Crime Festivals
We thought we’d let you know about all the crime festivals that usually go on around the world so you can attend one near you when allowed, or online!
Aye Write: A Scottish crime fest run by Glasgow Life. No confirmed dates for 2022. https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/event/2/aye-write-2021-festival-pass
Bloody Scotland: Excellent festival in very lovely setting of Stirling, Scotland. 2022 dates: 15-18 September. https://bloodyscotland.com/events/
Bouchercon: Huge US convention. Pronounced to rhyme with ‘voucher’, the name pays tribute to reviewer and author Anthony Boucher. Bids are made for the city it’s held in years in advance, as per the Olympics. 2022’s is taking place in Minneapolis, 8-11 September. https://www.bouchercon2022.com/
Capital Crime: London. Snazzy festival in the UK’s capital, hence the name. Dates for 2022 are 29 September-1 October. https://www.capitalcrime.org/
Creatures, Crime and Creativity: Amusingly named genre fiction conference in Columbia, USA. 2022 dates are 30 September-2 October. https://10times.com/creatures-crimes-creativity-literary
CrimeCon: True Crime Festival. In Las Vegas in 2022, April 29-May 1: https://www.crimecon.com/cc22
CrimeFest: Bristol. US-style convention with several panels running at the same time at one hotel. Also offers such things as a forensic tour and talk before the convention starts. 2022 dates: 12-15 May. https://www.crimefest.com/
Cromarty Crime and Thrillers Weekend: Cromarty is one of the 12 Best Places to Live in Scotland, apparently, and they have a crime fiction weekend! 2022 dates are 5-8 May. https://www.cromartyartstrust.org.uk/crime-and-thrillers
Festival Internationale du Roman Noir: A very French festival in Frontignan, near Montpellier. No 2022 dates yet. http://www.firn-frontignan.fr/firn-2021-in-english/?lang=en
Granite Noir: Run by Aberdeen Performing Arts. 2021’s fest was online, and available to watch: https://www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/made-in-aberdeen/granite-noir/
Gwyl Crime Cymru: Wales’ first crime fest, in Aberystwyth. Was online in 2021; recordings are available. In 2022, dates are 29 April-2 May. https://gwylcrimecymrufestival.co.uk/
Harrogate, aka Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival: The summer festival to attend, in the lovely Yorkshire town. 2022 dates are 21-24 July. https://harrogateinternationalfestivals.com/crime-writing-festival/
Iceland Noir: Crime festival in exotic location, ie Iceland. 2021 was just in November, so no 2022 dates yet. https://icelandnoir.weebly.com/
International Agatha Christie Festival: in Torquay, Devon, obviously. Events set around the most famous crime writer of them all. 10-17 September 2022. https://www.englishriviera.co.uk/whats-on/major-events/agatha-christie-festival
Killer Nashville: in Nashville, Tennessee, patently. 2022 fest is 18-21 August. https://killernashville.com/
Left Coast Crime: Well-established annual convention on the West Coast of the States. 2022 dates are 7-10 April in Albuquerque, New Mexico. https://leftcoastcrime.org/2022/
The Locked Up Festival: online. Run by Two Crime Writers and a Microphone, this excellent online festival has happened twice over lockdown, with proceeds for access to panels going to the Trussell Trust. There has been clamour to have another one in 2022, so watch this space.
Lyme Crime: New festival, tagline ‘It’s murder by the sea’ – clever. In Lyme Regis. 2022 dates are 23-25 June. https://www.lymecrime.co.uk/
Malice Domestic: Washington DC-based convention leaning towards the lighter side of crime. 2022 dates are 22-24 April. https://www.malicedomestic.org/
Men of Mystery: One-day event in Long Beach, California. No 2022 dates yet. https://www.menofmystery.org/
Mystery Fest: run by review website Mystery People. 2022 day is 12 March, at Portsmouth Central Library. https://www.mysterypeople.co.uk/conferences-and-events/
Newcastle Noir: One-day fest this year, 5 December 2021. Held in Newcastle’s central library. https://newcastlenoir.co.uk/
Noireland: Belfast’s premier crime festival. 2022 dates TBA. https://www.noireland.com/
Noirwich: Tricky-to-say established fest in Norwich. 2022 dates TBA. https://noirwich.co.uk/
Perfect Crime: Day-long fest in Liverpool. 2022 dates TBA. https://perfectcrime.uk/
Prime Crime at the Columbia Club: US conference in Indianapolis. 2022 dates are 1-3 April. https://ccprimecrime.com/
Pulpfest: Celebrating pulp fiction (not the film) in Pennsylvania. 2022 dates are 4-7 August. https://pulpfest.com/
Sleuthfest: in Boca Raton, Florida. 2022 fest is 25-27 March. https://sleuthfest.com/
St Hilda’s: Lovely academic festival with talks rather than panels, in St Hilda’s college, Oxford. 2022 dates are 12-14 August. https://www.st-hildas.ox.ac.uk/content/2021-st-hilda%E2%80%99s-college-crime-fiction-weekend
Thrillerfest: New York-based fest for all things thriller (as in adventure, spy, action etc). 2022 dates: 31 May-4 June. https://thrillerfest.com/
True Crime Podcast Festival: Kansas City. Does what it says on the tin. 2022 dates TBA. https://truecrimepodcastfestival.com/
