At Monty Lit Fest, we love a good crime novel, whether it’s cosy, procedural, a thriller or the darkest noir.
We’re not alone. Crime remains one of the most enduring of literary genres, constantly refreshing and reinventing itself and bounded only by the seemingly limitless imaginations of its cadre of brilliant authors.
So we’re delighted that Monty Lit Fest takes place during the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) annual National Crime Reading Month. This June is a particularly special occasion as the CAW will be celebrating 70 years of “thrills and kills”. The CWA is an important and thriving community, supporting and nurturing crime writers at all stages of their careers – and celebrating the very best each year with its famous Dagger Awards.
What better excuse -if one were needed – to showcase at this year’s Festival two brilliant crime writers with impeccable Welsh and Borders credentials.
We’ll be talking to Clare Mackintosh, whose books have been translated into over 40 languages and have sold more than two million copies around the world. And we’ll certainly be asking her about her latest crime series set on the border between England and Wales featuring Welsh detective DC Ffion Morgan.
We’ll also be joined by Ceredigion-born Borders resident Alis Hawkins, who has so vividly brought to life the world of crime in the Victorian era in her Teifi Valley Coroner novels and, more recently, A Bitter Remedy, the first in her Oxford Mysteries series set in and around Jesus College, Oxford.
The scene of the crime awaits. We’re counting on you to help us to celebrate those “thrills and kills” at this year’s Festival.