Authors 2021

Mari Hannah

Mari Hannah is a multi-award-winning author, whose authentic voice is no happy accident. A former probation officer, she lives in rural Northumberland with her partner, an ex-murder detective. Mari turned to scriptwriting when her career was cut short following an assault on duty. Her debut, The Murder Wall, (adapted from a script she developed with the BBC) won her the Polari First Book Prize. Its follow-up, Settled Blood, picked up a Northern Writers’ Award. Mari’s body of work won her the CWA Dagger in the Library 2017, an incredible honour to receive so early in her career. In 2019, she was voted DIVA Wordsmith of the Year. In 2020, she won Capital Crime International Crime Writing Festival’s Crime Book of the Year for Without a Trace. Her Kate Daniels series is in development with Stephen Fry’s production company, Sprout Pictures.

Trevor Wood

Trevor Wood has lived in Newcastle for 30 years. He’s a former playwright, journalist and spin-doctor for the City Council. Prior to that he served in the Royal Navy for 16 years.

His first novel The Man on the Street won the CWA’s New Blood Dagger and the Crimefest Debut Prize. It was also shortlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. The sequel, One Way Street is now out. The final book in the trilogy, Dead End Street, will be published in January 2022.

Harriet Tyce

Harriet Tyce grew up in Edinburgh and studied English at Oxford University before doing a law conversion course at City University. She practised as a criminal barrister in London for nearly a decade, and recently completed an MA in Creative Writing – Crime Fiction at the University of East Anglia. She lives in north London. Her first novel, Blood Orange, published in 2019 to huge critical acclaim and her latest novel, The Lies You Told, published in summer 2020. Her third novel, It Ends At Midnight, will be published in April 2022.

Robert Scragg

Rob Scragg is North East born and bred. He is the author of the Porter & Styles series, book one of which was a Read Regional pick for 2019, and most recently, the fourth instalment, End Of The Line, was chosen as book of the week in the Sun.

Earlier this year, he won the Lindisfarne Prize for Crime Fiction, and made the shortlist for the CWA short story dagger. He’s a member of the Northern Crime Syndicate group of writers, and you can find out more about them, and his work, by stalking him on social media or at https://www.robertscragg.com/

Howard Linskey

Howard Linskey is a best-selling author published in eight countries. Howard writes crime fiction novels set in the north-east of England for Penguin Random House. His latest book is Don’t Let Him In; described as ‘dark, creepy and compelling’.Originally from the north-east, Howard now lives in Herts with his wife Alison and daughter Erin.“Howard Linskey does for Newcastle what Ian Rankin has done for Edinburgh”; New York Review of Books.

Tariq Ashkanani

Tariq Ashkanani is a solicitor based in Edinburgh, where he also helps run WriteGear, a company that sells high-quality notebooks for writers, and co-hosts WriteGear’s podcast Page One. He had no formal writing training or consultation prior to writing Welcome to Cooper. He is currently working on a follow-up thriller, entitled Follow Me to the Edge, which is out March 2022.

Ann Cleeves

Ann Cleeves is the author of over thirty critically acclaimed novels, and in 2017 was awarded the highest accolade in crime writing, the CWA Diamond Dagger. She is the creator of popular detectives Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez, who can now be found on television in ITV’s Vera and BBC One’s Shetland. The TV series and the books they are based on have become international sensations, capturing the minds of millions worldwide. The Heron’s Cry is book two in her Two Rivers series featuring Devonian Matthew Venn. The first book in the series, The Long Call, was published to critical acclaim and has also been adapted for an ITV drama this year. Ann worked as a probation officer, bird observatory cook and auxiliary coastguard before she started writing. She is a member of ‘Murder Squad’, working with other British northern writers to promote crime fiction. She lives in North Tyneside near where the Vera books are set.

S.J.Watson

S. J. WATSON’s first novel, Before I Go To Sleep, became a phenomenal international success and has now sold over 6,000,000 copies worldwide. It won the Crime Writers’ Association Award for Best Debut Novel and the Galaxy National Book Award for Crime Thriller of the Year. The film of the book, starring Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth and Mark Strong, and directed by Rowan Joffe, was released in September 2014. S. J. Watson’s second novel, Second Life, a psychological thriller, was published to acclaim in 2015.

Judith O'Reilly

Judith O’Reilly is a writer and journalist whose books include Curse the Day, Killing State (both thrillers) and the memoirs Wife in the North and A Year of Doing Good. (Wife in the North was a Radio 4 Book of the Week, while both memoirs were serialised in the national press.) Judith has two more crime novels due out soon and is a former journalist with the Sunday Times, ITN’s Channel 4 News and BBC 2’s Newsnight. Her writing has won plaudits from David Baldacci and Lee Child. Judith is a founding member of the Northern Crime Syndicate (for crime writers rather than gangsters!), and lives in Durham.

LJ Ross

LJ Ross is an international bestselling author, whose books have sold over 7 million copies worldwide.

Her debut, Holy Island, was released in 2015 and became an instant, international bestseller. Since then, a further twenty of her novels have gone on to take the coveted #1 spot, some even before general release and whilst only available to ‘pre-order’. The Bookseller magazine has reported on Louise having topped the ‘Most Read’ and ‘Most Sold’ fiction charts, and she has garnered an army of loyal fans who love her atmospheric and addictive storytelling.

The first novel in her Alexander Gregory Thrillers series, Impostor, was shortlisted in the British Book Awards 2020: Crime & Thriller Book of the Year. The audiobook of Impostor, narrated by Hugh Dancy, was also selected as a finalist in the New York Festivals Radio Awards, Best Fiction Audiobook of the Year Category.

