Slaughter in Southwold 2019

Suspense rises for seventh Slaughter in Southwold crime festival

As anticipation rises for the much-loved Slaughter in Southwold crime festival weekend, over eight hundred tickets have been sold between the author talks, quiz and murder mystery evening.  The established crime writers’ festival will once again feature several renowned crime writers giving talks about their writing on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th June. 

The event takes place at Southwold Arts Centre and is part of Southwold Arts Festival. 

Slaughter in Southwold 2019

Southwold Library has launched the programme for the seventh annual ‘Slaughter in Southwold’ crime festival. The established crime writers’ festival will once again feature several renowned crime writers giving talks about their writing on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th June.

The event takes place at Southwold Arts Centre and is part of Southwold Arts Festival.

Slaughter in Southwold is organised by Southwold Library Manager Charlotte Clark with support from the Friends of Southwold Library and the Crime Writers Association. This year’s packed Slaughter programme features Kate Ellis, Mick Herron, Jill Dawson, Val McDermid, Mark Dawson, Martin Edwards, Nicci French, Felix Francis and Elly Griffiths.

There will also be a range of other activities on offer including a Murder Mystery Night based on the bestselling Shetland books by Ann Cleeves, a staged murder mystery musical, a crime-themed quiz night and a chance to have a fish and chips lunch with the visiting authors.

Charlotte Clark, Library Manager and organiser of the event, is pleased to be part of the project, stating: “It’s wonderful how well supported it is by the local community and we are proud to bring big name crime authors to our small corner of Suffolk. It’s amazing how far people travel now to enjoy the Slaughter weekend, even outside of our library customers, and we hope that this year’s seventh Slaughter is bigger and better than ever!”

Slaughter in Southwold has been so successful that it inspired another Suffolk Libraries crime festival ‘Skulduggery in Stowmarket’ which will take place from the 26th to the 29th April. Further details of this event can be found at www.suffolklibraries.co.uk/skulduggery.

Full programme:

Saturday 15th June

10am – Kate Ellis will be talking about her latest detective novel, The Boy Who Lived with the Dead, as well as her long-running DI Wesley Peterson series and Joe Plantagenet novels.

11:30am – Mick Herron will be talking about his award-winning Slough House novels, featuring the inimitable Jackson Lamb.

1pm – Lunch can be murder with Café 51: have lunch, cake and hot drinks with top crime authors.

2pm – Jill Dawson will be talking about her new novel, The Language of Birds, a hypnotic novel about class, violence and friendship inspired by the shocking Lord Lucan case and the ‘lovely young nanny’ at its centre.

3:30 – Val McDermid will be talking about her latest Karen Pirie novel, Broken Ground, and her other bestselling series.

7pm – Crime quiz night: Get together a team of 4 and take part in our fun quiz, with rounds on crime from TV, films and books, suitable for all.

 

Sunday 16th June

10am – Mark Dawson will be talking about his bestselling John Milton, Beatrix Rose, Isabella Rose and Soho Noir series.

11:30 – Martin Edwards will be talking about his latest thriller, Gallows Court, set in 1930, as well as his work as consultant on the British Library Crime Classics series.

1pm – Something fishy with lunch, cake and hot drinks with the authors.

2pm – Nicci French AKA Sean French and Nicci Gerrard – will be discussing their bestselling Frieda Klein series, which recently concluded with Day of the Dead.

3:30pm – Felix Francis will be talking about his latest novel, Crisis, and his other novels that continue his late father Dick Francis’ writing legacy.

5pm – Elly Griffiths will be talking about her latest Dr Ruth Galloway novel, The Stone Circle.



Other festival events and activities:

Saturday 8th June at 2:30pm – Scene Zero Presents: The Mystery of Mr. E, by Sophie Hannah – afternoon staged reading/singing.

Saturday 8th June at 7:30pm – Scene Zero Presents: The Mystery of Mr. E, by Sophie Hannah – evening staged reading/singing.

Friday 14th June at 7pm – Murder Mystery Night: Bannocks and Blood by Ann Cleeves

Tickets are £6 per author talk, £18 for a day pass, or £36 for the whole weekend, with an additional £12 for lunch. Lunch is not included in Slaughter in Southwold day or weekend passes and must be booked, with choices stated, by contacting the library by Saturday 1 June.

Full details of the programme and ticketing information for all the events is available from www.suffolklibraries.co.uk/slaughter or www.ticketsource.co.uk/slaughterinsouthwold

Tickets can also be bought at the library or by calling 01502 722519.