcart Prize 2021. Her debut novel, Her Last Words – a psychological thriller came out in June 2022 and has been a top twenty bestseller in the Irish Original Fiction Charts.
CASEY KING
Casey King is an Irish crime writer from Co. Cork. She writes gritty gangland crime and thrillers. With a Diploma in Policing Studies, Casey is often the first call for fellow crime writers when including police procedure in their best-selling and award-winning novels. Throughout her career in the Irish police force, she has worked on numerous gangland operations, drug investigation, and has held various other roles. As well as completing a HDip in Coaching/Coaching Psychology at University College Cork, she’s also a fully qualified Mindfulness Teacher. Casey loves motivating those who have the will and potential to write.
VASEEM KHAN
Vaseem Khan is the author of two award-winning crime series set in India. His debut, The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, was a Sunday Times 40 best crime novels published 2015-2020 pick. In 2021, Midnight at Malabar House, the first in the Malabar House novels set in 1950s Bombay, won the Crime Writers Association Historical Dagger.
CATHERINE KIRWAN
Catherine Kirwan grew up on a farm in the parish of Fews, County Waterford. She studied law at UCC and lives in Cork where she works as a solicitor. Darkest Truth, an Irish Times bestseller, was her first book. Her second, Cruel Deeds, also an Irish Times bestseller, is out now, published by Hachette.
JEAN HANFF KORELITZ
Jean Hanff Korelitz is the New York Times bestselling author of eight novels including The Plot, You Should Have Known (adapted for HBO as “The Undoing” and starring Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant and Donald Sutherland), Admission (adapted as the 2013 film starring Tina Fey), Her new novel, The Latecomer, was published in July 2022 to rave reviews. Her company BOOKTHEWRITER hosts “Pop-Up Book Groups” in NYC and online, where small groups of readers can discuss new books with their authors.
LAURA LIPPMAN
Since her debut in 1997, New York Times bestseller Laura Lippman has been recognized as one of the most gifted and versatile crime novelists working today. Her series novels, stand-alones and short stories have all won major awards, including the Edgar and the Anthony, and her work is published in more than 20 countries. She lives in Baltimore and New Orleans with her family.
ANDREA MARA
Andrea Mara is a Sunday Times and Irish Times Top Ten bestselling author who has been shortlisted for a number of awards, including Irish Crime Novel of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards. She lives in Dublin, Ireland, with her husband and three young children, and also runs the multi-award-winning parent and lifestyle blog, OfficeMum.ie. Her new book, Hide And Seek, is out in August 2022.
NADINE MATHESON
Nadine was born and lives in London and is a Criminal Solicitor. In 2019, The Jigsaw Man was won by HQ (HarperCollins) in a six-publisher auction. The Jigsaw Man was published in 2021 and has been translated into 15 languages. Her second novel, The Binding Room, featuring DI Henley and the Serial Crimes Unit was published in July 2022.
BRIAN MCGILLOWAY
Brian McGilloway is the author of eleven crime novels including the Ben Devlin mysteries and the Lucy Black series, the first of which, Little Girl Lost, became a New York Times and UK No.1 bestseller. In addition, he has also been shortlisted for a CWA Dagger and the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. He currently teaches in Strabane, where he lives with his wife and four children. The Empty Room is out now.
HENRIETTA MCKERVEY
Henrietta McKervey has published four critically acclaimed novels, most recently A Talented Man, a psychological suspense about a forged sequel to Dracula. She has a Hennessy First Fiction Award and won the inaugural UCD Maeve Binchy Travel Award. She is a regular contributor to the Irish Independent and RTÉ radio.
PAUL MCNEIVE
Paul McNeive writes a weekly opinion column for the Irish Independent and works as a motivational speaker. His first book, Small Steps, an autobiographical business book, was a bestseller in Ireland. Paul’s first thriller, The Manhattan Project, was also a bestseller in Ireland, and was published internationally. Paul’s latest thriller Poison Sky, has recently been published and he has another thriller due for release in early 2023.
JAMES MURPHY
James Murphy is a Northern Irish crime writer. His first three works in his Farset Investigations detective series, dubbed the ‘Terror Trilogy’ have raised him to prominence as a writer of compelling page turners. He is currently working on a new series of psychological thrillers, a taste of which was teased with the publication of the short story, ‘How To Be Dead’ as part of the Alternative Ulster Noir anthology earlier this year.
James also hosts the hugely popular podcast, ‘A Life of Crime Writing with James Murphy’ and presents a weekly radio show, Crime Scene on Belfast 247. As well as teaching crime fiction workshops the former School Principal teaches English part time and is a teacher tutor with Edge Hill University.
MARTINA MURPHY
Martina Murphy has been writing for as long as she can remember. She is the author of twenty-two novels in various genres. Her books have been translated into many languages and include the YA award-winning –Dirt Tracks, Impac long-listed Something Borrowed and International White Raven Award winner Livewire. She also writes plays and is a qualified drama teacher. The Branded is her second crime novel featuring DS Lucy Golden and her team.
LOUISE PHILLIPS
Louise Phillips is a bestselling author of six crime thrillers and winner of the Irish Crime Novel of the Year. Her novels have been published in the US, and her fifth novel The Hiding Game is in development with a major U.S. film company. They All Lied is her sixth novel.
W C RYAN
William Ryan is the author of five novels, including the Captain Korolev series set in 1930s Moscow. They have been shortlisted for numerous awards, including the Irish Fiction Award, the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year, the Endeavour Historical Gold Crown and the Crime Writer Association’s Steel, Historical and New Blood Daggers. A House of Ghosts, set in 1917, has been described as ‘an atmospheric, hugely entertaining mystery that offers all the pleasures of a classic ghost story – with an appealing dash of romance’. The Winter Guest is out now.
CATHERINE RYAN HOWARD
Catherine Ryan Howard is an internationally bestselling author from Cork. Her work has been shortlisted for the CWA’s John Creasey New Blood and Ian Fleming Steel Dagger awards, and in 2019 her novel The Liar’s Girl was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. Her thriller 56 Days became a No.1 bestseller in Ireland. Her latest novel is Run Time. She currently lives in Dublin.
FIONA SHERLOCK
SIMON TREWIN
Simon Trewin has spent thirty years working as a literary agent and his authors have been published in over 54 languages and sold many millions of copies. In 2019 he launched his own agency to represent authors, brands and entrepreneurs in the areas of art, culture, digital, literature, and live events. He is also the founder of vintage letterpress studio The Garage Press.
LUCY WORSLEY
Lucy Worsley OBE is Chief Curator at the charity, Historic Royal Palaces and also presents history documentaries for the BBC. Her bestselling books include Queen Victoria, Jane Austen at Home, A Very British Murder, If Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History of the Home, Courtiers, Cavalier and four historical novels for young readers. Authoritative and entertaining, her new biography of Agatha Christie makes us realise what an extraordinary pioneer she was – truly a woman who wrote the twentieth century.