In May 2021, Louise was shortlisted for the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association ‘Dagger in the Library’ award.

Louise was born in Northumberland. She studied undergraduate and postgraduate Law at King’s College, University of London and then abroad in Paris and Florence. She spent much of her working life in London, where she was a lawyer for a number of years until taking the decision to change career and pursue her dream to write. Now, she writes full time and lives with her husband and children in Northumberland and Edinburgh. She enjoys reading all manner of books, painting, travelling and spending time with family and friends.

Fiona Erskine

Fiona Erskine is a professional engineer based in the north east of England.

Her first thriller in the Jaq Silver Series, The Chemical Detective was published in 2019 and shortlisted for the SPECSAVERS DEBUT CRIME NOVEL AWARD at Crimefest. The second The Chemical Reaction was shortlisted for the 2020 STAUNCH Prize. Along with the third – The Chemical Cocktail – due out next year, they are published by the Point Blank imprint of OneWorld.

Phosphate Rocks: A Death in Ten Objects is a stand alone story published by Sandstone Press in June 2021.

Fiona is passionate about music and outdoor swimming, though not generally at the same time.

Rob Parker

Rob Parker is a married father of three, who lives in Warrington, UK. The author of the Ben Bracken thrillers, Blackstoke, Far From The Tree and Crook’s Hollow, he enjoys a rural life, writing horrible things between school runs. Rob writes full time, attends various author events across the UK, and boxes regularly for charity.

He spends a lot of time in schools across the North, encouraging literacy, story-telling and creative-writing, and somehow squeezes in time to co-host the For Your Reconsideration film podcast, appear regularly on The Blood Brothers Crime Podcast, and is a member of the Northern Crime Syndicate.

S.E. Moorhead

Born in Liverpool, S.E.Moorhead has told stories since childhood and uses writing as bubblegum for her overactive brain – to keep it out of trouble. Fascinated by meaning, motivation and mystery, she studied Theology at university.

Over the last twenty five years, apart from teaching in secondary school, S.E.Moorhead has attained a black belt in kickboxing, worked as a chaplain, established a Justice and Peace youth group, and written articles for newspapers and magazines about her work in education and religion.

She still lives in her beloved hometown with her husband Seán, two sons and her black lab, Seamus.

E.S. Thomson

E.S. Thomson’s work has been long listed for the CWA Endeavour Historical Dagger, and shortlisted for the Saltire Prize, the Scottish Arts Council First Book Award and the William McIlvanney Crime Book of the Year Award. She has a PhD in the history of medicine and tries to fit as much medical history into her books as possible. Elaine works as a university lecturer by day and writes by night. She divides her time between Edinburgh and Gateshead. Nightshade is the 5th in the acclaimed Jem Flockhart medical historical crime series.

Sarah Sultoon

Sarah Sultoon is an ex-CNN news exclusive, and three-time winner of the Peabody Award, and her harrowing, richly authentic newsroom-set debut thriller The Source has been optioned for TV, with the screenplay written by Jo Spain. Her next thriller, The Shot, will be published in 2022. She lives in London with her family.

Michael J Malone

Michael J Malone’s poetic, thought-provoking, issue-driven psychological thrillers have been compared to the work of Jodi Picoult, and number-one bestsellers in three countries. His latest book, A Song of Isolation, was met with exceptional critical acclaim, and his next, Quicksand of Memory, will be published in 2022. He lives in Ayr.

Matt Wesolowski

Matt Wesolowski is author of the international, bestselling Six Stories series, and originated the fictional true-crime podcast format that has been much emulated. Changeling was longlisted for Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and Beast won Capital Crime’s Best Independent Voice Award. Deity was published in 2021 to critical acclaim, and Demon will be out in 2022. Matt lives in Newcastle.

Louise Beech

Louise Beech is the author of seven books. Her debut novel, How to be Brave, was a Guardian readers’ pick 2015. The Lion Tamer Who Lost shortlisted for the Romantic Novel of the year in 2019, Call Me Star Girl won the Best magazine book of the year in the Big Book Awards 2019, and This Is How We Are Human was a Clare Mackintosh Book of the Month in 2021. Her next novel, Nothing Else, will be out in 2022.

D L Marshall

D. L. Marshall was born and raised in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Influenced by the dark industrial architecture, steep wooded valleys, and bleak Pennine moors, he writes thrillers tinged with horror, exploring the impact of geography and isolation. His debut novel Anthrax Island was published in early 2021. His second novel, Black Run, is published in December 2021.

Adam Peacock

A.M. Peacock (Adam) is the author of the DCI Jack Lambert series, a character described as “a fantastic creation destined for a big following” by Howard Linskey. His debut novel, Open Grave, was published in September 2018 by Bloodhound Books. The second in the series, Grave Intent, was released in July 2019.

Adam has produced several short stories, winning the Writers’ Forum Magazine competition on two occasions. He has also written articles for both the local press and a university magazine. He also hosts the Northern Crime Syndicate Podcast, where he regularly interviews authors and other crime fiction industry experts.

Adam lives in South Shields, where he helps to run the South Shields Fiction Writers’ group.

Chris McGeorge

Chris McGeorge studied MA Creative Writing (Crime/Thriller) at City University London where he wrote his first novel as his thesis. His interests are broad – spanning film, books, theatre and video games. He is a member of the Northern Crime Syndicate, a supergroup of writers from Northern England. He lives in County Durham with his partner and many, many animals.